WNCR-FM
7/6/70 - WGAR-FM becomes WNCR, broadcasting progressive rock, some hits, and album cuts.
9/19/70 - All six jocks stage a walkout, demanding management changes, contracts for air personalities, and "freedom to conduct their shows as they saw fit". Free lance jocks and supervisory personnel take over until a new staff is in place. Among those walking out are PD Jerry Dean, Mitch Michaels,
Chris Gray, Dave Elmore, Chuck Lansing, and Ginger Sinton. The six claim that GM Jack Thayer wanted to change the progressive rock format, and force jocks to work from pre-set music and programming logs.
9/21/70 - Former KFRE/Fresno assistant PD Jerry Stephens takes over as program director.
4/27/71 - Cleveland Press TV-Radio writer Bill Barrett writes that a friend asked what kind of station WNCR is, and responds "Dadburned if I know!" He says the news is heavy on editorials rather than straight reports, "a sort of little theater of news".
2/19/72 - Station broadcasts an erroneous report that President Richard Nixon had been shot. An anonymous call tipped of disc jockey Carolyn Thomas, who put it on the air, quoting clairvoyant Jeanne Dixon as predicting a "dark cloud over the White House." After as many as 100 calls correcting the report, WNCR issues a retraction.
4/28/71 - In a follow up article, Barrett says the "Electric Renaissance", or "People's Radio", is a mixture of folk rock, electric, and "gut blue" stuff, with the "ultimate four letter word" often making ts way into the programming.
7/7/71 - WNCR sponsors an open air rock concert at Edgewater Park to celebrate its first year on the air. It draws 10,000 fans, and causes a mass traffic jam on the West Shoreway, with some abandoning their cars on the freeway to get to the show, and worry about getting home later.
11/ /71 - The Grateful Dead is broadcast live from the Allen Theater
8/18/72 - The station airs a 48 hour, nonstop concert in four speaker, quadrophonic sound, despite the fact that very few listeners had quad tuners. The sponsor is Carling Brewing Company, and the live music includes the Rolling Stones, Doors, B.B. King, Mississippi John Hurt, PDQ Bach, Miles Davis, and cuts from both Woodstock LPs, Celebration at Big Sur, and the Atlanta Pop Festival.
1972 - WNCR simulcasts with WGAR in an experiment to broadcast its format to a wider audience
10/29/72 - The air staff reads samples of listener's dreams set to the music of Pink Floyd, Amon Duul and Van der Graaf Generator.
1/17/73 - WNCR changes format to a more Top 40 sound, with Jeff Gelb, Jim Minard and Norman Moore leaving the station, to be replaced by Marc Matthews (from WLYT-FM), Damon Sheridan (WLGN/Sheridan) and E. Phil Sheridan takes over as general manager, while holding that same position at WNCI.
