Charlie Van Dyke & Company, 68 WRKO Boston | April 6, 1979

Bob Gilmore is proving to be a great source of airchecks – having recorded thousands himself, his are original recordings of vintage radio. This one’s no exception. Check out Bob’s website, www.bobgilmore.com.

Charlie Van Dyke is one of America’s foremost voices, heard on TV, Radio and even in Movie Trailers… but for most of the 70s and 80s, his career was spent behind the mic of some of the best Top 40 stations ever heard. WRKO, by 1979 is feeling the pressure from FM – WVBF, in particular, and unbeknownst to most people, is in it’s final year as a Top 40 station. I consider this the best that RKO sounded, even better than the 60s Drake incarnation.

J.J. Jeffrey/Chuck Knapp and the “Top 300 Best of All Time”, 68 WRKO Boston | October 20, 1967

Our good friend Bob Gilmore returns with another fantastic aircheck of old!

It seems kind of odd that WRKO, a new station at this point, having flipped to Top 40 from the former WNAC earlier in the year, would be counting down the Top 300 Best of All Time – I mean, the Rock & Roll era only began 12 years prior… but I digress. J.J. Jeffrey starts out counting down the hits from #232 to #230 before handing the reigns to Chuck Knapp. Chuck continues with songs #229 – #220. The recording ends in the middle of a commercial break with Knapp doing a live read for Surf Music.

This is CLASSIC Drake Top 40! Cue the Johnny Mann Singers, and the original WRKO Jingles. All the formatics are in place, Jeffrey and Knapp are puking (not in a literal sense, puking in this vernacular, describes a way of speaking on the radio… a throaty, high pitched inflective voice that frankly, irritates like fingers on a blackboard.), which drives me crazy!, and the commercial breaks are filled with businesses that no longer exist, or are memorable for many reasons. And, speaking of live commercial reads, there are LOTS of them, and lots of live “tags” – live reads that the deejay would say at the end of a recorded commercial which was part of the spot.

For those of you wondering what radio really sounded like; what the roots of Top 40/CHR radio are, this is a history lesson you won’t learn in school. WRKO today might irritate its listeners with it’s uber-conservative talk shows (and Howie Carr ain’t no Top 40 jock, that’s for sure)… but this is what “The Big 68″ was in it’s glory years, at the very beginning. And there’s just no comparison to now from then. We hope you enjoy!

Sunny Joe White, WXKS-FM Kiss 108 Medford/Boston | November, 1989

In the history of Boston radio, perhaps no other Program Director was as successful or famous as “Sunny” Joe White. Hired by Ritchie Balsbaugh to launch Disco “Kiss 108″ in 1978 from the ashes of Beautiful Music WWEL-FM 107.9, White took Boston’s first Disco station straight to number 1. By late 1979, as the Disco fad faded into oblivion, White took Kiss in a new direction, and by mid-1980, Kiss was straight-ahead Top 40, where it remains as of this writing.

Sunny Joe White’s success with Kiss 108 really is unparallelled, at least from a longevity standpoint. While the decade of the 70s saw WRKO as the mainstream Top 40 outlet, RKO never achieved the ratings or fame that Kiss did. At one point in the 1983, Kiss OWNED the CHR format in a four station race that included WHTT, WZOU, Kiss, and even for a time, WROR 98.5, which tried the format for a while in ‘83 before returning to AC.

But this ‘check is from 1989. While personnel changes and a loss of CHR competition would mark the 90s, Kiss is still going strong, in a mainstream battle between itself and crosstown WZOU Z-94. White, in addition to PD was also the night jock, in a position that he would hold a little while longer before a dispute with Balsbaugh would force him out in the 90s, only for him to wind up at Fairbanks’ WVBF.

Kiss really cooks here. White is returning from vacation and is having a lot of fun. The music rotation leans a bit more rhythmic, but the Rolling Stones make an appearance, as does Starship and a few other Rock dinosaurs.

Runs 7:09, scoped. Courtesy of Robyn Watts and “East Coast Airchecks”

Loren & Wally, 105.7 WROR Framingham / Boston | March 21, 1998

A staple of Boston radio since 1979, Loren Owens and Wally Brine have occupied the morning slot on the 105.7 FM frequency ever since taking over from another Boston legend, Dale Dorman, on the old WVBF. Through four different formats and three call letter changes, Loren and Wally have remained remakably consistent and remain Boston’s longest running morning show, second in history only to Carl DeSuze, who did mornings at WBZ for over 40 years.

