Ever since WKBO flipped
to Top 40 in 1972, it had always been in "go" mode. Throughout its evolution,
it always managed to stay on top and keep growing. In 1978, the growth
was slowing down. The first half of 1978, it was business as usual.
January 1, 1978,
JAM Productions Positron/Logoset Jingles, the one made famous by
WABC, debuted on WKBO.
JAM Positron
The basic lineup established
in 1976 stayed intact, as Dan Steele continued the Morning Show solo. In
March, Dan was injured during a KBO basketball game. The resulting injury
required surgery and hospitalization. So Dan broadcast the morning
show live from his hospital bed while Chris Andree manned the board back
at the studio. Chris continued to run Dan's board after he returned to
the studio until his cast was removed. During this time, Andree was behind
the console from 2 - 10 AM each day. Also, in the Spring of 1978, "Alien
Worlds", a sci-fi serial, aired Sunday nights at 10. The ratings had dipped
to a 13.5, down from a 17.7 the previous year. Still very respectable and
good for the #2 spot, but nonetheless a drop.
The second half of the year,
things began to change. In late July, John St. John, who'd been at the
station since 1973, departed for KSD in St. Louis. The "Saint" was always
one of the anchors of the station, which left a great void when he left.
In August, Mitch McKeever was hired for PM drive.
Mitch McKeever Jingles
Mitch's style was different
from St. John's. Most of the time, it sounded like he was just going through
the motions. In September, Dan got a partner on the morning show once again
as Heidi Kramer was hired from WAHT in Lebanon, PA. Although the show was
still officially known as "Steele and Company", many times they simply
referred to themselves as "Dan and Heidi". Dan and Heidi never really
clicked as well as Steele and Crissey.
Dan Steele Jingles
Competition was starting to
really grow on the FM dial. In addition to Rock 99, WSFM, there was also
Q106, WQXA in York. The station had gone live earlier in the year and now
boasted Johnny Ringo at night. In December, WQVE, QV93 (now WTPA), the
Harrisburg market's first live FM Top Forty signed on. On the AM band,
1460 WCMB had tried Top 40 earlier in the year as "Super" CMB. WFEC returned
to Top 40 briefly and then became "Disco 14". Also, WHYL had gone full
blown Top 40 as "Y96, AM radio is fun again".
WKBO Lineup Fall 1978.
. .
The Music People
Air Force
Dan Steeler and Heidi Kramer
6 - 10 am
Slim Jim Buchanan
10 - 2 pm
Mitch McKeever
2 - 6 pm
"Big" Jim Roberts
6 - 10 pm
Rick Shockley
10 - 2 am
Chris Andree
2 - 6 am
The Weekend
Warriors
Fred Adams Chris Kelly
Greg Allen
Matt Michaels Steve Orr
Ken Martin
Another change in the second
half of 1978 was that KBO began doing straight segues, with no jingle between
the songs. All through its Top 40 history, jingles were used heavily, particularly
during the Musicradio phase. They were used out of every stopset, of which
there could be as many 7 per hour. They were used at the quarter hours
and half hour (usually a "best music" jingle into a gold song). There
was a Legal I.D. jingle, Jock Jingle between the first and second songs
of the hour, out of news jingles, spot busters, and even custom jingles
for American Top 40 and Woody Himmelberger.
Woody Himmelberger Jingles
Woody Himmelberger was a Pennsylvania
Dutch character created by Jim Buchanan, who would rip the calendar page
each weekday morning. Cold Segues were never a part of KBO up to that point
and sounded more than a little strange at first. They were most likely
instituted to sound a bit more hip and less cluttered in comparison to
the FM competition. Some of the other jingles were eliminated, too including
the spot busters and out of news jingles.
Also, stopsets were consolidated
and news was moved from :15 and :45 to :25 and :55.
In the
Fall of 1978, WKBO received national television exposure. The CBS kids
news magazine "30 Minutes" that aired on Saturday afternoons, featured
Dan Steele as it documented the "win a date win Shaun Cassidy" contest
the station had done earlier that year.
Dan Steeler and Heidi Kramer