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# 1 in Chicago

fromPassing Thru

byJohn Rook

As a youngin’ growing up in the 1940’s, I spent many evenings sitting on the floor of my grandparents living room in Ohio listening to those far off radio signals of which WLS was one. I could barely reach the buttons tuned to WLS, KDKA, WSM, KWKH & WLW and was delighted when grandpa allowed me to do so, but only with him nearby to make sure I didn’t “break the radio” as he would caution. 

To this day I recall WLS, WSM and KWKH were the favorites for their Hayride or Barn Dance music featuring the top country/western singers of the day, with WLW and KDKA known for news programming. This early influence of what was called “hillbilly” music would stay with me as a programmer, as I was always interested in providing airplay to recording artists who provided a simple understandable lyric with a haunting melody.  

Imagine my excitement as a young man when I suddenly found myself being program director of KDKA’s competitor, KQV, who had its own early history starting in 1919, a year before KDKA’s. 

Having accepted the challenge to program WLS a few years later, I  remember my drive from Pittsburgh to Chicago as being flooded with memories of those days as a small tike when I listened almost every Saturday night to the National Barn Dance on WLS. 

In my time at WLS, I was always aware of the historic significance of the station and the part it played in the careers of so many major celebrities over the years. I was sad to learn that so much of the historical artifacts pertaining to WLS’s history had been simply disposed of as so much garbage. As in KQV’s case, so it was with WLS. When ABC purchased the stations, the first move under new management was to “sweep with a new broom” any reminders of the past into the dumpster.

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                               Kris Erik Stevens - WLS 1969