JAM On The Air

The Best Jingles on The Best Stations

air-check (ār'-chek) n. A recording of a radio station broadcast, usually made by connecting a recording device to a radio receiver. Airchecks are often telescoped, meaning that the body of all musical selections and commercials have been cut out so that only the "essence" of the station itself remains (ie. the announcers, jingles, promotions, song intros and outros, newscasts, etc.)

Radio is a constantly evolving medium, and it's interesting to recall the sounds of yesteryear. We're proud to say that JAM jingles are, and have been, an integral part of memorable stations and programs all over the world. It's a history that is best remembered in audio form. This page is not intended to be an extensive aircheck site (there are several of those already on the internet, including Reelradio.) The items presented here are from our personal collection of significant moments in the story of radio and JAM. We'll add more in the coming weeks. Enjoy!



WABC New York, NY Dan Ingram December 12, 1975	One of the earliest airchecks of WABC using JAM jingles. You'll hear Priority 1 and several acappellas (which were later added to the LogoSet demo). At this time, the station dropped the "W" in several of the jingles, and tried calling itself "77 ABC". That phase lasted only a short while, and many of these jingles were later re-sung to put the "W" back in! (4:57)

WPGC Washington, DC Jim Collins April, 1976	This stereo aircheck features two of our earliest CHR packages in use: Priority 1 and LogoSet. (3:56)

WPEN Philadelphia, PA Geoff Fox October 21, 1976	When 95PEN began their oldies format in March 1975, they became the first station in a top-5 market to use a JAM custom package. It was called Back Seat Music, and you can hear several cuts in use here. (3:33)

BBC Radio 1 UK Tony Blackburn December 9, 1976	The BBC's national pop and rock network used JAM jingles for 18 years beginning with their 1976 package. In this aircheck you'll hear part of the custom work, as well as LogoSet, Priority One and The Best Country. Toward the end, DJ Tony Blackburn (who did Radio 1's very first show in 1967) makes some humorous comment concerning radio in the future... unfortunately, he didn't know that in the 21st century his prediction would come true at many stations! (2:31)

WSM Nashville, TN Ted Johnson June 1, 1977	Although WSM is widely known as a country music station, there was a time when they aired a successful adult-contemporary format during the day. Here's Ted Johnson in the morning, using jingles from Dimension Two and The WSM Package from JAM. (3:58)

WFAA-TV News Dallas, TX BBC session at JAM May 3, 1978	When the BBC returned to Dallas for their second big JAM package in 1978, our local TV news leader decided it was an interesting story. They sent a reporter and camera crew to JAM and the resulting feature aired on News 8 that evening. Click the PLAY button to hear audio only (followed by the complete version of the Radio 2 jingle we were working on during the report), or CLICK HERE TO SEE A VIDEO in Windows Media format. (2:14)

WLS Chicago, IL John Records Landecker February, 1979	WLS had an amazing signal and influence, especially at night. As a case in point, consider that this aircheck was recorded in Dallas... which is over 900 miles from Chicago! You'll hear cuts from Class Action and Dance to the Music in use. (4:38)

WPRO-FM Providence, RI Tyler December 8, 1980	92 PRO-FM came to JAM in 1976 and has aired an assortment of our jingles ever since. In this aircheck you'll hear Back Seat Music, Priority One, Class Action, Positron, and Meltdown. The typically upbeat mood is shattered at the end of the aircheck by the tragic report about John Lennon. (2:52)

WYNY New York, NY Dan Daniel & Randy Davis March 23 & 20, 1981	When the station's research indicated that people were listening but having trouble remembering the call letters, JAM suggested doing a custom package which mentioned the station name twice in every cut. The result was Double Plus, being heavily used here. The station went on to become very successful. There are several great topical stories in this aircheck too. (4:24)

WABC New York, NY Dan Ingram June 4, 1981	Dan Ingram debuts, and comments on, his new opening theme jingle from the You'll Like Our Style package. (2:02)

WMAL Washington, DC Tom Gauger September, 1981	When our friend Herb Springer was working at WMAL, he secretly arranged for us to record an acappella for afternoon host Tom Gauger. Then, when Herb was engineering Tom's show, he surprised him with it on the air. You'll also hear a jingle from Focal Point. (:50)

WABC New York, NY Dan Ingram & Ron Lundy May 10, 1982	Musicradio WABC was America's most listened-to radio station for years, so when they changed to an all-talk format it was an emotional time for many who grew up with (and on) the station. The transition, heard here, features the final minutes of Musicradio 77 which included a mention of JAM and the trademark PAMS jingle and chime. That's followed by some intentional dead air, then the first few minutes of the new Talkradio 77 which began with an award-winning :60 jingle from the custom Talk To Us package. (6:12)

