WBBM-FM Chicago debuts its long-running Top 40 format, beginning as a
Hot Hits station called "96 Now!" In September,
WHYT Detroit also goes Hot Hits and is also known as "96 Now!"
The year brings two other significant format changes in Detroit – ailing Top 40 station
WDRQ experiences a ratings surge after adjusting its format to
urban contemporary that summer, and
WABX jettisons its long-running album-oriented/progressive rock format for a
New Wave-based CHR format called "Hot Rock."
Drake-Chenault syndicates The History of Country Music, a 52-hour country music version of the radio syndicator's successful The History of Rock and Roll. This series, identical to the rock version in features and scope but with country music, is hosted by radio personality
Ralph Emery.
Debuts
Ruth Bennett, mother of
KMEL morning host
Alex Bennett, begins as host of weekly Kamel Album Countdown on the station, allegedly becoming the world's oldest
album-oriented rock disc jockey. A few months later, her son leaves the station.
^Cox, Jim (2008). This Day in Network Radio: A Daily Calendar of Births, Debuts, Cancellations and Other Events in Broadcasting History. McFarland & Company, Inc.
ISBN978-0-7864-3848-8.