WWSH-FM 3-5-1976

[@hudsony777]

My mother used to play EZ. I didn't really like or hate it, but I'd never turn it on myself. Still, it made the house sound kind of dreamy with the living room lights low and dinner cooking in the kitchen. Nothing, it seemed, could go wrong.

[@byrontaylor3898]

That is a great memory.

[@Msfruity44]

Oh my goodness. This was my favorite radio station when I was a young girl in the 70’s. I was thinking about it and thought I would see if it was on KZbin and here it is. I experienced so much physical and emotional abuse in my childhood and listening to the soft music on this station was my safe place. Bittersweet! Thank you so much for sharing!💝

[@marsarelan1829]

Thanks for sharing your memories! I'm glad I'm not the only one that found peace from a violent world in this music. Bittersweet, indeed:)

[@karlkunze7172]

Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars - Les Brown The Night Was Made For Love - Percy Faith A Walk In The Black Forest- Marty Gold A Time For Love - Ray Charles Singers I Can't Stop Loving You - Andre Kostelanetz I Wonder Whose Kissing Her Now - Cambridge Strings I Loved You Once In Silence - Hugo Montenegro Dream Melody In F - Melachrino Strings Shenandoah - Ferrante And Teicher Smile - Mantovani Tie A Yellow Ribbon Around The Old Oak Tree - Ronnie Aldrich Michelle - Marty Gold Sweet Maria - Lenny Dee Pieces Of Dreams - Andre Kostelanetz La Strada - William Watrous Deep Purple - Percy Faith

[@Catloverplayer]

I don't know if this was local in my area only but there use to be a TV station I called the clocks with a clock,barometer and Andromeda that would go up the screen. What got me hooked on that channel was the beautiful music station playing in the background WCRY. Also I remember vacationing at a villa in Savannah GA. I was in the pool and the ocean was in front of the pool. There was loud speakers around the pool and they were playing the beautiful music of WJCL. This music brings back memories.

[@hollywoodfinch]

Hi Catloverplayer! I am playing this kind of music. Just type: Michael Plott radio. A message from the boss. You'll hear some nice music!

[@tmq800]

I started listening to WWSH-FM in 1976, when I was 8 years old, and I fell in love with this station until they switched to AC when I was in 8th grade.

[@WQEZ]

Tim, please see our post on this video. Some friends and I doing a group of online-only, mostly locally-based, not-for-profit easy listening/beautiful music stations to preserve the format. Most of the stations are based on former beautiful music FMs in our respective areas (tribute stations). Please let me know if you would be interested in doing an online station based on WWSH for Philadelphia. Thanks!

[@jondickinson880]

My grandfather had this on the preset in his 1969 Ford Country Squire wagon and in his workshop.

[@hollywoodfinch]

I’m pretty familiar with the majority of the musical selections that WWSH-FM was playing. It's so nice to hear these off-the -air recordings! I would just like to mention that it’s true there are a few internet stations that still stream beautiful music on the internet (one in particular is Kozey Radio) which plays countless hours of extremely talented artists and treasured music. Many of the ones you hear on this WWSH-FM 1976 broadcast are what Kozey Radio plays. Many of the selections have not been heard in years, due to becoming out of print or discontinued LP’s that cannot be found in record stores or even on internet sites. There are many hard-to-find musical selections that Kozey Radio plays which were only available on boxed record sets like Reader’s Digest, Columbia Musical Treasuries, and Longines Symphonette that I’m sure beautiful music aficionados will remember back when terrestrial FM radio stations aired them but now-long forgotten. Many of the other long forgotten tunes that aired in the days, may only be found as used records as there were no re-issuance of them being transcribed in digital format onto CD’s or even MP3’s.

[@bertroost1675]

These records and songs can be found in record stores today. It's called the $1 bin. Just look. That is what I do and I find all sorts of beautiful music records.

[@ConradMason-ei8hm]

I agree 100 percent I'll have to check out kozey radio been listening to Easy 94 that's back playing beautiful music as well as jib and wqez.

[@markdezii]

Smile by Mantovani got me. Thought of my Dad. We shared all this beautiful music. Miss him.

[@amystoudt7395]

I wish they play this type of music on the radio,

[@ronaldwilliamson7963]

The internet is replacing radio.

[@bertroost1675]

@@ronaldwilliamson7963 But the nostalgia of it on the radio would be nice.

