WEZB

WEZB, aka B-97 today, is a mainstream Contemporary hit radio (CHR or "Top 40") radio station in New Orleans, Louisiana. The station is owned by Entercom and they broadcast their format at 97.1 MHz with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 99 kW. The station broadcasts in high definition through two stations, HD-1 (WEZB-HD, New Orleans) and HD-2 Rhythmic Contemporary.

History

According to the broadcasting yearbooks, on September 1, 1945, 97.1 signed on the air. This was WRCM, the FM simulcast of WJMR-AM 990 and sister to WJMR-TV 12 (later WVUE-TV channel 8), all owned by George J. Mayoral. Then, around 1966/67 after the TV station had already been sold, Supreme Broadcasting Company bought the two radio stations and changed the call letters to WNNR AM & FM. At the time, the station was located in the Jung Hotel at 1500 Canal Street in downtown New Orleans. It broadcasted a forward power of only 20,500 watts from an antenna 310 feet atop the building.

On January 2, 1972, EZ Communications acquired the FM station and this is when it became WEZB, part of a chain of Beautiful Music stations (WEZC Charlotte, WEZR Washington, et al) owned by EZ. It was never very successful against formidable competition in that format. Briefly in the 1970s when disco became a popular genre, it became "Disco 97" on Thursday, February 8, 1979, but failed shortly after. "We had a big party in the Atrium at the Hyatt (Regency Hotel)" says Jim Roberts, B-97's first B-Jock (disc jockey). "Baby New Year was dropped from the ceiling and we switched over from 'FM-97 Rhythm of the City' to the new 'B-97FM.'"^[1] According to "Jack Da Wack," who was also one of B-97's first B-Jocks, in early November 1979, the station slowly started to work more and more Top 40 music into rotation. By the end of that year, the staff was ready for the format change to B-97FM. This station would be a popular Top 40 outlet for years to come; much like "The Mighty 690, WTIX-AM" was in the 1960s and 1970s.

Kent Burkhart, consultant to EZ Communications at the time, states on his website ^[2] that Dan Vallie was hired on by the company to change the ailing format of WEZB from disco/dance to Top 40. Over the years, the name went through minor changes (i.e. "B-97FM," "B-97," "97.1 The New B-97," etc), the transmitting power was increased, and the antenna was moved to a taller location. Currently, many New Orleanians know B-97 as a well-known and established radio station playing the hits.

To note, WEZB has been a prominent Top 40 radio broadcast station in the New Orleans, LA metropolitan area for a little over 30 years, except for two brief, failed experiments. The first format change was a decision by now defunct EZ Communications, in which the station changed to a News/Hot Talk format in the summer of 1994. The decision to return to a music format came in June 1996, in which the station played Billy Ray Cyrus' "Achy Breaky Heart" repeatedly for one hour. After that hour ended, the station returned as an Adult Top 40/Hot AC format using the same name "B-97," and kicking it off with Hootie and the Blowfish "Only Wanna Be With You." Finally, on July 26, 1998, B-97 fully evolved back to it's heritage Top 40/CHR format. To add, the station became more Rhythmic in its musical approach before making the shift in 2002, back to its current, true Top 40 approach.

Hurricane Katrina

WEZB was also a member of the United Radio Broadcasters of New Orleans, an alliance of broadcast stations formed by the joint ventures of WEZB's parent company, Entercom Communications with Clear Channel Communications, during Hurricane Katrina in September 2005.

