by Pat Jacobs

Created on: February 23, 2010

From the late 1950s through the 1960s, Top 40 AM radio ruled (The format often acted as a barometer AND arbiter of musical taste. A notable exception was the popularity of offshore pirate radio stations in the U.K., such as "Radio Caroline". These stations developed out of frustration with the must-be-approved-by-the-BBC playlists of commercial radio.)

But in 1966, there was a significant turn in the road that greatly affected American radio from then on (Top 40 seems to have weathered the storm; there's always a variation of it SOMEWHERE.)

The first FM rock station debuted in New York on July 30th-WOR-FM at 98.7. (All this came about brecause the FCC-Federal Communications Commission-declared that by Jan. 1st, 1967, all FM stations in major markets must have separate programming , those that were co-owned with AM stations.

Before this, most FM stations just simply broadcast the same thing as their AM stations; For at this time, AM was where the audience was. The FCC thought this was a waste of the air waves.)

The WOR-FM powers-that-be decided early on that rock music would be played, but there were no DJs for a few months-just music, jingles, and commercials. Why? Because AFTRA (American Federation of TV and Radio Announcers-in other words, the union!) had to work out a scale for FM DJs. Then on Oct. 8th, everything came together; the DJ lineup debuted. Radio would never be the same.

On AM, particularly the top 40 format, a typical program would not only consist of playing the top forty hit singles as rated by Billboard or from the station's own charts of local top-sellers, but jingles, promotions, gags, call-ins and requests, time and weather announcements, advertising (very important), and of course, the hyperexcited DJ.

WOR on FM was very different; the music sounded clearer and some was in stereo. The DJs were low-keyed and "quiet" (Several of the DJs, such as the legendary Murray the K, had previously worked at AM top 40 stations.) WOR-FM soon caught on with the college crowd, and the station became "cool". And highly rated.

Soon, Boston and San Francisco debuted with a similar FM format. By 1968, FM stations were everywhere. Some played top 40, but others, like San Francisco's KMPX played rock album cuts.

And other new formats developed. There was Freeform: a DJ was given total control over what music to play, regardless of what genre or commercial interests (In the U.S., the DJs were still under FCC regulations, however.) The first freeform program was "Nightsounds"

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