[@Sailormac2]

It definitely would be good to have it back. Terrestrial radio is a second-class citizen nowadays - huge swaths of the dial have been surrendered to religious broadcasters and multiple carriers of the same sports networks in the same city. Why not take a minor station and make it Beautiful Music? It will be nostalgia for those who remember and a novelty for those who don’t.

[@patrickrogers9499]

The “ All Music , All The Time “ campaign was launched by SRP ( Schulkie Radio Productions ) of South Plainfield , NJ .

[@basspig]

I've got about a hundred open reel tapes with music of this era. Recalls the days of WRFM in New York, which my Grundig FM radio was eternally tuned to, until I moved north in the later part of the sixties.

[@richcook2007]

basspig I miss that music more than I can say. I loved WPAT easy 93.

[@marsarelan1829]

Can you upload some of them?

[@basspig]

No. It's copyrighted material and I don't own the rights to distribution.

[@neimanmarkster]

Thank you for posting this! I listened to this with my mom and it brough back wonserful memories. Sometimes you just want warm bossa nova that instantly calms. Awesome!

[@marsarelan1829]

That's great! Glad you both enjoyed it :) I agree, that sloooow bossa nova is the bomb.

[@SlickEddie71]

Thanks for posting! My friend Dave Shayer was a staff announcer on WWSH just about that year. Sadly, Dave passed away recently.

[@marsarelan1829]

Art Wilson so glad it brought back good memories!

[@JOHNSTIER23]

Art Wilson RIP Dave your so right Art he was a great announcer

[@magnus466]

Takes me back to riding in my grandmothers Buick in 1979 in Nashville... So of course I was instantly able to recognize Quiet Nights/Corcovado as the first tune... I miss her...

[@scottbailey1560]

If you or family was, or is from Nashville, it was WZEZ, 92.9 that was Beautiful Music that signed on in 1976. Nashville Radio Entrepreneur Bill Barry put WZEZ on, with this format, automated and called Easy 93. By the late 80s, the station had been sold, and WZEZ became WJXA, which it is today as Mix 92.9. The AC format Mix 92.9 plays sounds kind of rockish to me. I remember the day they drop the Beautiful Music and traded it in for Madonna dance music. Many of Nashville's older people complain. I was working over at WQQK, known as Nashville's Urban 92Q (92.1) at the time.

[@pony053]

Just look at those Scully 270s! What a bullitproof machine

[@70sleftover]

This is a packet full of memories of my father driving my sister and I a little crazy with his preference in radio stations on car rides in the '70s. Back then, my father preferred WWSH to WDVR usually, because he felt "Wish" played more lively arrangements. I remember thinking, "This music is lively?!" He could have fooled us! Now that those times are well past, they conjure pleasant childhood moments, and maybe also because I am now middle-aged and graying, I'm actually choosing to listen through the entire hour you posted!

[@70sleftover]

+70sleftover P.S. Indeed, you caught Nels Hobdell doing the news early in this clip - that guy lasted a looong time in easy-listening FM radio in Phila. I swear I heard him on FM radio in the 1990s - maybe it was on WKSZ aka Kiss-100.

[@marsarelan1829]

+70sleftover You crack me up! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@70sleftover]

+Marisa Relay I should also mention that this clip caught a commercial for Lit Brothers dept. store (wow, they disappeared out of business like a year or so later), the ad voiced by Ken Garland, the guy whose voice filled our kitchen every weekday morning when I was a kid (and up through most of my teen years). What a great little slice of Philly history right there! Mom preferred WIP, and the only time that kitchen radio wasn't tuned to that entertaining music-with-personality station was when Dad was home alone and he'd have WWSH playing. I swear even though I was just a kid I''d rush in the door and quick turn the radio back to AM and WIP!

[@dwayneroxtransport1948]

"Have a good day... at Lit's" Love that commercial

[@aceiconia7215]

All the best music to shop for curtains with your grandmother to!

[@marsarelan1829]

ace iconia haha yes!

[@Kinseydsp]

Love the Ad for A&P at 35 19 Used to work for them they like this wonderful station are gone!

[@jimhilliker2450]

That sucks that some of the music was taken out. When I was in college in 1973, I had an early morning class. When I got home, I would take a nap, falling asleep to one of five Beautiful Music stations in Los Angeles. I also worked at a beautiful music FM in 1979 and '80. I liked those shifts, for some reason. Great aircheck. Thank you.!