Current programming and hosts

Programming

• Syndicated Kidd Kraddick in the Morning (morning show airing 5am-10am Monday - Friday)
• The iPod Shuffle (midday show, noon-1 pm playing music from the late 1980s - 1990s and current music, including requests) (live & local)
• The Big Fat 8 @ 8 (Monday-Friday, beginning at 8 pm) (live & local)
• Friday Five O'Clock Free-For-All (old school tunes airing Friday afternoons at quitting time, 5 pm) (live & local)
• BackTrax USA with Kid Kelly (1990s version airing Saturday mornings 6 am-8 am) (1980s version airing Sunday mornings 7 am-9 am)
• Fox All Access (countdown show airing Saturday mornings 8 am-10 am)
• Supermixx Mainstream (mix show airing 8pm-12am Saturday nights) (hosted live & locally)
• Hollywood Hamilton's Weekend Top 30 (countdown show airing Sunday mornings 9 am-noon)
• Sunday Night Slow-Motion (all request/dedication show airing Sunday nights 8 pm-midnight) (live & local)

On-air staff

• Jammer (Programming Director and middays)
• The Afternoon Swirl (T-Pot & Stevie G.)
• Speedy (weeknights 7p till 12a now co-host of "Sunday Night Slow-Motion")
• Lil Tony (part-time weekends Sundays 12pm-4pm)
• Coty (part-time weekends)
• Johnny (Promotions Director for B97)
• Jenna Jordan (part-time & host of "Sunday Night Slow-Motion")
• Duncan James (part-time weekends)
• Annette Wade (webmaster & fill-in DJ)
• Christy
• Ian (the Video Guy)

Past programming and staff

Past programming

• Scott Shannon's Rockin' America Top 30 Countdown
• Countdown USA with Dave Sholin
• American Top 40 (AT 40) with Casey Kasem
• Casey's Top 40 with Casey Kasem
• American Top 40 (AT 40) with Ryan Seacrest
• Rick Dees & The Weekly Top 40
• Hollywood Hamilton's Rhythm Countdown
• BackTrax USA with Kid Kelly (1980s & 1990s versions)
• Friday Five O'Clock Whistle (circa 1986) (party music; upbeat, high energy songs from the 80's & 70's)
• Friday Five O'Clock Free-For-All (1980s show from 5 pm-7 pm; later evolved into "Fat City Friday Night's")
• Fat City Friday Night's (live from Kenny's Key West, Metairie, LA)
• Saturday Night Throwdown (mix show; aired on Saturday nights)
• Sunday Night Dedication Party (aired live from Bart's on the Lake, New Orleans, LA)
• Totally On Demand B (all request show; aired Saturday nights 8 pm-midnight)
• RadioMixes Crossover (mixshow; aired Saturday nights 8 pm-midnight)

Former on-air staff

(Many people listed below have contributed in the creation of this list)

