Courtesy: Rob Frankel
This aircheck features WWRL, one of New York’s AM R&B stations. Thought the 70s, the station competed head to head against 1190 WLIB, but in the early 1980s, WLIB decided to go in a direction to serve New York’s West Indian & Caribbean population, playing Reggae, Calypso, Soca, and other sounds from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, St. Vincent, Grenada, and Haiti. WWRL was a victim of the FM migration, as much of it’s audience moved to FM & WBLS.
This air check features a rare 1960s recording of WWRL and it features Frankie Crocker, who would soon leave WWRL for WMCA, then join WLIB & launch WBLS. -Ellis