[@JOHNSTIER23]

philadelphia had a bunch too

[@byrontaylor3898]

I wish Los Angeles still had beautiful music stations. I, for one, would certainly support them.

[@Catloverplayer]

It's too bad Walmart don't play this music when you're shopping. It would make shopping more relaxing.

[@tb2328]

This is very nice music. We used to have a station in Washington DC/Silver Spring called WGAY easy listening. Miss that station!!

[@sgnmath1234]

WGAY is on KZbin. The name of the station is named after the founder.

[@celestialstarseed111]

I listened to it all of the time!

[@sCulturefan]

WGAY FM 99.5 hung on with the instrumental easy listening format all the way into 1990-1991; ratings were still good, but advertisers were complaining that the demographics were too old

[@EllisFeaster]

Wow! This brings back memories! My grandparents listened all the time. On my YT channel, I have about 3000 radio airchecks I have posted, but not one break of WWSH to post. I recorded WFIL, WIBG, WCAU, WIP, WDAS, WHAT, WYSP, but never recorded WWSH. I wish I had!

[@marsarelan1829]

Ellis Feaster I'm really enjoying your channel! You've got a lot of good stuff. You know what I'm looking for is an aircheck of The Charlie Douglass Road Gang show on WWL in New Orleans circa 79-81. YT is full of his stories but I can't find any recordings of his unique overnight trucker show. If you ever run across one, post it!

[@EllisFeaster]

Marsa Relan I remember that show! I don’t have a recording, but I will be in the lookout for it.

[@marsarelan1829]

Rich He also used to say "King Ed Cigar Time" which always cracked me up like Charlie and King Edward were close pals or something.

[@hollywoodfinch]

Hi Ellis! I always enjoy your channels! They're great!!!! For your information I am now playing these hard-to-find Beautiful Music selections. Just type: Michael Plott radio. You'll see a message from the boss. Enjoy!

[@EllisFeaster]

@@hollywoodfinch I’ll check it out. Glad you enjoy the channel!

[@pony053]

Look at those Scully 270 players....the workhorse of the industry in the day

[@freemanz4051]

Ha! First thing I thought was ...."Those look like my college's Scully transport tipped sideways." I have not seen one since 1985. Tape loop cartridge carousel, too, here. Neat. I'm guessing these critters ran slow as molasses ... for the economy. Ours was one inch, with 8 Ampex channels and did , I think, 15 / 30 IPS. This sounds like fairly well-aged open reel. Mono. Malls would cross-phase loudspeakers in a checkerboard pattern for a more spacious acoustic sometimes mistaken for stereo.

[@TheRetrostationTV]

Have one in pristine condition. Wow. They are awesome.

[@pony053]

I have a boatload of Bonneville Ultra, which was headed for the dumpster at a little station I worked at on weekends here in Louisville. I play them sometimes on my SMC DP-2 automation. I also have a lot of Drake Chenault Great American Country, and TM Stereo Rock.

[@karlkunze7172]