While relatively recent (at over 10 years old, is this really ‘recent’?), this ‘check from 1998 showcases both the talent and the format at 105.7, which at this time was still an attempt at re-creating the former WROR at 98.5 (Now WBZ-FM “The Sports Hub”) from the early 1980’s. It was a good format, which included, for a time, former WROR (98.5) jocks Joe Martelle and Jimmy Roberts (I remember him as Jim Roberts in the 80s).

This is definitely worth a listen for the humor and for a format that was quite enjoyable to listen to.

Dale Dorman, WXKS-FM Medford/Boston (Kiss 108 FM) | May 1, 1999

What teens, do you suppose, knew that in 1999, one of their favorite DJs was in his 60s? Dale Dorman is now semi-retired and doing weekends at WODS, but at the time of this airchecks, he was at the tail end of a 20+ year run as the Afternoon Drive jock at Boston’s “Kiss-108 FM”.

Dorman is one of those jocks who made it big in the RKO chain of stations back when personality really mattered. Once the Morning Show host at WRKO in it’s top 40 heyday, Dorman also spent time doing West Coast top 40 at KFRC San Francisco in the late 60s, and after WRKO was the morning guy at Fairbanks’ WVBF in it’s “F-105″ incarnation.

Over 9 minutes scoped from the original 30, here’s Uncle Dave, STILL doing top 40 and sounding like he’s relevant and loves the music despite being generations older than his main audience. And perhaps the point of this is that great talent still commands an audience regardless of his or her age, and that just because a certain approach appears outdated, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t still work. For radio management, there’s an obvious lesson in this. And you know what it is

The End of an Era: 104.1 WBCN Boston Says Goodbye, Part 4 | August 8, 2009

For the third time this year, an iconic rock radio station in a major city is shifting formats: Boston’s 104.1 WBCN, “The Rock of Boston,” (left) the airwaves on August 13th. The rock station had been broadcasting for 41 years. According to Billboard.biz, WBCN was a victim of CBS Radio’s desire to launch an all-sports talk radio station on the FM dial. The company’s Adult Top 40 Mix station (made) the jump from 98.5 to 104.1, with the sports station taking over at 98.5. WBCN (lives) on off the radio waves as a Web and HD-radio broadcast.

- Rolling Stone Magazine, July 16, 2009

Part four of this four-day retrospective concentrates on PM Drive. Bradley Jay is an in-studio guest, as is Ken Shelton (continued from the previous segment), and others. You’ll hear more WBCN Lunch songs, lots of promos for “The Sports Hub”, the new Sports station WBZ-FM 98.5, some mention of the new WBCN format going to 98.5 HD2 and WBCN Progressive going to 98.5 HD3… but oddly enough, thus far in their broadcast, no mention of WBMX taking over as “Mix 104.1″.

Meanwhile, Boston.com, the Boston Globe’s online presence, has put up an interview with former WBCN Morning Mattress personality Charles Laquidera. They allow sharing, so, let me post this interview for all to watch… from Maui! Never let it be said that radio jocks don’t get to live the good life sometimes!

Watch this at Boston.com

And now, WBCN Boston says goodbye – Part 4..

The End of an Era: 104.1 WBCN Boston Says Goodbye, Part 3 | August 8, 2009

If you’ve landed here and are wondering what happened to WBCN’s internet stream, which they said would remain along with the WBCN Rock format on WBZ-FM HD2? Well, click this link. It points to wbcn.com, which CBS has turned into an information page along with ‘listen live’, and a link page to the other Boston area CBS radio stations.

In this part you’ll hear more of Ken Shelton and his recollections, part 2 of a long, live segment with Howard Stern, best wishes recorded by artists like Bono, and more. Runs almost two hours, scoped.

The End of an Era: 104.1 WBCN Boston Says Goodbye, Part 2 | August 8, 2009

It was more than 40 years ago, on a March night in 1968, when WBCN-FM (104.1) decided to break from its classical music format. Instead of Bach, listeners that evening heard “I Feel Free,’’ by the Eric Clapton-led rock band Cream, and right then Boston’s local music scene was transformed.

The Boston Globe – July 15, 2009
Read the full article here.

That was what the Globe printed the day after WBCN parent company CBS, Inc. announced the frequency swap of WBMX to 104.1, the demise of the then-current WBCN and the impending launch of a new FM Sports station on 98.5.

