WCLV

Fifty Eight Years of Classical Music on the Radio in Northeast Ohio

It all started in 1961, when Robert Conrad, then program director of the Detroit classical station WDTM, received a call from C.K. Patrick, an advertising agency director, saying that he was in the process of bidding on a very new FM station in Cleveland, WDGO. He said that he knew the advertising side of radio, but not the programming side. He had asked friends in some of the Detroit agencies if they knew any program people in Detroit radio who might want to be involved in the projected station purchase. Several mentioned Conrad, who was interested because it was a career goal to be in station ownership. However, a partnership that included Mark Wise of Wise Advertising bought 75 percent of the stock of WDGO., and Conrad and Patrick went their separate ways. Then in February of 1962, Conrad received a call from Wise saying that they decided they weren’t going to make a million dollars that year from WDGO, and did Conrad and Patrick want to buy WDGO from them. The answer was “Yes.” The two importuned friends and family and raided insurance policies for funds
in order to put down $20,000 on the purchase of the station. On July 17, 1962, they signed
the sale contract for $70,000 and debt, and applied to the FCC for a transfer of the WDGO license to their newly formed Radio Seaway company. On Thursday, November 1st, the FCC granted the transfer and approved the new call letters of WCLV. The station officially started using the WCLV signature on Sunday, November 4th. Conrad and Patrick had asked for the call letters WCLE, which had an historical Cleveland connection, but WCLE was then in Cleveland, Tennessee. “How about WCLD?” “That’s in Cleveland, Mississippi.” They eventually worked their way down to WCLV. And the rest is history.

Right after becoming the owners of WCLV, Conrad and Patrick discovered that there was a coverage problem with the station’s signal. FM transmissions, as is the case with television over-the-air signals, are so far up the spectrum that they are beginning to act like light…shadows are created by buildings and geography. The higher the antenna, the better the coverage. WCLV’s original tower, which was behind the two story building housing the station’s studios at EastGate Mall, was only 150 feet high. There was a great signal up and down SOM Center Road, but reception was poor in University Circle and on the West Side. It was decided that the obvious location for a WCLV antenna was Terminal Tower. So Pat Patrick started negotiations with the owners of the Tower. These real estate conversations took place over several years. But the Tower people were excited about a radio station being located there, to the extent that they offered the flag pole for the antenna and the area below for the transmitter at no charge, and a lease for what was called “Penthouse East,“ located on the roof above the Higbee Building, for the station’s studios and offices. It is interesting to note that at the time, the Tower flew the American flag from flag pole when the Indians were playing in town. And we were told that with the WCLV antenna on the flag pole, they would no longer have to pay anyone to climb up to the flag pole to raise and lower the flag.

WCLV went on the air in November of 1962. And in those early 60s days, three events took place that put the station on a solid economic footing. At the time. The Cleveland Board of Education had an FM station, WBOE, that aired radio programming for use in the city’s schools various courses. (NOTE: WBOE eventually became WCPN). The Catholic schools, however, did not have access to this material. At the time FM stations had the capacity to broadcast additional radio channels that could be heard on special sub-channel radios. Some stations aired Muzak Music; some did Programming for the Sightless, such as reading the local newspaper. Patrick went to see Bishop Hoban and discussed with him the idea of utilizing a WCLV sub-channel to air programming tied to the courses in the Catholic schools. The Bishop thought it was a great idea and signed a lease for the WCLV sub channel No. 1 at $50,000 a year. The Diocese constructed a studio, hired a station manager and a crew to produce the programs. And Catholic Educational Radio was on the air in 1963. Conrad and Patrick, however, decided to ask the Bishop for payment of the first year’s $50,000 in advance since we had equipment purchases to make. Pat was a member of the Masons, and before going into see the Bishop, he turned his Masonic Ring around on his finger to hide the Masonic emblem. The Diocese did pay the $50.000 in advance.

In 1964, representatives from Cleveland Trust and it’s advertising agency came to WCLV to ask if the station would sell Cleveland Trust one hour a night five nights week.
Why not? And thus was born Symphony at Seven, which is now in its 57th year and is on the air seven nights a week, supported by the succeeding banks to Cleveland Trust –
Ameritrust, Society and Key Bank. This is the longest running broadcast advertising/support contract in Cleveland broadcasting. It was instrumental in proving that WCLV and its classical music programming was a viable media for commercial advertising. There is the story of the lady who came into the Chagrin Falls Cleveland Trust Bank with a with a laundry sack of 20 dollar bills, which she dumped on the branch manager's desk, saying, "I just took this money out of my account at National City Bank, and I'm giving it to Cleveland Trust because you present Symphony at Seven on WCLV."

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