Gene Klavan on WNEW 1130 New York | August 1975

WNEW "Eleven Three Oh" - "The World's Greatest Radio Station"

This starts out with a very nice narration by our contributor, Ed Montgomery. Very tastefully done and we thank Ed for this wonderful look at a very unique radio station!

One thing people remember about WNEW was the 15 or so year run that this station had as a pure, local, Standards station. What fewer people remember is when WNEW AM played some contemporary music. In fact, Metromedia had a very successful Full Service AC station on its hands, which was very heavy on personality. Gene Klavan is one of those hosts that WNEW fans remember fondly.

This begins with a 3 minute introduction by Ed Montgomery.
The aircheck opens in the middle of a commercial break – how about a 1975 Ford?! Then listen for WNEW News with Bob Hagan, and then on to the Gene Klavan show. What’s most striking about this is the conspicuous lack of what one would consider typical format elements. WNEW does play contemporary jingles, but in some odd places. Not once was there a jingle out of a stop set – or, for that matter, a typical stop set, since each song is separated either by Gene Klavan talking or a commercial (or two). And yet, for all it’s laid back mellowness, WNEW in this recording is playing a wide variety of contemporary music. Aretha Franklin, Keith Carradine, Glen Campbell and even 10cc’s “I’m Not In Love” can all be heard, in pieces anyway, since this had to be scoped down for legal presentation.

Enjoy this slice of the old WNEW 1130 from a time before it was standard to play Standards!

WNEW “Eleven Three Oh” – “The World’s Greatest Radio Station”