Retro Rust Belt Radio

​

Although this all starts out focused on classic rock music from the old vinyl 45's and LP's I found layin around the basement as a kid, the reality is that it all actually started with the radio. Way back then, radio was still king. It was ubiquitous. About the only public place the radio wasn't on all the time in the background was at church, school, or a restaurant. I think it was all the musical evolution and genre morphing of the time that kept radio out front for so long, like I keep talking about.

It would be a long time before there was such a thing as classic rock radio, classic rock music, or classic rock anything really. This is when it was all actually being made, so it was still just called the radio. Some of the most legendary rock artists ever were emerging with some of the best songs of the 70s, and quite literally some the best songs of all time, period. It wasn't just rock n roll either. It was such an epic time that all music was fusing, evolving or emerging. Even mainstream music was undergoing a huge transformation at the time.

WOWO 1190AM is an iconic radio station in Fort Wayne, Indiana established in the 1920’s, and still in operation today. Back in the day, it pushed 50,000 watts & you could listen to it most of the way on your road trip to Florida.

WLYV 1450AM was the first Top 40 station in Fort Wayne, and is also still operational today.

WQHK 92.7FM originally went on the air from Decatur, Indiana, as WADM-FM 92.7 on November 8, 1966. It is now known as K105 country, 105.1FM.

WMEE The WMEE calls originated in 1971 at 1380 kHz on the AM dial before switching to 97.3 FM in 1979. 97.3 FM had previously programmed beautiful music as WMEF (and originally as WKJG-FM).

There are (and probably were) many, many other stations, but these are the main ones I remember from when I was a kid back in the day.