Mike 'Hot Hits' Joseph Dead At 90

RIP Mike Joseph

Condolences to the family and friends of famed "Hot Hits" consultant MIKE JOSEPH, who died last month.

JOSEPH's son MIKE JOSEPH, JR. told ALL ACCESS, "On APRIL 14th, my father, MICHAEL THOMAS JOSEPH, passed away in LOS ANGELES at the age of 90. As arguably the nation’s first independent radio programming consultant - following periods at CAP CITIES, ABC and NBC - he programmed numerous major market stations across the country (WABC, WFIL, etc). and in PUERTO RICO, notably with his trademarked Hot Hits format. He was a big deal in the prime days of Top 40."

WIKIPEDIA sums up the rise of "Hot Hits," writing, "JOSEPH's first high-profile success story with the Hot Hits approach came in the spring of 1977, when he switched WTIC-F/HARTFORD, CT, from a long-running but low-rated classical music format to hit radio as "96 TICS". Fans of the classical music were irate, but the move paid off for WTIC-F, as the station was top five-rated in the HARTFORD market by the end of that year.

"The first MIKE JOSEPH-consulted station to actually use the term "Hot Hits" on the air, and one of the few AM stations to try the "Hot Hits" concept, was WFBL-A/SYRACUSE, NY - which JOSEPH had programmed back in 1956 as national program director of the FOUNDERS GROUP. In response to dropping ratings, WFBL management hired JOSEPH in the SPRING of 1979 to help turn around the station's already-in-place "Hit Radio 14" Top 40 format

"The Hot Hits concept really appeared to grow in popularity after WCAU/PHILADELPHIA, which had been struggling through unsuccessful Urban, Oldies and Disco formats for over a decade, relaunched with Hot Hits on SEPTEMBER 22, 1981, as '98 Now.' With legendary personalities such as CHRISTY SPRINGFIELD, TERRY "THE MOTORMOUTH" YOUNG, SCOTT WALKER, RICH HAWKINS, BOB GARRETT, with TODD PARKER and BILLY BURKE. PAUL BARSKY would join in Mornings a year later. WCAU-F came to dominate as PHILADELPHIA's choice for hit music for much of the 1980s, until flipping to Oldies as WOGL in 1987. Within a year of WCAU-F debuting '98 NOW,' "Hot Hits" had moved west to CHICAGO's WBBM-F, where the original staff included STEVE DAVIS, JOE DAWSON, GARY SPEARS, DAVE ROBBINS, BOB LEWIS, FRANK FOSTER and TONY TAYLOR; and DETROIT's WHYT (now WDVD), which both coincidentally were both on the 96.3 FM frequency and used the on-air name '96 NOW'."

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