Welcome to your trip back to the 1980s! Get ready for a journey through the history of Top 40 radio from the entire decade!
How did pop music change through the 1980s? How did the style of Top 40 radio change through the decade? Listen for yourself right here!
I have created an audio time capsule of 1980s Top 40 radio. Beginning with January 1980 and ending with December 1989, I have clipped together a different 10-minute unscoped aircheck of a Top 40 (CHR) station from each month to experience the evolution of radio and hit music through the decade.
In total, this is a 20-hour listening experience, but I have uploaded each year individually to allow for more convenient listening. Each year is approximately two hours. You will hear 10 uninterrupted minutes of an aircheck from January of that year, followed by 10 minutes from February from another station and so on through December. I’ve also listed the airchecks contained in each file. Also, while you’re listening, check out the gallery of station logos below.
1980
WABC New York – “77 WABC” – 1/9/80 – Howard Hoffman
KFI Los Angeles – “64 KFI” – 2/20/80 – Doug Banks
KILT Houston – 3/25/80 – Captain Jack
WAQY Springfield, MA – “Wacky 102″ – 4/6/80 – Ken Gilbert
WKRQ Cincinnati – “Q102” – 5/8/80 – Mike Roberts
WPGC-FM Washington – 6/25/80 – Don Geronimo
WLS Chicago – 7/1/80 – John Landecker
WPIX New York – “The New 102” – 8/6/80 – David Walker
KHJ Los Angeles – “93 KHJ” – 9/3/80 – Terry Moreno
KHJ Los Angeles – “93 KHJ” – 10/10/80 – Danny Martinez
KFI Los Angeles – “64 KFI” – 11/30/80 – Big Ron O’ Brien
WPJB Providence – “JB105” – 12/23/80 – Mike Waite
1981
WNBC New York – “66 WNBC” – 1/9/81 – Captain Frank Reed
WINZ-FM Miami – “I95” – 2/81
WGRD Grand Rapids, MI – 3/25/81 – Ray Baker
WPRO-FM Providence – “92 PRO-FM” – 4/18/81 – Jimmy Gray
KFRC San Francisco – “610 KFRC” – 5/7/81
KWST Los Angeles – “K-West 106” – 6/25/81 – Bobby Ocean
KWIN Stockton, CA – “97.7 K-Win” – 7/13/81
KIQQ Los Angeles – “100 FM KIQQ” – 8/25/81 – Tom Murray
WCAU-FM Philadelphia – “98 Now” – 9/25/81 – Terry Young
KIIS Los Angeles – “102.7 Kiss FM” – 10/28/81 – Mike Wagner
WIFI Philadelphia – “WIFI 92” – 11/25/81 – Liz Kiley
WCAU-FM Philadelphia – “98 Now” – 12/8/81 – Todd Parker
1982
WCAU-FM Philadelphia – “98 Now” – 1/2/82
KWST Los Angeles – “K-West 106” – 2/18/82 – Bobby Ocean
KMCK Fayetteville, AR – “K106” – 3/21/82
WTIC-FM Hartford – “96 TIC-FM” – 4/17/82 – Gary Craig
WHFM Rochester, NY – “FM 99” – 5/82 – Marc Cronin
WBBM-FM Chicago – “96 Now” – 6/3/82 – Dave Robbins
WGCL Cleveland – “98 WGCL” – 7/31/82 – Jay Stone
WBBM-FM Chicago – “96 Now” – 8/19/82 – Bob Lewis
WDOQ Daytona Beach, FL – “Q102″ – 9/82
WKRZ Scranton, Wilkes-Barrie, PA – 10/30/82 – Jumpin Jeff Walker
WCAU-FM Philadelphia – “98 Now” – 11/26/82 – Bob Garret
WBBM-FM Chicago, “96 FM″ – 12/82 – Joe Dawson
1983
WRQX Washington – “Q107” – 1/1/83
WHYI Miami – “Y100” – 2/5/83 – Don Cox
WINZ-FM Miami – “I95″ – 3/25/83 – Earl The Pearl
KITS San Francisco – “105 KITS” – 4/27/83 – Richard Sands
WKXY Sarasota, FL – “93 KXY” – 5/12/83 – Jay Thompson
WBBM-FM Chicago – “B96” – 6/1/83 – Tomm Rivers
WPLJ New York – “95.5 WPLJ” – 7/30/83 – Dave Charity
WHTZ New York – “Z100” – 8/2/83 – First day as Z100
KKHR Los Angeles – “Hitradio 93” – 9/26/83 – Lou Simon
WQXI-FM Atlanta – “94Q” – 10/3/83 – Gary McKee
WCAU-FM Philadelphia – “98 WCAU” – 11/20/83 – Bill O’Brien
WPRO-FM Providence – “92 PRO-FM” – 12/83 – Tony Mascaro
1984
WCAU-FM Philadelphia – “98 WCAU” – 1/8/84
WRBQ-FM Tampa – “Q105″ – 2/25/84 – Alan Kabel
WBBM-FM Chicago – “B96” – 3/19/84 – Dick Biondi
KCMQ Columbia, MO – “Q97″ – 4/84
KKHR Los Angeles – “Hitradio 93” – 5/8/84 – Jackson Armstrong
KKHR Los Angeles – “Hitradio 93” – 6/28/84 – Jackson Armstrong
KYUU San Francisco – “KYUU”(99.7) – 7/13/84 – Bobby Ocean
KMEL San Francisco – “106 KMEL” – 8/25/84 – First day w/format launch
WBBM-FM Chicago – “B96” – 9/18/84 – Joe Dawson
WAGO Chicago – “G106” – 10/19/84 – John Landecker
WHTZ New York – “Z100” – 11/4/84 – Shadow Stevens
WBBM-FM Chicago – “B96” – 12/30/84 – Joe Bohannon
1985
WKTU New York – “92 KTU” – 1/14/85 – Dan Ingram
WPRO-FM Providence – “92 PRO-FM” – 2/85
WHTZ New York – “Z100” – 3/18/85 – Shadow Stevens.
