WKDN (AM)

Early years[edit]

WKDN was first licensed, as WLBA, to the Philadelphia School of Wireless Telegraphy (J. C. Van Horn) on December 17, 1926, originally as a 50-watt station on 1270 kHz.^[2] These call letters were randomly assigned from a sequential roster of available call signs, moreover, in early 1927 the call letters were changed to WPSW. In early 1929 WPSW was acquired by the William Penn Broadcasting Company,^[3] which changed WPSW's call sign to WPEN.^[4] The William Penn company also acquired its time-sharing partner on 1500 kHz, WALK in Willow Grove,^[5] which was shut down.


In its early years, WPEN was known for Italian-language programming, and was co-owned with another major Italian-oriented station, WOV in New York City. Beginning in November 1929, Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission broadcast their Sunday morning services from their 800-person homeless shelter and soup kitchen. The most notable speaker was Percy Crawford who spoke consistently to the crowd of homeless men.^[6]


In 1934, WPEN moved to 920 kHz, now sharing time with another Philadelphia station, WRAX. (On May 25, 1928, the Federal Radio Commission's General Order 32 had notified 164 stations, including WRAX, that "From an examination of your application for future license it does not find that public interest, convenience, or necessity would be served by granting it."^[7] However, WRAX had successfully convinced the commission that it should remain licensed.) WPEN and WRAX were merged in 1938, with WPEN the surviving station.^[8] In March 1941, WPEN moved to 950 kHz, as part of the frequency shifts due to the implementation of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement.


During the mid-1940s, WPEN was owned by the Philadelphia Bulletin newspaper; in 1948, the newspaper bought the more powerful WCAU and sold the station to the local Sun Ray Drug Store chain. As entertainment programming moved from radio to television, WPEN evolved into a popular music format in the early 1950s. The music at that time consisted of artists such Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, Mills Brothers, Tommy Dorsey, Bing Crosby, Peggy Lee, Nat King Cole, Pat Boone, Tony Bennett, and many others. At this time, a show called the "950 Club" began as well.


In the early 1950s, WPEN became one of the pioneers of late night live audience talk radio. Steve Allison, formerly of Boston, was host of a five or six nights a week radio show from 11:30PM–2:00AM. This show was broadcast from the "Ranch Room" restaurant on the station's ground floor building on Walnut Street between 22nd and 23rd streets. WPEN was one of the first broadcasters in the country to use a live seven-second delay tape system. In addition to live guests, Steve Allison took telephone calls from listeners. Teddy Reinhart was the producer. Allison had guests such as Eddie Fisher, Billy Eckstein and numerous local politicians at the Ranch Room. Many evenings Allison showed up for work in a tuxedo. In the late 1950s, Frank Ford hosted the late evening talk show from the restaurant studio. Jim Reeves could be seen doing newscasts from a second floor studio.


Before the Steve Allison show, radio personality Art Raymond ("The Man in the Black Sombrero") hosted a live Latin music dance program from the Ranch Room. Years later Raymond hosted Jewish music programs featuring Klezmer music on radio stations in New York City, Philadelphia and Florida.


In the late 1950s, rock and roll began to dominate the chart. WPEN opted, though, to remain a non-rock station but played some of the softer songs by artists like The Platters, Elvis Presley, Everly Brothers, Brenda Lee, and others. By the mid-1960s, WPEN was also playing softer songs by The Beatles, The Association, The 5th Dimension, Tom Jones, The Mamas & the Papas, The Righteous Brothers, and others. In the early 1970s, artists like The Carpenters, Barbra Streisand, Neil Diamond, James Taylor, and others became core artists. Still all along, artists like Sinatra and Cole, as well as Big Bands, were heard on WPEN. The station was a news-intensive MOR format. Also, during the 1960s, an evening interview show hosted by Frank Ford was broadcast on weekdays. It was held in a converted night club near 22nd and Walnut Streets, so the public was allowed to sit in on all broadcasts.


Around 1967, WPEN became an affiliate of the NBC Radio Network. Around 1969, the station left NBC, and management decided to seriously challenge WIP, Philadelphia's dominant MOR music station. Some WIP personalities were lured to WPEN, including Tom Brown, and an extensive promotional campaign was launched with the station billing itself as "The New 95." However, listeners did not respond in large numbers and the station went into a gradual decline. By about 1973, the station's financial condition was so poor that it began signing off at midnight to save money, and ownership began to actively market the operation to potential buyers.