KIIS-FM Los Angeles, CA Tim Kelly April 26, 1984	The signature sound of KIIS-FM was created by JAM. You'll hear cuts from their custom Hot KIIS! package, as well as the earlier Outstanding series. (4:54)

KKHR Los Angeles, CA Jack Armstrong April 27, 1984	Big Jack rockin' LA with cuts from The Flame Thrower and Hitradio packages. (4:28)

WHTZ New York, NY Scott Shannon, Ross Brittain, J.J. McKay, The Shadow May 3 & 4, 1984	"Z-100" rejuvenated the sound of top-40 radio in New York beginning in August 1983, and jingles were a big part of the formula. This early aircheck features The Flame Thrower, the first of many legendary Z-100 packages. Also of interest is the discussion of "FM converters" for your AM-only radio. (3:40)

WPLJ New York, NY Pat St. John July 23, 1984	The "Zit 100" promo at the beginning of this short aircheck documents part of the fierce battle that was fought between WPLJ and Z-100 for dominance in the format. Also at this time, both stations wanted to be perceived as having the closest connection to the upcoming Michael Jackson concert. So, taking a cue from "W-A-Beatle-C" in the '60s, the station became "W-P-L-Jacksons" for a while. You'll hear this reflected in their Hitradio 2 cuts. (1:49)

WNBC New York, NY Wolfman Jack November 29, 1984	The Wolfman howling overnight, and singing along with Nothing But Class and The Only One jingles. You'll also hear a top-of-the-hour cut which doesn't appear in either package. (2:53)

KEGL Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX Kidd Kraddick July 12, 1985	Before Kidd became an established morning man, he did the night shift on The Eagle. You'll hear Hitradio and Warp Factor in use. (3:58)

BBC Radio 4 UK "Midweek" February 26, 1986	Radio 4 is the BBC's national talk and current affairs channel. Every Wednesday they present "Midweek", an hour-long conversation program hosted by Libby Purves. JAM founder Jonathan Wolfert was invited to be one of the in-studio guests. Portions of The JAM Song were used to open and close the show, which was quite an unusual thing to hear on the normally quiet and reserved Radio 4. (12:18)

NBC-TV Late Night David Letterman November 5 & 6, 1986	Late Night talk show host David Letterman began his career in radio, so it wasn't too surprising that he thought it would be fun to use some radio jingles on his network TV show. JAM selected cuts from Good Time Radio, Nothing But Class, and added some custom material to create this package. Click the PLAY button to hear audio only, or CLICK HERE TO SEE A VIDEO in Windows Media format. (2:05)

WHN (to WFAN) New York, NY Dan Taylor July 1, 1987	When stations change their format it's often emotional, and retiring legendary call letters makes it even more so for radio buffs. On this day New York's only AM country music station became America's first all-sports station. Again, JAM was on both sides of the transition: The last sound ever heard on WHN was a cut from their custom Metro Country package, and the first sound broadcast on WFAN was from their custom Sportsradio package. (4:16)

KQMQ Honolulu, HI Michael Qseng January 5, 1989	The sound of JAM is everywhere you go, and Hawaii is no exception. You'll hear jingles from Warp Factor and Red Hot in this brief excerpt from the station's "Morning Madness" show, which was one of the first "morning zoo" style programs in that part of the country. (2:23)

WCBS-FM New York, NY Cousin Bruce Morrow June 8, 1991	On several occasions WCBS-FM aired reunion weekends where legendary top-40 DJ's from New York radio would each do a show and reminisce. Cousin Brucie, formerly of WABC, hosted his weekly Saturday night show on CBS-FM during one of the reunions and spoke on-air with Jon Wolfert from JAM. Brucie also plays a special PAMS Series 27 jingle, which was one of several produced by JAM for the reunion. (4:25)

VOA Europe Carol Parker July 12, 1991	The Voice of America was created by the US government in 1942 to be "a reliable and authoritative source of news", as well as to present features about American life and culture to the rest of the world. The programming originates from Washington, DC, and originally relied on short wave radio transmission. In 1985, VOA Europe was created as a special service in English that was relayed via satellite to AM, FM and cable affiliates throughout Europe. With a contemporary format, the network presented top musical hits as well as VOA news and features of local interest (such as "EuroFax") 24 hours a day. JAM has created many custom packages for both VOA and VOA Europe. Some of those cuts were used in packages such as Bright & Sunny and Sunlight. VOA Europe closed down in January, 1997. Today, stations are offered the VOA Music Mix service. (3:27)