Dear Robert Reis: Today, as I compare SRP Radio airchecks with Bonneville's uploaded past tapes, the Bonneville tapes are of no interest. Schulke Radio Productions had 80% of the Post World War 2 Generation's interest, from 1969 to 1981. As a 1960's Generation listener of Schulke, I was able to develope an understanding of the difference between Schulke and Bonneville. Firstly, Schulke Radio Productions (SRP) arranged custom music contracts with musicians that also made commercial mood music records: Ronnie Aldrich, Glenn Osser, Leroy Holmes, Angela Morley, Malcolm Lockyer, Robert Farnon, BBC Midland Orchestra, Norrie Paramor, Johnny Douglas, Ron Goodwin, Syd Dale, Bernard Ebbinghouse, Mike Sammes Singers (Under the direction of Neil Richardson), Tony Mottola, David Snell, BBC London Strings, SRP Richwood Strings, SRP Sounds Of Now And Then, Pete Moore, Charles Gerhardt, John Fox, Marty Gold, Frank Chacksfield, Bill Loose. Norman Newill and Geoff Love, who also played for BBC Radio 2, refused to enter a contract, with Schulke, for them to sell their music that they played on BBC Radio 2. Geoff Love concluded that, if he did not have a song title on a commercial record, then he would not provide custom titles. For Geoff Love, all of his songs had to be available on a commercial record. Schulke also picked selected "Off-the-record" titles, which were also called "Custom" but were produced through other syndicators, from the following mood music commercial record musicians: John Gregory, George Greeley, Frank Chacksfield, John Fox. It is unsure who the producers were for the Frank Barber, and John Sbarra Custom titles, but Schulke also picked quality titles from here as well. Bonneville, to-the-contrary, entered contracts with mostly unknown musicians at the time, those from whom commercial records were not produced: Lex De Azevedo, Pacific Pops(Lex De Azevedo), Pat Valentino, Norm Geller. The Rediffusion Series, produced by Bonneville and called The Buckingham Strings, contained commercial record musician names: Nicky North(Rejected by SRP), Tony Osborne, Alec Gould, Harry Rabinowitz, Cy Payne, Gordon Langford, Keith Roberts. Unless Jim Schulke purchased the whole Rediffusion Package, Bonneville would not allow Schulke to purchase the only very few titles that he felt were quality. It is difficult to tell which were the SRP John Fox titles, and the Bonneville John Fox titles. Schulke correctly concluded that most of the Bonneville competitive custom titles were poorly arranged and would not hold the listener's interest, and indeed, they do not hold my interest.

[@pony053]

@@karlkunze7172 Karl, sorry if I hit a nerve. I never suggested that Bonneville could "hold a candle" to SRP??? I merely mentioned I had some reels of it, and some SRP and many other automation reels, and a system on which I can play it on. Thanks

[@ColoradooscaleOrg]

@@karlkunze7172 Karl, could you drop me a line about the reels you want to dispose of? Thank you [e-mail]

[@Sailormac2]

What a find! Are they in good enough quality still that they can be digitized and uploaded? Given the comments here (and on other Beautiful Music station recordings), you’d have a willing and enthusiastic audience!

[@patrickrogers9499]

FM 106.1 holds the record for the most format and call letter changes in the entire Philadelphia radio market . Remember WWSH very well .

[@Sailormac2]

Also WWSH’s spiritual successor, Smooth Jazz WJJZ. When I could pull it in, I always preferred it to New Yourk’s CD 101.9. It had more of a warm, “lived in” feel.

[@Catloverplayer]

I didn't have WWSH in my area but did grow up listening to WCRY and WJCL both Beautiful Music Stations. I miss WCRY.

[@Catloverplayer]

Now I listen to Escape on Sirius XM Channel 69.

[@WQEZ]

Catloverplayer My friend does an internet-only radio station based on the former Joy 95 FM (WJYF) in Valdosta, GA which aired beautiful music in the 80s. It is here--> www.wjyfjoy95.tk

[@Catloverplayer]

Thanks for the link.

[@WQEZ]

yw! Please check us out on our Facebook page dedicated to the preservation of the beautiful music format via the internet. facebook.com/Internet-Beautiful-Music-Association-IBMA-730307407034734/. Thanks!

[@ApartmentKing66]

Wow. Even though I was around back then, I haven't heard an example of the "BM" format in so long, this is actually _fascinating_ to hear! Just like I remember!

[@lisaruess7691]

What a thrill! I miss WWSH-FM!

[@debmar5771]

Me too!!!

[@gsnfan]

Why can't we have another radio station like WWSH again? This is fantastic! Thought we never hear such a thing again.

[@marsarelan1829]

I would love it. We just have to wait for the format to come back around again. The airwaves today sound exactly the same from coast to coast. I think people will eventually get sick of it. I can see local radio booming again. Maybe in 30-40 years.

[@ApartmentKing66]

I think the BM format collapsed because of how hard it got to sell it. BM stations all over ended up changing formats because profit margins were too thin. Today, I don't think any investors are out there that are willing to take a chance on it. The oldies format seems to have gone this way as well.

[@WQEZ]

We're building a network of online-only, mostly locally-based, not-for-profit easy listening/beautiful music stations across the US in order to preserve and expand the format. We"re now up to 12 stations and always looking for people to join us in doing additional easy listening stations for their areas. Want to help? Contact us! For a list of our stations as well as other beautiful music stations streaming online, please visit ezradio.info/stations.html.

