WLS accompanied me on my drive in December 1971 from Fort Gordon to Fort Lewis. I lost it in New Mexico at the Rockies. From that point, KFI in Los Angeles and KNBR in San Francisco accompanied me.
I remember hearing “Hey, Baby they’re playing our song” by the Buckinghams for the first time on WLS.
I was a member of Ron Riley’s Batman Club.
CKLW and WABC were stronger at ~ 43/79
I never listened to WLS.
That was, I believe a clear channel 50,000 watt station like WBAP
In the late 80’s just before all the clear channels went away I could listen to Texas Rangers Baseball games (On a good night) in our flat in the Mid-levels of Hong Kong. It was pretty amazing.
Here in Atlanta, we listened to WLS in the *early 60’s*, as well.
All the local stations played what we called, “bubble-gum music”, and we were into blues.
Like has been stated, we could only get the station at night, and in good weather conditions...and sometimes it would even fade in, and out.
Good station...back then, anyway.
How about WHO (Reagan’s old employer) from Des Moines? I understand that Cuba can pick it up if conditions are right.
I used to listen to WLS when I was travelling back in the seventies. I had a radio on my bike and earphones in my helmet.
Yep, WLS, WCFL, used to get their hit surveys every week too.
Animal stories with Larry Lujac and Little Tommy. Laughing so hard I cried.
WLS was simply a great station. I remember listening to it while detasseling corn as a 14 year-old. Then, in the late evenings, listening to Phyllis Levy with her “Sex Talk.” Roe Conn was good for a number of years but best with with his first partner (Steve?), who was lost with a demand of too much money for his contract, as I recalled.
Listened to it in St. Louis.
6th grade in NW Arkansas, 1960. Got a 6 transistor radio for Christmas. Sneaked it out of the package and listebed to WLS ‘til I fell asleep! Even on school day nights!
Yeah, that’s where I first heard the Buckinghams!
In my neck of the woods, WCFL was the stronger and more reliable station to listen to. I could routinely get WWL, WBAP, WBZ, WCBS, WBT and WSB, Stations like WLS, WABC, WOR sometimes blew in.
I grew up in small town in Central IL. Listened ALL THE TIME to WLS on a transistor radio. Day & night. They would play the same songs almost every hour, but we loved it. All the kids listened to it, so it was on the transistor radios everywhere.
In the mornings they had Animal Stories - some of the funniest stuff you ever heard. Little Snot Nosed Tommy would start laughing & could hardly finish the animal stories.
I used to listen to it at night in north Florida.
And I couldn’t wait to listen to CBS Radio Mystery Theater at night.
I can still hear E.G. Marshall saying....”Until next time, pleasant…dreams?”
We in Eastern New England listened to WKBW in Buffalo at night.It came in like gangbusters.
I listened to WLS down in Panama City Fl, which is where I grew up. They played songs two to four weeks before the local stations down there would start playing them. I remember listening to ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ long before it was played locally. We had a big wood console record player and radio. The record player was pretty mediocre but the AM section of the radio picked up signals from all over the country.
Not so much WLS (used to listen to WBBM at night, though).
I remember driving from the LA metro to Georgia once on a PCS move and picking KFI up all the way to Phoenix (and this is during the daytime btw). After the sun went down, I was able to get them all the way to Deming NM.
(And, yes, I was CONSIDERABLY younger...was able to do the drive from Los Angeles to Georgia in 3 days...a WHOLE LOT younger)