WPJB Providence – “All Hit 105″ – 4/7/85 – Neil Sullivan
WCAU-FM Philadelphia – “98 WCAU” – 5/26/85
KIIS-FM Los Angeles – “102.7 Kiss FM” – 6/11/85 – Ron O’Brien.
WPLJ New York – “Power 95” – 7/24/85 – Pat St. John
KKHR Los Angeles – “Hitradio 93” – 8/21/85 – Mark Hansen
WAPP New York – “Hot 103” – 9/16/85 – Allen Beebe
KKHR Los Angeles – “Hitradio 93” – 10/24/85 – The Slim One (Leslie Nelson)
WCZY Detroit – “Z95.5” – 11/2/85 – Doug Dunbar
KWOD Sacramento – “KWOD 106” – 12/27/85 – Terry Steel
1986
WRBQ-FM Tampa – “Q105″ – 1/1/86 – Shauna Stevens, Jon Anthony
WTIC-FM Hartford – “96 TIC-FM” – 2/19/86 – Mike West
WYTZ Chicago – “Z95” – 3/86 – Paul Gardner
WAPP New York – “Hot 103” – 4/86 – Kelly West
KZPS Dallas – “Z92.5” – 5/18/86 – The Nightcrawler
WBZZ Pittsburgh – “B94” – 6/3/86
WAPE Jacksonville – “Power 95” – 7/26/86 – The Roman Ruler
WBBM-FM Chicago – “B96” – 8/16/86 – Joe Bohannon
WHTZ New York – “Z100” – 9/23/86 – JJ Walker
KIIS-FM Los Angeles – “102.7 Kiss FM” – 10/7/86 – Ron O’Brien
WYHY Nashville – “Y107” – 11/86 – Eric Page (Pager)
WCAU-FM Philadelphia – “98 WCAU” – 12/26/86
1987
WBMW Washington – “B106” – 1/15/87 – Marty Dempsey
KHTR St. Louis – “103.3 KHTR” – 2/19/87 – Chuck Buell
WHYI Miami – “Y100” – 3/18/87 – Rick Stacy
KHYI Dallas – “Y95” – 4/87 – Shadow Hayes
WHYT Detroit – “Power 96” – 5/22/87 – Michael Waite
WHTZ New York – “Z100″ – 6/9/87 – Matt Allen
WPLJ New York – “Power 95” – 7/12/87 – Pat St. John.
WZGC Atlanta – “Z93” – 8/87
KIIS-FM Los Angeles – “102.7 Kiss FM” 9/9/87 – Liz Fulton/Rick Dees
KKLQ San Diego – “Q106” – 10/21/87 – Jojo Kincaid
WPLJ New York – “Power 95” – 11/20/87 – Jim Kerr
WYTZ Chicago – “Z95” – 12/87 – Alan Kabel
1988
WYTZ Chicago -“Z95” – 1/30/88 – Diane Banks
WHQT Miami – “Hot 105” – 2/88
KKFR Phoenix – “92.3 KKFR” – 3/8/88 – Howard Hoffman
KIIS-FM Los Angeles – “102.7 Kiss FM” – 4/4/88 – Rick Dees
KIIS-FM Los Angeles – “102.7 Kiss FM” – 5/26/88 – MG Kelly
WAEB-FM Allentown, PA – “Laser 104.1”- 6/88 – Jefferson Ward
WYTZ Chicago – “Z95” – 7/29/88 – Brant Miller
WPHR Cleveland – “Power 108” – 8/88 – Mark Allen
WXXX Burlington, VT – “95 Triple X” – 9/30/88 – The Wild One
WRBQ-FM Tampa – “Q105″ – 10/31/88 – Brian Christopher
WHTZ New York – “Z100” – 11/29/88 – Kidd Kelly
WZGC Atlanta – “Z93” – 12/31/88
1989
WYTZ Chicago – “Z95” – 1/89 – Diane Banks
KHYI Dallas – “Y95” – 2/3/89 – JD Ryan
WAPW Atlanta – “Power 99″ – 3/89
WPGC-FM Washington – “WPGC 95” – 4/4/89 – Albie Dee
WBZZ Pittsburgh – “B94” – 5/89
KQLZ Los Angeles – “Pirate Radio 100.3” – 6/19/89 – Scott Shannon
WHYT Detroit – “Power 96″ – 7/21/89
WSRZ Sarasota, FL – “Z106″ – 8/89 – Scott Chase.
WFLZ Tampa – “Power 93, The Power Pig” – 9/25/89 – Format launch (Restored)
WHLY Orlando – “Y106” – 10/13/89 – Shadow Stevens.
KEGL Dallas – “97.1 KEGL” – 11/20/89
WYHY Nashville – “Y107” – 12/26/89
Logo Gallery
Thank you for listening to The Aircheck Time Machine Project! I’d love to hear your thoughts, comments, and memories.