[@danbeach6467]

Thank you! I grew up with WWSH and it's great to hear it again!

[@marsarelan1829]

Perfect! Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@danbeach6467]

Happy New Year Marisa! Still listening to it! So relaxing, you know?

[@newalm]

Thanks for posting! It sure brings back memories of the easy listening stations that were once around before the 1990's. I recognize some of the orchestra's here. At 1:45 is Percy Faith, 11:10 I think it is either The Ray Charles Singers or The Johnny Mann Singers. At 32:03 is Mantovani, 36:46, Ronnie Aldrich and 56:27, Percy Faith.

[@marsarelan1829]

Thanks! I truly loves this format and delivery method. I thought they matched perfectly. I worked for a automated Beautiful Music station in the early 80's. Best time I ever had in my career. It got cantankerous more often than not but it was a fun gig.

[@danbeach6467]

I was wondering what that beautiful song was starting at the 29 minute mark about? It sounds like either Ferrante and Teicher or maybe Roger Williams or Peter Nero on piano. It was cut off some, but I can't remember the title of that song.

[@marsarelan1829]

Dan Beach I think it's Shenandoah River...

[@danbeach6467]

Thank you! Been trying to find it for a while now. Really nice tune. Have a good one and take care!

[@marsarelan1829]

I've got more airchecks to upload soon. Hang on...

[@danbeach8057]

Great! Look forward to them!

[@lisaruess7691]

Can't wait!

[@Kinseydsp]

Thank you I look forward to them and Bless you for lovely long aircheck. You Be Well!

[@DavidSmith-eg5le]

When I was a little kid I used to fall asleep to this I would go to bed every night listening to w w s h I would love to hear broadcast from 1979 to about 1982 it would remind me about my childhood does anyone have these broadcasts I miss them

[@marsarelan1829]

David Smith Glad you enjoyed this recording. I don't think I do, but I'll dig around and see if I have any recordings of WWSH during that time period. Don't hold your breath but if I find something, I'll post it.

[@scottbailey1560]

We had WZEZ-FM here in Nashville, TN. "Easy 93" It signed on in 1976 by William "Bill" Barry. If a kid would have a good stereo system like I did in middle school, we would take it off then Rocker 103.3 WKDF and listen to WZEZ for a bit. The music sounded fantastic! But you couldn't expect a kid to stay tuned to that. Later in about 1988-89, WZEZ flipped to Adult Contemporary and became "Mix 92.9" WJXA, playing Madonna out of the Easy Listening Music one morning. Disc Jockeys came on mocking the old format. "Mix 92.9" has been the Number One Station many times in Nashville until iHeart signed on WUBT-FM, 101.1 "The Beat Jams" with Hip Hop/Rap. It's gone to number one in Nashville because of one too many Country Stations on FM here. Yes, I hate Hip Hop/Rap! I'm getting in my late 50s!

[@debmar5771]

I used to love this station!

[@Kinseydsp]

Thank you for this lovely music I miss this type of Music so much. Nothing but Rap & Crap on every station. bless you for this beautiful music, takes my heart back to the old days listening to this on an old Made in USA Fisher stereo Receiver.

[@marsarelan1829]

Yeah, with all this 70's nostalgia and Vaporwave music going on, you'd think the BM format would come back to life.

[@hollywoodfinch]

Hi Kinseydsp! You will be able to hear the beautiful music like this -- just type in: Michael Plott radio. A message from the boss. I am adding lots of hard-to find Beautiful Music.

[@hollywoodfinch]

@@marsarelan1829 Hi Marsa! you'll hear lots of this Beautiful Music and the hard-to-find music on: Michael Plott radio. A message from the boss.

[@68wrko]

We were lucky in the 70's in Southern & Central Maine......we had "From the Top of Mt Washington WHOM FM (94.9 Poland Spring, ME)......and..... FM103 All Music All The Time WGAN FM (102.9 Portland, ME). These were also the two most powerful stations in Maine & NH. Also, a short time in the early 1980s WBYC "Beautiful York County" at 94.3 (Biddeford, ME) & WWAV WAVE 100 (99.9 Lewiston, ME) for a short time in late 70's

[@pony053]

Funny, beautiful music had the highest ratings of all, but advertisers and account execs, said you couldn't sell time, the audience was just dying.....Audience didn't bury beautiful music, consultants, and young programmers did...Sad.....WVEZ played Shulke here, and we had WSCN, stereo 99....Ez was done live, WCSN was automated

[@blewis0719]

Exactly! If it wasn't cool to a 25-year-old ear, it was (and is) out. Before too long, they will say people who listening to 80s music are dying out.

