WVVX 103.1FM

Back in the early to mid 1990's, there was still pretty good radio in Chicago anyway. I was always coming across new stations and new programs and was always prepared to record anything good I heard onto cassette tapes.

One of the stations I had come across was WVVX 103.1 FM, broadcasting out of the suburb of Highland Park. It must have been a rather low power station since it was difficult to tune to it and get a clear stereo signal. So most of the time the best way to listen was through a cleaner mono signal.

So on certain evenings I recall 2 dj's who played really obscure (or non-hit singles) rock from the 60's and 70's on this station. Bands such as the Syndicate of Sound, Blues Image and Robin Trower among many others were played. And it sounded like they were actually playing vinyl at that. They each took turns playing brief sets of songs, if I remember correctly. At the moment I don't recall their names, but as I come across the tapes I recorded of their shows, perhaps I will discover their names as well.

I'm not completely certain how many times a week they were on the air, but for some reason my memory is leaning towards 2 weeknights. After a while, their show just disappeared from the air and I never came across it again.

Another short-lived show I stumbled upon on WVVX was "Radio International", a German music program hosted mainly by Monique Skolmar. This show was usually on Saturday afternoons and/or Sundays and I recorded 2 complete 90 minute tapes worth over the course of the show's run. Even though I don't understand German the show was entertaining and the music was enjoyable. I did learn to count in German from 0 to 9 as a result of listening.

I recently uploaded both cassettes as .wav files on my computer and will eventually upload them to a file hosting website which I will link to here.

But I loved WVVX if only for those 2 programs. I don't recall hearing much of anything else on that station except for some heavy metal music. The station had an underground feel to it, and though the sound quality was not crystal clear, I didn't mind. It wasn't commercial and that made it worthwhile.

According to Wikipedia, WVVX was a brokered station that was sold in 1997 at which point its call letters was switched to WXXY.