• Jim Roberts (B-97's first B-Jock)
• John Shomby
• "Cajun" Ken Cooper
• Cami McCormick (news director & host of the "B-97 60-Second News Update;" worked along side with "Cajun" Ken Cooper in the mornings, and later "Walton & Johnson." Left for Moscow in 1991 to do an all-English radio show until its end in 1994, then became a CNN reporter. Now a dedicated journalist with CBS news. Received three Edward R. Murrow awards, as well as two Gracie Allen Awards, among others)
• Scoot in the Morning (Scott Paisant)
• Boomer (hosted "Top 8 at 8", and "Boomer's Rumors")(Later at 93Q KKBQ Houston and one of original DJ's (Jon Paul West) at MIX 96.5 KHMX with Guy Zapoleon in '90)
• "Fast" Eddie Coyle (did the 10 am-2 pm & 6 pm-10 pm time slots at B-97; now sells pre-owned cars and trucks in the Dallas, TX area)^[3]
• Jack Da Wack (One of B-97's first DJ's. Was at B-97 in 1979 right after its launch. Now at 93Q KKBQ-FM in Houston, TX)
• Brian Pierce Afternoons as "Pierceshow" (later moved to (WZOU Boston and KLUV Dallas.)
• "Skinny" Tommy Cheney (worked at WTIX-AM 690 for many years before going to FM on B-97FM. Now doing country artist promotion with the George Strait group in Nashville, TN)
• Nick Bazoo (also worked as PD at Magic 101.9 (WLMG-FM) and 92-3 The Point (WCKW-FM)
• Michael Jackson (not the singer) (probably B-97's first PD ^[4])
• Kris O'Kelly
• Ugly Jock Lousteau (worked sometime during the 1980s)
• "Walton & Johnson" in the Morning (John Walton & Steve Johnson)
• "Shadoe Stevens" (B-97 PD (1993–1995); previously from Z-100 (WHTZ-FM) in New York and Pirate Radio in Los Angeles)
• J.J. Malone (known as Geronimo since 1991 on WABB Mobile, WKXX Providence, BLS-New York, KTU-New York and SiriusXM Satellite Radio)
• Elvis Duran (doing the Z-100 Morning Zoo at Z-100 (WHTZ-FM) in New York, NY)
• Don Banks "The Fatman"
• Ross "The Boss" Cannon
• Joe Manna
• Allen "The Legend" Beebe (Maybe one of the longest running DJ's on B-97; now at Magic 93.7, WMJY-FM in Biloxi, MS)
• Bo Walker (host for the "Top 9 at 9" in the early 1990s; later at Lite 105, Lite 92.3, then at The New 99-5FM WRNO New Orleans; now Production Director at Clear Channel New Orleans)
• "Bubba" Carson (Paul Donovan; worked briefly at 101.1 WNOE-FM after a long run on B-97; now at country station KYGO, Denver)
• Kim Carson (Worked on country station 101.1 WNOE-FM New Orleans for years. Later went to B-97. Married to Bubba for a while and has her own country music band)
• The Monkey Boy (prime time host)
• Ron Carter
• Bernard "Buddy" Diliberto (did WDSU-TV 6 sports reports during the morning show with "Cajun" Ken Cooper in the 1980s; deceased)
• Bob Breck (meteorologist from WVUE-TV 8; gave daily weather reports mornings with "Cajun" Ken Cooper)
• Jeff St. John (part-time, spent many years in afternoons at KYLD San Francisco and KBIG in Los Angeles, now afternoons at Movin in SF)
• Eddie Munster
• Eddie "The Hurricane" Monson
• Cadillac Jack (one of many)
• Dave Buss (early 1990s)
• Brian Thomas (PD)
• Rob Halloway ("Rob & Robb In The Morning") (left B-97 to do mornings on MIX 104.1 (KHOM-FM)
• Scott Robb ("Rob & Robb In The Morning") (left B-97 to do mornings on MIX 104.1 (KHOM-FM); was recently working with Kidd Kraddick)
• Adam Smasher (not the "ATOM" SMASHER of Mix 104.1 (KHOM-FM)
• Charlie Matkin
• Rob Waggman (PD & Afternoon DJ, now APD/MD at WXRK/92-3 NOW FM in New York)
• Regular Joe (PD & DJ)
• Ted Kelly (now runs a website for Christian radio HisAir.Net [1]
• Cheryl Robichaux (was on the morning show at 94.5 KSMB-FM, Lafayette, LA, now Editor of Acadiana LifeStyle magazine in her hometown of New Iberia, LA)
• Patty Steel (now middays at GO-FM in Biloxi; not to be confused with Patty Steele at WPLJ in NYC)
• Catfish (one of many)
• Jake "The Snake" Bowman (part-time)
• Charese Frugé (now in San Diego; was most recently PD at Star 98.7, KYSR-FM in Los Angeles. Eunice, LA is her hometown.)
