Composite - Boston FM dial | 1975 (10:32) Scoped
We’re re-posting this aircheck because we’ve received more information about it. This was originally donated to Airchexx.com by Steve McVie a couple of years ago. Well, to illustrate the strange twists and paths that some of our materials take in getting to us, the following was sent in from the person who actually recorded it back in ‘75 - Jack Kratoville. He writes:
As a freshman at Emerson College in Boston, I was amazed at how many FM stations were automated. Growing up on Long Island, I had never heard automation except for Beautiful Music. Since I possesed a reel to reel recorder, I decided to capture some of these stations one night. My portable radio was susceptible to multi-path, but WVBF and WPRO were clear that night, hence their inclusion. WCGY is featured the most because I couldn’t believe how sloppy they sounded. You could hear the automation “click” between segments. The sign-off was Sunday night at midnight.
The original recording contains more music, slightly longer commercial segments and countless false starts. I left on the General Tire commercial because it was the impropriety of that company that lead to the downfall of RKO Radio.
Thanks,
Jack Kratoville
WLTW New York
Thanks, Jack!
(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
Loading ...
Loading ...
It is so cool to hear these blasts from the past. I think this is when radio really shined.A lot more fun on the dial.
Listening right now. Hey, no need to give the area code on a phone number when 617 is the only one in Eastern Mass.! This brings back memories. I used to listen to WVBF and WCGY (Rock Garden) a lot. In the early 80s when I worked at Bldg 19 they used to pipe WCGY (then Blue Suede Radio) over the speakers…WCGY sign off: I remember they used to go off Sunday nights at midnight for maintenance….No need to give exact freqs; notice “Golden Great 98″; “94 WCGY”, “Stereo 105″. But later with digital readouts on your radio…
What a great trip in the “Way Back” machine! I listened to WCGY the majority of the time as a high-schooler in the mid 1970’s, when they were the “Rock Garden” (and obviously sounded automated!); in later years they also played “The Greatest Hits of All Time” (when they had air talent; a dear friend of mine was a jock there.) To hear those old jingles and the “sign off” after all these years sent chills up my spine. Radio back then was a lot more fun! Thanks for bringing back great memories!
Steve - Thanks for the re-post.
After listening again, I few more memories and observations came back. One of the CGY voices was Dave Iseman. Those “clicks” on WCGY were over the air, not due to anything on my part.
After “I Say A Little Prayer” into “The selling of the president…” was the news requirements CBS imposed on WEEI-FM at all hours of the day. No intro, just song ends and a 5 minute news commentary begins.
The voice of WVBF was the great Harry Chase, who also did most of the Navy spots in the seventies.
General Tire spot was Johnnie Dark. WROR weather was John Masters. After the top of the hour ID on WCGY, you hear “..have a nice evening.” That’s Curt’s daughter, Michelle Goudy who did the “What’s Going On” updates for the station.
WROR “Diamonds” promo was Ops Manager Paul Ward. The only thing I completely edited out when transferring to digital was Lisa Carlin’s update on WCOZ “Rock 94 and a half.”
I have used the line “lows dippin down into da teens” more than I ever gave JJ Wright credit for.
Ahhhhhhh ha ha ha ha ha LOWS DIPPIN DOWN INTO DA TEENS?
——heck you couldn’t always rely on those cups of dunkin donuts coffee to keep you going…. LAUGHTER was so necessary in the studios
Oh my gosh i never NOTICED that..I once worked at a newstalk station with a gorgeous female field reporter and when i anchored the morning newsblock, it was a private joke (for the morning newsman doing the half hourlies and me)–that whenever we intro’d her news story carts we ALWAYS said “(so and so) HAS DA TAILS”…… heh heh heh heh heh…..
All good hearted fun!——
I have to say one of the best PD’s i had in those years for understanding HOW TO MOTIVATE air talent was Tony Cennamo at WCAS..instead of being dry and memo-ing you into the sand, he was HUMAN and basically felt happy air talent did their best (Like AL did at WBZ in the mid 60’s). He would call you up and joke with you. Take air staff out after work, hangout and have fun with you. So you were friends. As you know, you work your ass off for a friend to do a great job. You toss a memo in the trash. Why don’t more PD’s & GM’s know that? I also really dug Bob nelson and Peter Taylor at WJIB…and Ron Reynolds and Bill Dwyer at KNBR San Francisco. Miss Russ Syracuse. What a great guy. Miss Dave Supple too. Where are you DS? Supple (BOS) and Russ (SF) used to make me laugh till i hit the ground. Such funny people. I gotta tell you too…as for PROFESSIONALISM…it was at a pinnacle at the shop of WJIB…Rich, Ken, Mike, Peter, Bart, Bob, Warren, Dave A, Dave S. Ron, Brad, Marlin, Joel, Noel, Chuck…Powers….EVERYBODY….and thsoe great engineers…Steve and Dave…THE BEST…and over at 56, Izor…THOSE were great days…what a shop…TOP TOP shelf professionalism. So great.
Luved those crazy days at WTAG with Bob Gamere, Ben Farnsworth and Fran, Jeremy et al….
WVBF air check stff—I SO DUG that ELECTRIC MAMA jingle package and the top of the hour id’s. Liked Big John Gillis out there too. Good guy.
Luved John H and Dick Summer at WMEX too….Great work.
Remember when John H had WMEX do id’s saying WE’VE GOT OUR SHIP TOGETHER—?—lmao
JOHN MASTERS, yeah what good pipes, MASTERS, PALMER PAYNE, BOB MITCHELL..guys like that..such talent they could get you thru 10 minutes of 20/20 news..LOL
hey Bob Mitchell—WHERE ARE YOU?
Meg Colton, where are you?
Jay Bruce, where are you?
Tommy Saunders?
Kate Guthorn?
Doug Howland?
Bill Dutton?
Harvey Stone?
Cynthia of KMPX?
WHERE IS EVERYBODY???—LOL
JACK K you were EMERSON? Me too…a few years ealrier than you…I was on Boston air during those early 70’s… WJIB WCAS WKOX WTAG WEEI-FM….
We hated that WEEI—EFFF/MMMM stuff…
Just like Bumper Morgan in NYC coined W-NNNNNN-BC,
I coined……WEE——EYE—–FM
Managment loved it and we wanted to make it a corporate sanctioned slug/logo using the cbs EYE in contemporized artwork layout TO DIFFERENTIATE us from ALL NEWS AM WEEI….
Guess what coproiate (CBS) said—Oh yeah—NOOOO!
LOL
good wishes======CL
I enjoyed the sound clips by steve mc vie of wcgy
in 1975. I have some recording of cgy in 1978.
I also have the last five hous of wcgys last hours of
operation in 1995. I would like to share theis tapes
and if anyone has any recordings of cgy in76,77,78,79,
i would be interested in havin acopy?
Ron
MY FAVORITE … WRKO JOHNNIE DARK NOW IN FT LAUDERDALE 99.9 KISS COUNTRY,,,, DALE DORMAN,, JJ WRIGHT,,
Hey there, you mentioned that you had the last five hours of WCGY. I’d love to get ahold of that. I was in the studio when we signed off with the Beatles Long Winding Road and we anxiously awaited what was to follow dead air, static, and clicks. I don’t remember the first song that Eagle93 played but we all cringed, knowing that we were all out of jobs, we’d miss our friends and that spot on the dial (93.7) would never be the same.