Friday, March 9, 2018

R.I.P.: Philly Radio Legend Frank X Feller

Philadelphia radio legend Frank X. Feller died Tuesday at age 91, reports philly.com.

Feller first made his name locally at the long-gone WIBG 990 AM, better known as “Wibbage” in the Philly area, from 1963 to 1968. A trailblazing rock-n-roll format radio station at the time, WIBG featured Feller on-air from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. on weeknights.

Frank X Feller
Feller was one of several extremely popular DJs at WIBG at the time, which was known for its “Good Guys” roster of talent. The list included legendary radio personalities like Joe Niagara, Dean Tyler, Jerry Stevens, and Hy Lit.

Today, the WIBG call letters are used by a Ocean City, New Jersey-based station that plays Spanish hits. WNTP-AM, a conservative talk-radio station, now broadcasts on WIBG-AM’s former 990 frequency.

Prior to joining at WIBG, also known as Radio 99, Feller also had stints at radio stations in North Carolina and New Jersey, as well as Stroudsburg, where he began his career in the 1950s, according to the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia website.

Through the 1970s, Feller helped build the then-newly established WYSP 94.1 FM, first serving as program director and then as the station’s general manager. Then known as a rock station, WYSP changed to the sports—talk-oriented WIP-FM in 2011.

Feller, however, departed from the station long before that change, having joined 860 WWDM-AM in the early 1980s as a host. He also became the president of the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia during that period, serving in the position from 1981 to 1982. He retired from radio in 1990.

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