Posted by Jeremy Andrews on March 11, 2013 at 18:22:28:
In Reply to: Re: WLIP Gets no Respect posted by Skeptic on March 11, 2013 at 15:52:23:
I first heard Lenny's show in the late 90s. Paul Kern (Now retired) was the morning host on the station and the co-host for Lenny's 1 hour show. Yes, it was a 1 hour show. It ran from 9AM-10AM, Paul would play 30min of music from 10-10:30 and Irene Buri-Nelson (RIP) would do her show from 10:30-11.
The show had no commercials or stopsets. They had a bunch of local sponsors who they would thank at the beginning and the end of the show.
There would be a few callers. It was always a friendly conversation. Someone said something racist once and Paul flipped out on the caller "AND I WILL NOT ALLOW THAT ON THIS RADIO STATION!!!"
Paul was conservative. Lenny was typically Libertarian as he is now. Always said he was a full time bartender.
After awhile, the show got longer. I believe it ran from 9AM-11AM with Irene's show pushed ahead 30min.
Paul left the station in 2005 when it switched from Standards to Oldies. He went to do mornings at WRJN. In return, Bill Lawrence left WRJN to do mornings where he is now. However, he did no co host the show with Lenny. By this time, Lenny was doing the show solo, from 8AM-11AM and finally 8AM-Noon when Irene passed away tragically a year later.
I have a tape of the show from sometime in March of 1999. I was only 12 at the time, but I would never miss the show.
When I was 19, I actually called into his show. The calls were live at the time. There was no delay at all. I heard myself on the radio as I was talking. It was a friendly conversation.
I saw Lenny do his show live for the station's 60th Anniversary celebration in 2007. Talked to him about the Oldies music the station played, which he loved. He changed his theme song from a Herb Alpert track to The Troggs track when the station switched to Oldies in '05
In late August-September 2007, they switched the format to almost all talk (with oldies locally programmed overnights, weekends and during Bill's show. It was slowly phased to weekends only)
Much of the programming was syndicated at first. Now they have shows like Happenings Q&A (Which I believe is brokered)
Lou does Remembering Kenosha. I don't think he gets paid. He loves to talk. And he loves Kenosha history. He does other things around the station such as the Music Of The Stars show and production and voice over. I'm guessing this show is done for fun.
Lip Off is also hosted for fun I believe. I think they still have Jim Bohannon at night. Overnights they ran replays of the daytime shows but replaced it with Overnight America from St. Louis when Westwood One merged with Dial Global. A lot of it is filler programming.
I haven't listened to the station since 2008 and I don't plan to for a long time. I just know some history here as I had been a regular listener and observer since 1995. I was 8 when I first heard the station. It ran daytime talk as well as some oldies and Brewers games when I first heard it. It switched to Adult Standards about a year later, which lasted until 2003 when they went to a Gold AC format, finally settling with ABC Oldies Radio (Now Cumulus Greatest Mojo) which is where they get the "Good Time Rock 'N roll" positioner they use during automated music hours on the weekends and prior to sports events.
On the weekends when they are not playing automated music, a lot of the shows are brokered. Plenty of Purity Products type stuff. I believe other than Terry Havel's show, The Doo Wop Diner and Jukebox Saturday Night are paid promotional/advertisements for Copy Cat Music in Racine (A music store)
Weekends they fill time by running Music Of The Stars twice. Dobie Maxwell does his show for fun, as a friend of the PD. But he likes what he does so I'm not complaining. I just can't bring myself to listen to the station.
I believe the station is cursed. I have OCD, as well as some PTSD in regards to certain events that my mind associates with listening to the station. It seems like reality to me, it might be reality, who knows, so I avoid it like the plague. I'm also not a huge fan of talk radio.
I miss the station, but I can't do it anymore. Plus the PD is a jerk. I can tell you about a text message response he sent me "take your meds" when I asked him a simple question, but I'll leave that alone.