22 Years Of Rock ‘N’ Roll End At Radio Station
RALEIGH — After 22 years of blasting rock and roll music over the airwaves in the Triangle, the station that has been long associated with the musical genre has switched formats.
This month, 106.1 RDU the rock and roll station became Rooster 106 the country music station. Rock and roll fans who didn’t know about the swtich may have been startled to turn on the station and hear Willie Nelson instead of the Eagles. The Triangle station has played mostly classic rock and roll from the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s since it began playing rock back in 1984.
The station is owned by the large media conglomerate Clear Channel Broadcasting. On the radio station’s old website, it says “thank you for 22 great years of rockin’ the Triangle.”
The new station will feature syndicated radio show John Boy and Billy out of Charlotte in the mornings. According to the company’s website, it seems that popular drive-time 106 host Bob Robinson (Bob the Blade), whose opinionated comments on current events were often witty and entertaining, will not be coming back. His name was not found anywhere on the new 106 website and was not listed among the radio personalities section.
A new website has been put up for the “new” Rooster 106 station at www.rooster106.com. The station has also been broadcasting television commercials touting its new format on local stations.
One of the reasons for the station’s format change may be the newfound popularity that 96.1 FM has found with its new rock format. The locally owned Curtis Media station has been playing “anything that rocks” including new rock and roll as well as classic older hits and the format has been a hit with listerners in the Triangle.
