The video “Rock ‘n’ Roll Invaders: the AM Radio DJs” stirs memories of Chicago Top 40 radio, a bygone era marked by flamboyant and rebellious personalities and musical diversity.
“What a great time it was,” reflected Garry Meier, afternoon talk show co-host with Roe Conn on WLS-AM.
“The disk jockeys certainly had impact,” he said, “because at school, everyone would talk about what was going on at (rival stations) WCFL and WLS. They were giving us the needed information on what was going on with the music and all the groups. When The Beatles were in, the guys from CFL would hang out with them or talk with them on the phone. You had to be connected to those two stations to be cool. They were really the ambassadors of the whole culture,” and when they made personal appearances, it was a big deal.”
Top 40 radio offered an eclectic array of artists and musical styles. Thirty years ago this week, the WLS Hit Parade survey featured a range of artists from Paul Anka and Glen Campbell to the Sir Douglas Quintet and the Isley Brothers.
“The music was so diverse,” Meier said. “You were exposed to a lot of different things from R&B to pop. Now, (radio) is so specialized.”
Some teenagers listened to the music and were inspired to form a band. Others listened to the disk jockeys and were inspired to go behind a microphone.
“Larry Lujack read a letter of mine on the air and that’s what inspired me to get into radio,” Meier said. “He had a regular feature, `Klunk Letter of the Day.’ He always talked about being reincarnated as a butterfly, and one day, as fate would have it, I walked outside of my house and there was this giant dead butterfly on my front lawn. I thought immediately of sending it off to Larry and telling him I just killed one of his relatives. A couple of days later, he read it on the air. I thought, `That was pretty cool. Someday I’ve got to be on the radio and do my own material.’ Then, (years later) I ended up working with him. Talk about a strange course of events.”