In a very real sense, a living legend was being snuffed out. Or, perhaps it was more like put out of its misery. WBCN WAS the Rock Of Boston, and in its heyday it was more than a radio station, more than a Rock station, more than an institution… WBCN was to Progressive Rock what Rolling Stone is to the music and entertainment industry. Its the station that Peter Wolf was a DJ at, before becoming a sensation as lead singer of the J. Geils Band. It was one of the pioneering stations of the Album Rock format (which led, inevitably, to the Classic Rock format, the Active Rock format and the Alternative format). But in recent years, the station was dying a slow death from a cancer that was growing both in Boston Rock Radio, and with the station itself that grew out of the loss of the Howard Stern Show.. which, ironically, was never a local program despite the fact that Stern essentially got his radio start in Boston at local WNTN (1550 AM). Sales were down substantially before the economic downturn of September ‘08, and the station’s ratings had been steadilly falling for over a decade. The answer to ‘why’ might lie in the fact that greater Boston’s youth was increasingly more interested in Rap, Hip-Hop and R&B music in recent years, and the fact that so many stations in Beantown were playing some form of Rock music… stations like co-owned WZLX (Classic Rock), WAAF, a recent move-in signal that used to be licensed to Worcester but moved to Westborough to cover the city better and the launch of a WAAF simulcast on the former WILD-FM (ex WBOT, WCAV-FM) as WKAF, plus rimshot Rockers 94 HJY from Providence, WHEB-FM Portsmouth NH, WGIR-FM Manchester and other stations heard well in the suburbs… not to mention WBOS and WXRV doing a lighter form of Rock and WFNX, a relatively low power but well listened to Alternative station. Its quite amazing that WBCN lasted as long as it did.

We give kudos to the CBS and in particular, the CBS Boston cluster’s management and staff. Quite often when there’s a format change, there’s an abrupt change, a few hours of stunting, then a new format… and the listeners are just left hanging. This time was much different. Four full days were alloted to celebrating the storied history of WBCN, which included special guests, celebrities, and former disc jockeys, also featured plenty of airchecks and classic songs & programming elements.

Perhaps it is because the then-current WBCN Active Rock format moved to WBZ-FM HD3 as a digital station, and that a retro “progressive WBCN’ format is on another HD signal. Or, perhaps CBS decided that this time, for once, the listeners, staff and station should be given the respect due this institution. For whatever the reason, this one time, CBS and local management, right down to the last jock, did the best format change / frequency swap I’ve heard since the big switch in New York in 1988 which saw WNBC (660) expire and WFAN move from 1050 to 660 along with some other swaps. Kudos to ALL! Great job!!!

The End of an Era: 104.1 WBCN Boston Says Goodbye, Part 1 | August 8, 2009

With very special thanks to contributor Jeff Lehman, we are proud to be the only place to chronicle the end of an era: A four-day celebration of the “Rock of Boston” WBCN.

The history of WBCN is described in various places on the web, but the technical and historical aspects of 104.1 can be viewed HERE, courtesy of The Archives @ BostonRadio.org.. We provide this historical link because we feel that the history behind WBCN is as important as the entertainment value of the airchecks featured in this series.

After 41 years as THE Rock station to turn to (some would argue that it was the first 30 years that actually counted), owner CBS, inc. pulled the plug on the format in a move that saw sister station call letters and format of WBMX 98.5 (formerly WROR, WRKO-FM) moved to the 104.1 frequency, a format change on 98.5 to Sports with new calls WBZ-FM, and a format which resurrected the old WBCN ‘Freeform’ radio days of the 60s & 70s placed on the WZLX-HD3 sub-channel (100.7), and the then-current WBCN Rock format re-started on WBZ-FM-HD2 sub-channel.

Here at airchexx, our mission isn’t to describe the stations’ history, but to feature the captured audio for posterity. This is the first in a multi-part series that will showcase the last four days of programming on WBCN 104.1, WBMX 98.5, along with the first few hours of programming of WBMX “Mix 104.1″ and WBZ-FM 98.5 “The Sports Hub”.

The music and commercials have been edited out and only programming content remains, in order to comply with the various copyright laws concerning current commercials and recorded music (for those of you who may be CBS lawyers ). Still, segment one, 3 hours of the original 5 hour file, run about 1 hour 24 minutes long.

There are plenty of programming highlights in this first segment, beginning with a segment of “The Big Mattress” – the Charles Laquidera morning show from sometime in the 80s… then Bradley Jay hosts the rest of the show, with segments of past programs from Ken Shelton… guest disc jockeys Bill Murray (yes, THE Bill Murray the actor) and former jock Albert O.

Stay tuned… there’s plenty more to come in the four day celebration of the history of WBCN – “The Rock Of Boston”

QuickCheck: J.J. Wright, WXKS-FM Kiss-108 FM Boston | 1990

Thanks again to Robyn Watts for this four minute flashback to J.J. Wright’s afternoon drive show on Richie Balsbaugh’s ORIGINAL Kiss station (not Clear Channel’s copycats). Wright sounds great on this all-too-short recording. This is from an era of great sweepers and very tasty jingles. Wish there was more…

This tape is from one of many in a long series of “East Coast Airchecks” – a popular subscription aircheck service from that era.

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