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| Smooth 87.7 To Be Live & Local Weekdays 9:00am-7:00pm |
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| Written by Larz | |||
| Thursday, 09 February 2012 12:59 | |||
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For fans of live & local radio, there is a welcome change coming next week. WLFM-LP, best known as Smooth 87.7, is promoting evening personality Loni Taylor up to the afternoon drive time slot of 2:00pm-7:00pm. While the station will still be relying on some of the syndicated Smooth Jazz/Smooth AC Network programming for many of its broadcast hours, weekdays will be live & local with Rick O'Dell from 9:00am-2:00pm, followed by Loni Taylor. The change begins this coming Monday, February 13th.
The move reunites the back-to-back radio magic that made WNUA-FM a top-rated Smooth Jazz station in Chicago for much of the 1990s, where O'Dell worked middays and Taylor worked afternoons. Loni Taylor was a top-rated afternoon drive host on WNUA-FM for seven years, between 1994 and 2001, until she moved back to her hometown of Philadelphia, PA to be with an ill family member. She is a radio veteran of over 26 years who has worked in many other markets in addition to Chicago, including Houston, Dallas, New Orleans, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh. Although she has previously worked in numerous formats, Taylor is best known as a Smooth Jazz/Smooth AC personality, a reputation she first gained here. In 2010, WLFM's Program Director Rick O'Dell recalled the years he and Loni worked together at WNUA-FM, saying: "Her first radio gig in Smooth Jazz was at WNUA, and I remember how quickly she took to the format, because she's a true fan of the music, in addition to being a solid pro." In February 2010, Loni Taylor returned to Chicago radio, taking over the nightshift on Smooth 87.7. As the vacancy in the afternoon drive shift appeared, it was a simple decision for O'Dell and Vice President/General Manager Pat Kelley as to who should fill it. The afternoon vacancy is due to end of the Dave Koz's syndicated radio show. Koz announced that he wanted to end his show for the Smooth Jazz Network and Smooth AC Network to turn his daily focus more on his musical career. The multiple Grammy Award-winning saxophonist is working on a new album and continues to tour regularly. Koz's final radio show will air tomorrow afternoon. Rather than going with another syndicated show in the afternoons, most likely with a lesser-known host, WLFM went with a proven winner in Chicago radio in Loni Taylor. In a statement written last night, WLFM-LP VP/GM Pat Kelley said: “Dave is a true professional and was one of the key factors in the growth of Smooth 87.7, we wish him all the best. We're very excited to have Loni Taylor on the team ready to take the reins of this key daypart." Smooth 87.7 PD Rick O'Dell agrees, adding: "Dave did a tremendous job, and we'll miss him. At the same time, Loni Taylor's taking over Dave's time slot, with her track record in the format and instant familiarity with our audience, was a natural. I wish all our decisions were that easy." Loni Taylor's soon-to-be-previous shift of 7:00pm-Midnight will now be going to Maria Lopez. Her show has been airing after Midnight on WLFM and now moves up by a few hours, although it will still go all night long until 6:00am. Maria Lopez is a San Fransisco-based radio personality and veteran of this format, whose show is syndicated by the Smooth Jazz Network and Smooth AC Network. 
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