• Woody
• Hollywood Harrison
• Stacey Brady (former mornings APD/MD; now hosting the morning show with Jason Ginty on Rock 92.3, WRKN-FM, New Orleans; engaged to John Marty)
• John Marty (was recently on 97.5 WABB-FM, Mobile, AL hosting the morning show "John & Q-Tip In The Morning.")
• Danny Cruz
• Janet Gross (news/traffic director & part-time DJ; later went to WVUE-TV to anchor the Saturday morning news; married to WDSU-TV news reporter Heath Allen)
• Maxwell (now on-air nights, APD for WIOQ-FM, Q102 Philadelphia, PA)
• Matt Cain (Formerly Host of The Bee Morning Buzz, now retired and is in nursing school)
• Will The Thrill (serving time in Iraq with our nations military)
• Carson (in Cincinnati, OH as PD of WKFS)
• Jason Reed (part-time and overnights; also worked for other Entercom New Orleans stations; was recently at 106.7 The Wolf KKND-FM New Orleans, LA)
• Celeste' Matthews
• Jessica Ryan (was later producing the Ron & Don Show at 106-7 The End, KKND-FM New Orleans, LA)
• "Brother" Dave Nichols
• Rikk Idol (went on to Dallas at KHKS and KRBV, later to St. Louis at KSLZ now afternoons on WILN/Island 106 in Panama City, FL and Production Director for Magic Broadcasting cluster all as Kato)
• Yvonne (part-time)
• Johnny Tyler (previously from "The Rock of New Orleans," 99.5 WRNO-FM)
• Billy Brown (now in Florida)
• Michael Bryan (former midday DJ, assistant PD, & music director; now PD of XL-106.7, WXXL-FM in Orlando, FL)
• Mike Shaft
• J.J. (did weekend overnights; most recently known as "G-Man," afternoons on Island 106 (WILN-FM), Panama City, FL)
• Robert Elfman
• John Roberts (PD, last seen as PD in Denver)
• Ted Striker (previously worked at Island 106 (WILN-FM), Panama City, FL. Worked briefly at B-97, but left to become PD of Hot 104.1 in Mobile, AL; now a full-time broker and still in radio, part-time at Kiss 106.1 Seattle, WA)
• Booker (Mornings with Booker and Brady; spent several years in mornings at WSTO, Evansville, IN; now mornings at KKHH in Houston)
• Joey Giovingo (PD responsible for the format switch from talk radio, back to music ~1996)
• Charlie Scott (retired)
• J. Love
• Tony Buonoguera (gave MetroScan traffic reports mornings with "Cajun" Ken Cooper for a number of years)
• Barry Foxx
• Anthony "Gangi" (On-Air/Promotions Director; now owns his own television production company)
• "Wankus" In The Morning
• Tom Mitchell (last seen in Las Vegas at CBS Radio)
• Bam-Bam
• Travis Torrence, the #1 Hotboy in the Crescent City (part-time; graduated from Yale Law School, and now practicing law in Texas)
• Terry "Motormouth" Young (currently a host on XM Radio's "60s at 6" Channel)
• Jason Peavy (previously worked for 102.5 WFMF Baton Rouge, and later at B-97; has now returned)
• Rick Friedman
• "The Gator" aka Larry Knight (left for Clear Channel NOLA, spent several years in nights at WWXM in Myrtle Beach, SC)
• Kim Diamond (left Lite 105, WLTS-FM New Orleans for B-97; now in the Biloxi/Gulfport area of Mississippi)
• David Marxx aka "Skid Marx" (left MIX 104.1 (KHOM-FM) for B-97; now D.K. Pierce doing Afternoons & PD at 92.9 Bass Country in Springfield, Missouri)
• Jeff Scott (PD, now NSM of Cox Radio stations in San Antonio, TX)
• Tyler (Ben Stewart) (APD, Imaging Dir, On-Air Middays 2004-2007; Writer/Host of popular podcast, "Tyler's Tinseltown Tattler".)
• Mike Kaplan (PD, now PD of sister KNDD in Seattle)
• Ron Chatman (Overnights; also producer for "Steve & Gary"; did afternoons on WRNO; now doing afternoons at WZZK/Birmingham.)
• Scotty C (Scott Chapin, Production Director, weekends, parody songs with "The Twisted Bees", later being nationally known Television News Voice Talent)

References

External links

• B97's official website
• Query the FCC's FM station database for WEZB
• Radio-Locator information on WEZB
• Query Arbitron's FM station database for WEZB
• WEZB audio clip from 1992