BBC Radio 1 UK Jingle Contest Winner June 30, 1992	In 1992, BBC Radio 1 ran a promotion called "31 Days in May" and gave away a different amazing prize each day. One person won a trip to Dallas to have a jingle produced at JAM. In this segment, which was aired on Steve Wright in the Afternoon, you will hear the winner's story and what went into making his JAM jingle (which was selected from our Rock Connection package). (4:37)

BBC Radio 1 UK Final AM signoff July 1, 1994	In September of 1967 the BBC launched Radio 1, the UK's first (legal) "top-40" station. At first it broadcast only in the AM band (also known as Medium Wave). By the 80s, Radio 1 could also be heard simulcasting full time in FM stereo. Ultimately most music listening did shift to FM, and the BBC decided to discontinue broadcasting Radio 1 on AM. After a major promotional campaign designed to get the remaining AM listeners to switch to "1 FM", the station left AM forever. To end the era, Radio 1 producer Simon Sadler assembled a montage of jingles beginning with The Ultimate One and travelling backwards in time through many of the other JAM and PAMS packages used over the years. The final jingle aired, from PAMS Series 31, was the first sound ever heard when Radio 1 began. Clearly this is a perfect aircheck for jingle lovers! (6:38)

Jakarta, Indonesia Various stations October 20, 1994	As our JAM Song says, "the sound of JAM is everywhere you go" and that includes Southeast Asia. Fans in North America are sometimes surprised to discover that programs in foreign languages often feature jingles in English, but it happens frequently. In this brief sample of FM stations from Indonesia's capital city you'll hear Along The Coast and Sky-Trax on Trijaya-FM, Magic Music 6 (and portions of New Day "lifted" directly from our demo presentation complete with the narration!) on Ramako-FM, Northwave on Radio ARH, and Z World and Z Force on Radio Prambors. (2:50)

WCBS-FM New York, NY Harry Harrison June 14, 1996	Long time New York morning man Harry Harrison is heard here using the Do It Again package, including a seldom-aired special version of the DJ jingle we recorded for the station's general manager! WCBS-FM always acknowledged New York's rich heritage of great stations and broadcasters, and understood that call letters, voices and jingles from the past are part of their listeners' lives and memories. The Jack Lacy tribute at the end of this aircheck is a perfect example. (5:22)

Top-of-the-Hour in Denver July 4, 1996	All on one day, you could hear JAM jingles in use on 9 Denver radio stations at the same time. We think that has to be some kind of record! The cuts featured in this aircheck montage are: KLZ It's Your Country, KKFN New York Fan, KEZW Great Memories, KYGO-AM Go West, KYGO-FM Hyperlink, KIMN Pro/Mod, KOSI American Mix, KQKS Z World, and KXKL Forever Kool. (3:46)

KVIL Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX Ron Chapman January 1, 2000	On the first day of the new millenium, fears were running high concerning Y2K problems. Even though it was a Saturday, Ron Chapman did the morning show to assure listeners that everything was OK... except, perhaps, for the special Y2K One Up jingles we made for the occasion! (4:00)

WTJM New York, NY Carol Ford May 30, 2000	During the years 1998 to 2000, a new format sprung up in many markets across the country. "Jammin' Oldies" was a blend of Motown, R&B and dance oldies. Most of these stations used a composite of classic JAM jingles with more soulful vocals than they had the first time around. On this aircheck you'll hear cuts from Hot KIIS, Class Action and Music Jam. (3:00)

WABC New York, NY "Rewound" Jingle Montage May 28, 2001	Beginning in 1999, WABC began a tradition of devoting Memorial Day to airing untelescoped airchecks of the station from the 60s and 70s, in recognition of the millions who fondly remember listening to Musicradio 77. The all-day event is called "Rewound". On several occasions we were asked to assemble a 20 minute montage of the most memorable and unique WABC jingles from that era, punctuated by occasional jingle-related airchecks. As one of those who grew up with WABC, Jon Wolfert was happy to put these together. One of our favorites is this one from 2001, which begins slightly before the PAMS era, and continues into the JAM era (which is still in progress to this day, even though the lyrics and the format have changed to "Talk Radio"). This is an actual aircheck of the montage, so you can hear these great old jingles with the AM fidelity, processing and echo that made them famous the first time around. (20:09)

Last updated 5/29/06

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