Station: 107.1 WWZY Monmouth, New Jersey, USA
Format: Oldies
Featured Air Personality: Herb Oscar Anderson (WMCA/WABC/WCBS-FM/WWZY/WOSN)
Comments:
Shortly after WCBS-FM brought back the Oldies format to New York City, WWZY, “The Breeze” in Monmouth NJ celebrated the careers of some legendary personalities from New York and New Jersey. Kicking off the program was a man known and loved by many from his days in the 60s at 77 WABC.
Herb Oscar Anderson was first at 9:00 on this particular Saturday Morning. HOA shared his memories of WABC, Paisades Park and other landmarks, and had as his guests, Dan Ingram (via telephone), Bob Shannon and Joe McCoy. His producer: WWZY Program Director Mike Fitzgerald. HOA was an accomplished musician and sang his theme song “Hello to You” live, as well as a number of other songs… covers of old songs many people haven’t heard in a long time. This recording starts out very fuzzy, as conditions at the receiver were pretty bad, but this clears up about 20 minutes into this fantastic aircheck.
Herb Oscar Anderson died on January 29, 2017. His son John posted this to HOA’s facebook page announcing his passing.
Musicradio77.com has a few good airchecks of Anderson on 77 WABC. You can hear them at THIS LINK.
I listened to Herb Oscar for years while living in NYC 40 something years ago.
On WABC and on WHN. I recall the WHN shows were better than WABC because Herb was allowed to chat more especially with a weather forecaster named Charlie. I don”t recall his last name but Herb as always was very entertaining.
One day, in a heavy snow storm, Herb was driving to work but was running late.
So, he got on the car phone,as they were called back then, and called the station.
On the phone he sang, live as always. Hello Again.
So he was on the air in a timely fashion while
traversing the slippery roadways.
He really sounded pretty darn good singing Hello Again in the car while the music ran from the studio on a tape.
Just a memory about HOA…ALL THE WAY.
A wonderful radio talent who, thankfully, is still with us.
Thanks Herb, I spent many hours with you and enjoyed all the time spent.
They don’t make ’em like you anymore.
I listened to Herb Oscar Anderson each and every morning. I loved to listen to his cheery voice. I “think” he used to sing…when I was a little fellow, my mother used to say to me, son when you re older and you re wiser, you ll be in very good company. you can read it in the papers, or see it everywhere you go…etc´.. roses are red, violets are blue, bees find their honey, and so will you, just looke around,…to Bert Kaempferts That Happy Feeling. PLEASE, PLEASE contact Mr. Anderson to send me the lyrics. I live in Berlin and everyone here is anxious to hear the words. Thank you. Daria-Tanis J. Spenke
Daria- Here are the lyrics just like HOA used to sing them back in the early 1960’s:
That happy Feeling
“”When I was a little fella, my father used to say to me.
Son you’ll find that happy feeling. A simple technicality.
Now that you can touch the ceiling, and you’re husky as can be.
Ma says your voice is getting lower, it’s time for physiology.
Roses are red, violets are blue, bees find their honey, how about you?
Just turn around and look carefully, you should find one’s with electricity.
If your heart goes pitter-patter, and she’s rather giggley.
I checked it in the dictionary; it called tenacity.
Once you’ve found that happy feeling, it lights you like a Christmas tree.
The farmers say they know the answer; you’ll need a subsidy.
If you feel there’s no use fighting, she’s won her biggest victory.
My boy I’ve seen it happen often, it’s called contagious apathy.
You can read it in the papers, you’ll see it everywhere you go,
I’m sure there must be something to it; I heard it on the radio.
A simple technicality.
It’s time for physiology.
It’s called contagious apathy””.
Thank you for your time and effort in looking plus obtaining the lyrics to “That Happy Feeling” composed by Bert Kaempfert and lyrics by Herb Oscar Anderson. When I first saw the lyrics, my heart was lifted, it went pitter-patter and an uncontrollable smile came to my face as I screamed with delight. I went on the internet to sing the words to Bert kaempfert’s orchestration of the song. I telephoend first my Mother, then my sister and sang it to them. I wrote down the lyrics so that when I walk my dogs I sing it to them. Believe it or not, each and every Saturday and Sunday morning, when I walk the dogs very early in the morning, I go to the field and on my way home, as I’m walking down the street where I live, it starts from the field…and as I’m walking I sing the words to this song all the way home until I get inside my apartment. That’s how much I LOVE this song.
Again, thank you, very, very much,
Daria-Tanis Jetter SPENKE (an American in Berlin, Germany)
I was Herb’s board-op that day. It was a honor. Herb is a very unassuming man who is just as warm off-air as on.
TRIVIA: Bert Kaempfert’s instrumental “That Happy Feeling” has two New York City media connections. One is Herb Oscar Anderson doing a vocal version to Kaempfert’s recording, the other is as the theme of “The Sandy Becker Show”. a children’s live-action/cartoon show (Becker did the live-action part, of course) on WNEW (now WNYW)-TV in New York.
The Breeze was a gold-based adult contemporary station at the time of this aircheck, which probably accounted for its Radio Greats Weekend heard here.(This event was not unlike the “Rock ‘n’ Roll Radio Greats Weekends” heard every few years on WCBS-FM from the mid-80s to the mid-90s–well into its first stint as an oldies station [when several of the radio greats who were guests on The Breeze that weekend were deejays on ‘CBS-FM]). In either 2011 or late 2010, recent AC hits, plus slightly hard rock hits were added. Earlier this year, current hits from both genres were added. Both programming moves updated the sound of “The Breeze” and converted it to its current mainstream (albeit still gold-based) AC format (what’s now known as mainstream AC being a cross betweeen Hot AC and modern-day Soft AC).
I don’t know if The Breeze is still legally known as WWZY, but the station is now (and has been as of 2013) called “107.1 FM” (pronounced “one-oh-seven-one FM”) and is now Hot AC.
Hear Herb sing “That Happy Felling” on Youtube! //www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrctKRTYmKw