Thread by @stevenportnoy

And now, a tip o' the mic... as the radio community says goodbye this week to WPLJ New York.

What follows is a thread in tribute to one of America's great stations.

From "New York's Best Rock" to "Power 95," from "Mojo Radio" to modern variety, WPLJ has entertained tens of millions of listeners, including this one.

Now, some history.

Believe it or not, ABC's venerable FM flagship was born at 30 Rockefeller Plaza as the FM sister of Blue Network flagship, WJZ, which you know today as @77WABCradio.

(The stations moved to 66th St, then 1926 Broadway, then 1330 Ave of the Americas, and finally, 2 Penn Plaza.)

BTW, legend has it that some of the duct work for the wiring of the WPLJ transmitter at the top of the Empire State Building is still labeled "WJZ-FM."

Even though those call letters left New York in 1953...

The station, at 95.5 MHz, served through the late 1960s as an FM simulcast of WABC-AM, also offering listeners a mix of Broadway and movie showtunes in stereo. ("Your Stage Show Station.")

In 1969, the ABC-owned FM stations, including WABC-FM (at "95-and-a-Half"), all aired an automated rock format called "Love," hosted by a deep-voiced DJ who called himself Brother John.

soundcloud.com/producer-linds…

In 1971, the station became WPLJ, named after the 1950's Four Duces song, "White Port Lemon Juice."

Through the '70s, WPLJ played "New York's Best Rock," vying for dominance over New York's album/progressive rock audience with Metromedia's WNEW-FM.

In 1983, a year after sister WABC turned to talk, WPLJ re-aimed for younger listeners by becoming a Top 40 station -- "Hitradio 95."

A couple years later, the moniker became "Power 95."

"Power 95" had the first promotion I remember taking part in -- I insisted my mom take me to the Woodbridge Center Mall, so I could try to find the "WPLJ Free Money Man."

(To win, you had to go up to strangers and ask if they were the guy. Not a great concept, in retrospect.)

There was an intense rivalry in the '80s between WPLJ and crosstown rival Z100.

Here's the sound I remember hearing on 'PLJ, back in 1986.

In 1991, ABC tweaked the format, changed the moniker to "Mojo Radio" (which I still don't get) and hired Scott Shannon as PD.

The Z100 creator found an interesting way to debut the rebranding...

The station hit a modern stride when it became a hot adult contemporary station, "95-5 PLJ." Scott Shannon was paired with Todd Pettingill in mornings.

WPLJ changed hands a few times, from ABC to Citadel to Cumulus. Revenues declined. Staffers departed.

And now... it's been sold to the Electronic Media Foundation. New York's 95.5 FM is soon to become a K-Love station.

Goodbye, WPLJ.

Thanks for the many great memories.

AND, of course...

Best wishes to all my dear friends at WRQX Mix 107.3, another of America’s great stations that signs off today.

Thanks for decades of service to Greater Washington ... and for including the WMAL newsroom in all those Free-for-All Fridays.