1970s
By the early 1970s, the station was broadcasting progressive music nearly all the time (Sundays were given to foreign language programs). WHFS studios were now located in a second floor luxury condo at 4853 Cordell Avenue ("Broadcasting from high atop the Triangle Towers..."; was a phrase often heard over the air). The station was also conveniently located directly across the street from the Psyche Delly, a venue for live performances by bands playing the club circuit. Local radio legends Don "Cerphe" Colwell and Jonathan "Weasel" Gilbert began their careers when they joined WHFS in the early 1970s. Several part-time DJ's such as American University student Mick Sussman handled the overnight and Sunday morning slots.
The legendary Murray the K hosted the morning show in the early 1970s for a short while with female partner Judy. In 1972, after Murray the K had left for WWDC, Ty Ford left his Program Director and on-air positions WAYE to replace Judy. Ford remained at WHFS until 1975, as morning drive announcer, Chief Engineer and Production Director. Ford was quick to admit that Alvin Jeweler was the real engineering brains for WHFS-FM, but Jeweler had allowed his FCC license to expire, so Ford was listed as Chief Engineer. Ford went on to peak his radio career with eight and a half productive years at WBAL and 98Rock in Baltimore before leaving to start his own company.
Many musicians, famous and not yet famous, traipsed across the street to do interviews and perform live at the station. Many cut WHFS-specific IDs. One classic example of a legal ID, done by The Persuasions, "WHFS, it's the station we like the best, we'll be rockin', we'll be rollin', on W - Hhhhh---F-Sssss - - - 102.3 - Bethesda." The enthusiastic and knowledgeable interviews by such deejays as "Weasel", who held down the drive-time afternoon weekday slot - about the time that bands setting up across the street were ready for a dinner break before a performance - provided fascinating details about the artists' experience, as well as providing plugs for the upcoming appearance. Weasel's obvious friendship with many of his guests elicited striking candor from them.
During the 1970s, WHFS would broadcast music that other FM Rock stations normally would not, including cuts as long as 20 minutes. Artists like Frank Zappa, Yes, Genesis, Roxy Music and other non-commercial artists, at that time, would be the normal format. If The Beatles were ever played, instead of familiar tracks like Hey Jude or Lady Madonna, they would play more obscure tracks like Tomorrow Never Knows, Blue Jay Way amongst others. Once the station played all of Revolution 9. The station made a policy of never playing a "hit" and broke with precedent by leaving the playlists strictly up to the DJs. Once in a while the DJ's would, as a joke, throw in a Top 40 hit just to throw the listeners off. Sometimes, late at night, the DJ might announce "and now we'll repeat that for those of you on drugs" and immediately replay the last song. It furthered the careers of then-undiscovered stars Bruce Springsteen, George Thorogood and Emmylou Harris, who sometimes showed up at the studio. WHFS played the records of many local groups as well, including The Nighthawks, The Slickee Boys, The Diversions, Tru Fax & the Insaniacs, Bad Brains and Root Boy Slim and the Sex Change Band."
In addition to the station's progressive rock and alternative music, jazz, and even bluegrass was prominently featured on their format. One of the show's features was "Thor's Bluegrass" hosted by DJ Thor. Local bluegrass band The Seldom Scene would sometimes perform live from the station.
Fans of the station came to expect certain "regular" features. Listeners were treated to Weasel playing "I Wanna Be Sedated" by the Ramones every Friday towards the end of the work day. At 5 p.m. on Friday Weasel would play (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!) by the Beastie Boys and Bang the Drum All Day by Todd Rundgren. Weasel also filled his playlist with requests like local DC near hit "Washingtron" by Tru Fax & the Insaniacs and Yuppiedrone by The Pheromones. The DJs answered the telephone themselves when requests were called in. WHFS made Root Boy Slim's "Christmas at K-Mart" a holiday standard. Weasel was the first to play The Diversions first single "Get Up" backed with "Lil Lovin' Baby" which was aired only moments after the record was hand delivered to the station upon its release in 1982.
Among the station's more endearing traditions was the broadcasting of the entire "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" suite that makes up the bulk of the first side of Frank Zappa's "Apostrophe" LP, when the Washington area would experience its first snowfall of the season. And every Thanksgiving, 'HFS listeners could count on Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant Massacree" being played, usually by Bob "Here", all 18:20 of it.
According to the Washington Post, the 1978 DJ lineup at WHFS was: Damian Einstein, John "Weasel" Gilbert, David Einstein, Bob "Here" Showacre, Diane Divola, and Tom Grooms. ("Cerphe" left the station in 1976). Don Grossinger did weekend late nights from 1976 through 1979 and, when Weasel moved to prime time, he took over overnights for two years, through 1981. He peppered his show with surprise rarities and unavailable tracks. Adele Abrams held weekend slots from 1974-1988 (and held a full-time shift for nearly two years following Damien's accident). She and Weasel also hosted a live show featuring local band performances called "Take One," which broadcast from the Sounds Reasonable studio in Washington, DC, during the late 1970s. Suzanne Gordon was the progressive format's first news director, hosting five "News of the Universe" segments, and various public affairs features, daily from 1975-1977. Susan Desmarais hosted the overnight weekend slots from 1980–1983, and went on to 99.1, hosting Saturday and Sunday afternoons. She eventually hosted the 9pm-1am slot until 1986.
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