MTV had already started, but Top 40 radio had hit a slump as the 1980s began. Then along came the pop infusion of 1983. That winter I handled lots of fill-ins on WNVR, a Top 40 AM station practically across the street from my apartment in Naugatuck, CT. It was a great little station, even if it was "revenue challenged." By that spring I found a full-time radio gig 42 miles down the highway at WLYQ/Norwalk. "Q96" was also Top 40, but it had been all automated up to that point sounding exactly like Q105/New London did in its pre-live announcer early days. At first it seemed inconsistent coming out of a six hour midday show with a recorded, robotic and generic announcer into a live and local, afternoon show, but as the automation was cut back the "Q" really came alive. Q96 had the new music of 1983 on its side, as new artists like Bryan Adams and Duran Duran shared the airwaves with established icons who really hit their stride. David Bowie and Michael Jackson come to mind. I remember during my brief tenure in mornings getting a wakeup call from the overnight guy saying I might want to get in earlier since the Connecticut Turnpike's Mianus River Bridge had collapsed. Of course, Fairfield County's Q96 couldn't keep its Top 40 exclusivity long with this wealth of new music as New York's powerhouses WPLJ and WHTZ (the legendary Z100) joined the fray from less than forty miles away. KC101/New Haven also got more Top 40 and less adult contemporary. The "Q" began to attract some impressive Top 40 talent, many making it to the big time in NYC, Boston and beyond. As the presentation got more high energy, I found a spot that matched my more adult style next door at sister station WNLK-AM 1350. WNLK had a great news department. When I didn't get the program director job there, I went up Route 7 to take the PD job in Danbury. All in all, my Norwalk excursion was a positive one. Owner Mike Hanson once told me, "I hire good people and let them do their jobs." That simple philosophy says a lot.
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