May 2, 1960. It wasn't just any day, it was the rebirth of a legend. W L S. It was a little nerve-racking for a couple of reasons. For one, the Prairie Farmer audience was not the audience WLS would be pursuing. Paul Harvey (in the "no" column) once said WLS played "Jungle Music"!
The other thing was making a good impression on a brand new audience.
WLS was much more than the front men and women behind the microphone. WLS was a well-oiled machine from an engineering staff that kept us on the air (and awake!), to the sales people who brought in money to keep that 50,000 watt transmitter's electric bill paid. A major wheel in the machine, the people in programming and promotion were some of the brightest minds for "the bright new sound." It takes a lot of people to make everything work with tasks that only an office assistant (once called "secretary") could tackle. No disrespect, but have you ever seen a sales guy try to work a copy machine? Priceless.
This is just a thumbnail commemorating the most influential radio station in American history. In each of its several existences, there are extended family ties through generations. The WLS 1960-1985 Family is a group of individuals who are best of the best, good people, each with talents and skills that made it legendary. Not everyone had the opportunity to work at WLS but there were many who wanted to work there. To be a part of the WLS legend puts each of us in a unique place in Broadcast History. We hope you enjoy the memories on this page and, hopefully, it helps bring back some of your own memories.
Here is the full page ad that ran in the Chicago Tribune on May 2, 1960, the day WLS' "Bright New Sound" hit the airwaves.
Below is a show that first aired on WLS in 1985
as we celebrated 25 Years of Rock and Roll.