[@archangel2143]

Reminder of days gone by that won’t return. The “so called artists” of today are garbage and produce nothing but an assault on people’s ears. It’s even hard to find an oldies station anymore. I live in the metro Atlanta area and there are no decent music radio stations here. Thankfully the YT videos that have recordings like these are still around. I grew up listening to WRFM in New York and almost cried the day they switched their format. Beautiful memories of childhood and my teen years.

[@scottbailey1560]

There is a LPFM in Murfreesboro, TN doing this Format. They did have a website and was streaming on line. Back some years ago, I was looking for some of the Reel to Reel tapes of this format because I was going to get a hand me down Shaffer Automation System to play with. That didn't happen. You can't find this anywhere anymore, except maybe XM/Sirus, and then again, it's not the same I remember as a kid. In addition, the Religious Big Time Operators are buying up the FM Band too.

[@Catloverplayer]

I've been told a new beautiful music station has popped up in Wisconsin and it plays music like this station and the classic WPAT.

[@Catloverplayer]

@@scottbailey1560 Yes SiriusXm does have beautiful music. The station is called Escape. That station is why I have SiriusXm.

[@hollywoodfinch]

Hi Archangel214! I am playing this kind of Beautiful Music--those hard-to-find recordings...Type in: Michael Plott radio. A message from the boss...and check it out!

[@Sailormac2]

There’s a non commercial station in Killeen, TX called KNCT that does this format still. If you have an iPhone, they even have their own app!

[@JosephPratt1986]

Ted Sohier, who now works at WQED-FM in Pittsburgh, is doing one of the commercials in this aircheck!

[@JOHNSTIER23]

Christmas music was great the true holiday season sounds

[@edwardtrunk896]

Marsa, this great music format disappeared in South Florida twenty six years ago. I miss it a great deal. Thanks for this. My elderly mother also enjoy it.

[@marc108]

Try 100.3 out of North Palm Beach

[@arroyo7881]

I love this muisc

[@Catloverplayer]

Google apparently doesn't like beautiful music by complaining about copy rights.

[@agoogleabuser1233]

I feel as if I need to turn the dial left to right just to get it to stop the distortion.

[@eriklindgren1980]

Crow your performance of Michelle is by The Sounds Of Now & Then an exclusive performance commissioned by Jim Schulkie. Seek American Beautiful Research for some insight into these fine early custom performances. This particular orchestra was indeed American.

[@eriklindgren1980]

"All Music All The Time.."

[@70sleftover]

"All Day. All Night. Alllll NICE. Wish. WWSH. Stereo 106."

[@lisaruess7691]

Where are the tapes that WWSH used to play? Is there a way to get copies? This was terrific music!

[@colea2649]

I agree I want a tape of this music to listen to when I go to sleep

[@lisaruess7691]

@@colea2649 let me know if you find them!

[@colea2649]

@@lisaruess7691 ok

[@blewis0719]

Also, by the end of 2021, I plan to launch Easy 108 WKEZ on Live 365

[@JOHNSTIER23]

@@blewis0719 easy 108 beautiful music

[@edlightman4936]

also I loved to watch the Schafer and igm automation equipment work

[@themagus5906]

When I hear this music I hear the sound of a dentist's drill and my mouth aches.....

[@lisaruess7691]

I'd love to hear some more of these if you have them.

[@marsarelan1829]

Lisa Ruess I do have several more air checks from the 50s and 60s to post. It's just a matter of getting the time to scope them. I think it'll be a project for this winter. It's insane how tightly you have to scope this stuff before uploading it.

[@lisaruess7691]

Thanks, Marisa Relay! And this radio station sure was "a wish to build a dream on!"

[@markfalcon253]

Thx, its been a long time. Chalfont

[@strawberryrhubarbs]

Anyone know the song at 29:08? I think my grandmother had a windup music box that played it.

[@swallowtailbird4837]

It's called "Oh Shenandoah." An old song dating back to the early 19th century and a very popular melody.

