I miss AM Top 40 radio! Ever since the mid 60s, Top 40 was a BIG part of my life. As a teenager, I lived to hear the excitement of a good Top 40 radio station. For me. that happened in 1964 when 10000 watt WNOX in Knoxville switched from an AOR (All over the road) format to a format that had been developed by KLIF in Dallas. This was shortly after the British invasion and the Beatles swept America the previous year. WNOX had the loudest signal in East Tennessee. It could be heard during the daytime in most towns 60 to 70 miles away and at night that 10000 watt signal could be heard on the Carolina coast, as well as the Gulf coast! That was the power of AM radio! And, because WNOX was on the Canadian frequency of 990 kilohertz it sounded like 50000 watts. Soon after WNOX switched to the Top 40 format other stations in larger cities like Chicago and Pittsburgh made the switch. WLS became the nation's Top 40 Giant covering most of America with its 50000 watt signal at 890 kilohertz! Also. WOWO, Fort Wayne had mass appeal with their 50000 watt signal at 1190. Another radio station operating at only 5,000 watts was WABB, Mobile, Alabama! Their signal at 1480 went into Cuba at night!! But, as 1970 rolled around things began to change with the FCC pushing FM and treating AM as a stepchild. Soon FM stations started playing Top 40 music which led to AM listenership declining. For yours truly, that was a very sad time!!!
