WIBG 99 AM — Top 300 All-Time Favorite Songs

WIBG… “wibbage”… 990 on your AM dial… the ORIGINAL Power 99, although they never did, to my knowledge, use that slogan. If you grew up, heck, if you had a neck and were in anything but a catatonic state in the Philadelphia area in the 1960s, you knew about WIBG. AM radio had lots of music stations… WIBG was the #1 station for rock and roll. It eventually was overtaken by WFIL 560 AM, which had a much stronger signal, bigger budget, and for the most part a pretty lame Top 40 playlist. WIBG went a little deeper, musically.

WIBG was a big part of my life… the music you and I heard there and the dreams we dared to dream while listening… well, as John Lee Hooker said, it’s in him, and it’s got come out.

I first heard THOSE words on WIBG, in 1969. Disc Jockey Joey Reynolds was on the air, and he was playing The Savoy Brown Boogie from that band’s A Step Further album… something you would never hear on WFIL.

I bought my first 45 rpm record in 1965. It was Birds and Bees by Jewel Akens, on the ERA label. It cost me 59 cents, at the W.T. Grant store on the Ellisburg Circle in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. The story however, goes back a bit further.

In 1963, my father put an AM clock radio in the room I shared with my younger brother so we could get ourselves up and go to school. This had the unintended consequence of giving me access to THE MUSIC!

WIBG was my first, and for many years, my favorite station. When I started listening the lineup was Joe Niagara, Hy Lit, Frank X. Feller, Bill Wright Sr., and if memory serves Jerry Stevens. Joe Niagara and Hy Lit were my favorite disc jockeys. When other boys my age dreamed of being cowboys, sports stars, firemen, or whatever… I wanted to be a disc jockey on AM radio… and after a long and circuitous trip, I did!

— Phil Cohen, July 31, 2007

#1 — The Association
Above ’em all, the Association! The number one spot on the Top 300 goes to “Cherish,” one of the most hauntingly beautiful love ballads of any era. The song was written by group member Terry Kirkman and during the summer of 1966 shot the Association up to the exclusive cloud occupied by today’s super stars.

#2 — Robert Knight
An outstanding young artist from Nashville poured his heart and soul into his debut disc, which leaped to the top of the music heap overnight during the summer of 1967. The number two all timer, “Everlasting Love,” is a never-say-die smash that everyone enjoys hearing again and again.

#3 — Jimmy Ruffin
The guy has a way with music — no doubt about it! Jimmy smashed into prominence in 1966 doing what Jimmy does best — telling a story so that anyone who was ever “brokenhearted” shares with him that emotional experience. You’ve ranked “What Becomes of the Broken Hearted” as the number three entry on the list of all time favorites.

#4 — The Doors
1967 was the year of “Light My Fire.” Rhythm to move feet and mind — a rousing musical experience that has become a theme for today’s generation. The quartet creates its own material and envelopes it with a blend of organ, guitar and percussion backing. “Light My Fire” has sold over three million copies. And, the number four memory maker on the Top 300 continues to sell day after day.

#5 — The Temptations
About six years ago, five Detroiters got together to do some harmonizing. They’ve been singing together ever since, thanks to the writing talent of Smokey Robinson and the guiding hand of Berry Gordy, Jr. Melvin, Eddie, Paul, Otis, and David make the musical dedication of number five from the Top 300 to “My Girl.”

#6 — Frankie Valli
The lead voice on such Top 300 smashes by the Four Seasons as “Sherry,” “Rag Doll” and “Let’s Hang On” stepped out for a solo performance early in 1967. And “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” turned out to be one of the year’s biggest hits. The hit consistency of Frankie Valli and the Seasons guarantees their fans much more to come.

#7 — The Shirelles
Originally released in 1962, “Soldier Boy” became one of the biggest hits of that year. Day after day the story told by the Shirelles is repeated and the song’s popularity continues year after year.

#8 — The Rolling Stones
Mick, Brian, Charlie, Bill and Keith comprise one of the most powerful and exciting groups in the world. As the record that probably captured the mood of the summer of ’65 better than any other, “Satisfaction” assures the group and their song a permanent groove among the all time greats.

#9 — The Happenings
It takes a special kind of talent to turn the “now generation” on to a song like “See You in September,” and the Happenings have that kind of talent. All hail from Paterson, New Jersey and their first recording is the classic you made number nine on the Top 300.

#10 — The Beatles
For the hung-up minds that predicted a Beatle burn-out after their unparalleled successes of 1964, the boys, in mid-’65, served up final proof that this amazing foursome was just getting into gear. In one of pop music’s outstanding examples of brilliant versatility, “Yesterday” became not only the Beatles’ biggest of 1965, but also the Lennon-McCartney song most recorded by other artists. The highest ranked Beatle hit on the Top 300, “Yesterday” is just one of the group’s nineteen all timers on the list. What next from the pacesetters? Whatever, count on hearing it first on the Big 99.

The popularity of records listed within is the opinion of WIBG based upon votes mailed and phoned in by its listeners listing their favorite all time records.