[@70sleftover]

I was just listening to a piece of this clip posted recently by Ellis Feaster and heard "Oh, Shenandoah" and I immediately thought how we fifth graders were singing that for a school concert in honor of the Bicentennial, about that same time (had to be spring 1976). I still know many of the lyrics from all the practicing we kids had to do to get it just right!

[@eternalise]

@@swallowtailbird4837 Thank you so much! I had just heard this very song in another beautiful music aircheck and was trying to figure it out, too! I think I even commented about it :p

[@Kinseydsp]

LOVE THIS MUSIC!!!

[@clintonrazmpour174]

Do you have anymore air checks from wwsh? I really enjoyed this one.

[@marsarelan1829]

Sadly, I don't. It's funny, in the early 80's I worked overnights at one of these beauties. I never thought even once "Wow, this stuff would be awesome to listen to 38 years from now. I should record it!" Ugh.

[@dingdong--7z]

the commercial at @23:10 is amazing

[@byrd56]

+Richard Coskey But then again, what could have been more amazing, from a 1976 perspective, than Ricardo Montalban for Chrysler Cordoba, complete with Corinthian leather?

[@ChrisCromwellHP]

Pretty cool to listen to Kahn describe his favorite captains chair on board the starship Cordoba! LOL! 😀😀☺☺

[@ultimafuelie]

"KAAAAAAHHHHHHHNNNNNN"!!!!!!!!

[@aceiconia7215]

Ahhh yes, the voice that created more wet panties than any other LOL!!!!

[@dannyhaywood9999]

@@byrd56 He did Chrysler Le Baron commercials in 1981.

[@CrowTRobot-ni7zu]

I like that one that starts at 39:55. Very nice, wouldn't mind finding a nicer quality copy of it. This is a very-good copy though, considering how long ago it was made.

[@marsarelan1829]

+Crow T. Robot I always wondered; were did all those music tapes go after the format died? Thousands of stations with thousands of tapes and none of them have surfaced.

[@CrowTRobot-ni7zu]

+Marisa Relay I remember there being an aircheck on Detroit Radio Flashbacks a long time ago from WWJ-FM 97 that was unlike anything I had ever heard. There were no full songs on it, but what you could hear told you that it was no ordinary BM station. The atmosphere of FM 97 was almost hypnotic. I would love to hear that aircheck again, if only that site would post it again.

[@marsarelan1829]

That sounds really interesting. I wonder if they were doing an experiment.

[@70sleftover]

+Crow T. Robot That's clearly one of the most covered tunes by The Beatles' - Michelle, but which one of the thousand or so? My first thought is it's a European arranger, based on the instruments featured.

[@CrowTRobot-ni7zu]

70sleftover I figured out after commenting that it was "Michelle."

[@drh4683]

who's version of "A Walk In The Black Forest" is that at 8:50?

[@FrankDiMaria]

thanks for giving the name of the song! looked around a bit on youtube and could not find the same version, but will keep looking...

[@OBC-radio]

drh4683 anyone figure it out? Spiffy version

[@danbeach8057]

I found it! It's Marty Gold and his Orchestra, and it's from 1965.

[@ApartmentKing66]

I don't know why they didn't just play the original Horst Jankowski version. It could be considered "Easy Listening" too.

[@lazydaisydays]

Love this ; it takes me back :) who sings "a time for love"?

[@marsarelan1829]

Good question. A lot of this music was made by session musicians...

[@Catloverplayer]

It sounds like the Johnny Mann Singers.

[@mikeplott292]

Cool!

[@Catloverplayer]

2nd Song The Night Was Made For Love by Percy Faith in my opinion the King of Beautiful Music.

[@Catloverplayer]

Unfortuanly this song is out of print. Taragon Records revived it for a short time on cd with Exotic Strings but the cds went out of print. Collectibles did all of Faith's albums except Exotic Strings which is unfortuanate. Some people are asking over $500 to get this thru 3rd sellers on amazon.

[@joedefelice7001]

Does anyone know who the vocal group is at 11:10?? Beautiful!!

[@Fool3SufferingFools]

Ray Charles Singers

[@joedefelice7001]

@@Fool3SufferingFools Many thanks👍

[@ladd9114]

Anyone from Oneohtrix Point Never? or something related to Vaporwave?

