In 2000, WCBS-FM was still a solid 1950s and 1960s based Oldies station. The format featured lots of old Do-Wop style music and pre-Beatles-era songs along with the harder stuff like the Rolling Stones. At this point in time, CBS_FM was live 24/7. Don K. Reed was doing the overnight show this particular early morning. It starts at 5:00 at the end of what is branded “All-Night Radio”. Reed reminds his listeners that Harry Harrison in the Morning is starting in 20 minutes, at 5:30, and he lets listeners know what’s coming up in the news at the top of the hour. There are two full newscasts. The first is at the beginning of this aircheck, right after the Top Hour ID jingle. The second is at 5:30 just before Harry Harrison.
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The news of the day will bring us back to the big dot com bubble with news of the America Online (AOL) and Time Warner merger. This was a BIG deal back then. Remember AOL? Back in the 1990s if you didn’t have AOL or Prodigy or one of the other dialup ‘services’, it was next to impossible to get online with a PC. Remember Windows 95? Windows 2000? Virtually nobody has one of those early operating systems. So, while this aircheck will sound fresh, think back to just how long ago this was. By the way. If you wish to really dive into the past, you can go to this website. It’ll take you back to those wonder years when we all couldn’t wait to upgrade from Windows 3.1!
Want another reminder of how long ago 20 years is? Don K. Reed reads a live ad for the new Blackberry phone. Blackberry, which recently was announced is no longer being manufactured. Good heavens, time flies fast!
Back to this aircheck. The audio quality is so-so. It seems to have been recorded with an analog receiver which was tuned slightly off-frequency. But it is in stereo. That glorious reverb stands out, especially during the news, as there was no music underneath.
Every brand new day should be unwrapped like a precious gift! – Harry Harrison
After the news, Harry Harrison arrives. On time and true to form! Harry had such a warm personality. It was like listening to your best friend! Listen to how he interacts with his traffic babe and the listeners. Listen to how he introduces a record. One of the very best morning personalities in the history of radio.
On the other side, there’s a radio station with Harry Harrison in the morning followed by Ron Lundy, Dan Ingram and George Michael. We’ll just have to wait till, as Mark Twain put it, “till the woodbine twineth” to hear it.
Part 1 of 4 parts
