Thanks to Contributor Ellis Feaster, who sent this in last Summer with the Bob Grant recordings, here’s the PERFECT way to start off your New Year’s Eve morning – with music and coffee and Harry Harrison on WABC!
This particular morning, Harrison brought in his family and they actually get to say hello on the air. WABC is in the middle of playing the Top 100 songs of 1975 and as they did back then, this was not (at least in the morning) played back in order, rather just with a “Hit of the Year” jingle, where the jock would add the song number. This is scoped, but you’ll note “Lady Marmalade” played and some other big songs of ’75… noteworthy because in later years especially in the 80s and 90s. it seemed as if big uptempo songs weren’t played much even in Top 40 radio during Morning Drive. That’s all different today where playlists & rotations generally don’t change much during the dayparts, but it was a bigger thing back then.
This is VERY enjoyable, and a must listen for fans of Music Radio 77!
I’m listening to this on 12-31-15 at 8:30 am…EXACTLY 40 years later! really cool to hear Patti Harrison as a little kid. she would go on to be a radio personality herself. I remember driving up I-25 outside Ft. Collins Colorado in 1990 listening to one of the local stations, AM 600. this was about 5 am Mountain time, and hearing Harry Harrison on WABC re-broadcasting on 600. probably some kind of overnight satellite automation glitch.
Love that old-style “hall” echo chamber WABC used.
This aircheck is noteworthy in that Harry says ABC at least three times. This practice was very shortlived. The legal deparment very quickly insisted that the W be used when giving the call letters in order to differentiate the local from the network.