[@igetit1834]

I’m 47 and I remember sleeping at my nans 3 miles north of Boston looking out the window on 3rd floor (way past my bedtime ) while WSsh/Wjib played on the bright Orange light alarm clock radio @ The Boston Skyline ..I’m so grateful for those times

[@20035079]

i got into this whole thing via mallsoft & vaporwave yeah

[@shimek1920]

Does anyone know the title of the tune that begins at about 8:47?

[@debmar5771]

It has the words "Black Forest." "A Walk through the Black Forest," I think.

[@ApartmentKing66]

@@debmar5771 Correct, although the preposition is "in" rather than "through," but correct.

[@shimek1920]

Thank you. This was a quintessential "beautiful music" tune.

[@JackT_Music_on_Vinyl]

I worked weekends for a few months in 81 but that automation pic is not what we had at that time.

[@ConradMason-ei8hm]

Please post more of this station or where the tapes are available.

[@michaeladamcik7475]

What is WWSH these days? Also WFMZ FM was BM

[@clintonrazmpour174]

Michael Adamcik WWSH is now WISX 106.1 the breeze which plays Soft AC

[@70sleftover]

@@clintonrazmpour174 It seems Philadelphia's 106 periodically returns to the latest variation on this format, sort of like the next generation's version of what was Beautiful Music of the late '60s-1980s. Remember its stint as Smooth Jazz WJJZ 106.1 FM in the 1990s? I mean, WISX "The Breeze" claims to be relaxing music now, as much as all that '90s stuff doesn't exactly relax (i.e. put me to sleep) like its original format here does!

[@eriklindgren1980]

S.R.P.

[@Catloverplayer]

What's the song and artist at 52:54?

[@mikeplott292]

That is Theme from La Strada by William Russell Watrous with the Richard Behrke Strings. The release date is 1968 and is out-of-print.

[@Catloverplayer]

Thank you.

[@johnstier5719]

Somewhere I have heard of mr colflesh

[@70sleftover]

Me, too. J. Byron Colflesh - real estate agent and auto salesman? Signs in the Bux-Mont area back in the early 1980s?

[@edlightman4936]

I always listened to wkjf 93.7 ,wwsw am & fm in Pittsburgh pa. and wloa am & fm in braddock pa. I heard of 2 different reasons the bm format died couldn't sell it no more . and there was a gentlemen's agreement with npr to stop the bm format so they would not steal listeners from there classical music format

[@70sleftover]

Couldn't sell (remember how few the commercial breaks were and how these stations traded on that?), its demographic aged and/or got tired of it as more options in radio became available (how many middle-aged men turned to sports talk in the 1980s?). There was a lot less competition when these stations were at their peak, and owning an FM station was cheap compared to AM. Ellis Feaster pointed out that back before the mid-80s and '90s consolidation of ownership began, a station often reflected the taste of its owner, and a lot of these Beautiful Music stations were owned by older men who liked a good instrumental played in high quality stereo! Also, the Beautiful Music stations sounded great on FM stereo receivers at home and in cars that had them, when stereo broadcasting was rare except for these and perhaps classical FM stations. FM was lost in AM's shadow until about 1976, as FM stereo receivers became more common and even pop and rock music was produced with stereo playback in mind, and FM (finally) became the radio band with all the popular music formats competing for younger listeners.

[@debmar5771]

Does anyone know the song that starts at around 43:07? It comes on after "Michelle."

[@mdumas43073]

"Sweet Maria" - Lenny Dee

[@debmar5771]

@@mdumas43073 Thank you!!!!! Sorry I didn't see this until just now!!!

[@reallyrarestuff]

What service was this? Bonneville, Schulke, etc?

[@marsarelan1829]

+reallyrarestuff I'm guessing Bonneville since it's from 76.

[@70sleftover]

+Marisa Relay You might want to check out the summarized history of 106.1 FM in Phila. at www.angelfire.com/nj2/piratejim/phillyfmhistory2.html The website says that after the original station WQAL was sold to United Artists in the fall of 1970, "Easy listening music was then supplied to the station on over 600 reels of audio tape by the SRP Company." It goes on to say "Nels Hobdell, operations manager of WWSH during much of the 1970's, recalls the idiosyncrasies of this format and its creator, Jim Schulke.."

[@reallyrarestuff]

+70sleftover With programming by Phil Stout

[@marsarelan1829]

+70sleftover I will check it out. Thank you!