The Infinite Dial

It's N/T powerhouse New Jersey 101.5 now, but I was a fan of WKXW Trenton, N.J., in the early '80s when it was Kicks 101-1/2, an unusual Adult CHR starring Philadelphia radio veteran Hy Lit and programmed by his son, Sam Lit. A couple of things made Kicks unusual: its heavily dayparted music meant that you could hear Hy playing "Goody Goody" by Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers at lunchtime and "Danger" by the Motels at night. Then there were almost eerily intense stagers that sound unique more than 25 years later.

Kicks 101-1/2 was never a chart reporter to the trades in that era and, despite its initial success in the market, remained more or less off the industry's radar, unlike rival WPST. But a year or so ago, a Philadelphia PD and I got to talking; turned out that he had grown up with Kicks and its unusual imaging as well.

So if you're interested in hearing what the Lit family is up to now, check out hylitradio.com, which began with an Oldies channel. Now there's a second stream, HyLitRhythm.com, which can best be described as Jammin' Oldies in terms of texture and a Bob- or Jack-FM in terms of scope. (A recent half hour stretch ranged from Al Green to Klymaxx to two Trammps songs, neither of which was "Disco Inferno.") Best of all, the stagers recall Sam's work on Kix 101-1/2 and are very much worth hearing, particularly if you never heard the original station.