Talent: GARY GRANGER, DAN HENDERSON
Station: WKNR Dearborn, Mich.
Date: March 16, 1970
Time: 28:04 (unscoped)
6:06 (unscoped)

WKNR tightened its playlist and took off for the top.

On October 31, 1963, WKNR launched with 24 hours of Halloween programming, followed by "The Battle of the Giants", where listeners were invited to request their favourite songs. Motown's interest peaked, "Keener 13" moved into the next phase - a short playlist (31 songs plus one "key" song of the week and a few oldies). With competitors WJBK, WXYZ and CKLW going with much longer playlists (80-100 songs at times), listeners opted for the familiar. By the end of the year - despite a weak signal that missed most of Detroit's east side - WKNR had vaulted to the number-one spot among Detroit-Windsor Top 40 stations.

Keener 13 sailed along at the top until April, 1967, when ironically it was beaten by its own formula. CKLW adopted the super-tight Drake format and, with its powerful 50,000-watt signal, moved past WKNR into the top spot. Keener battled on for the few more years but fading ratings brought an end to the WKNR era on April 25, 1972.

Keener was about more than just music - it was about great personalities. Jocks like Mort Crowley, Robin Seymour, Jerry Goodwin, Gary Stevens, Bob Green, Dick Purtan, Scott Regen, Tom Near (later Tom Rivers), J. Michael Wilson, Pat St. John, Jim Jeffries and others all played key roles in WKNR's success. Another reason to listen was Gary Granger, who did evenings on Keener in 1969 and 1970. Granger, who was previously at WQXI Atlanta, left WKNR to put WSHE Miami on the air in 1971 and later served as president of Brill Media in Richmond, Virginia.

Also here, a few minutes of the Dan Henderson show!

Enjoy Gary Granger and Dan Henderson on WKNR (UNSCOPED) here. 

Enjoy Gary Granger and Dan Henderson on WKNR (SCOPED) here. 
 

(The Tom Howard Collection)

More 1970 airchecks here!