Station: 770 (AM) WABC New York City, New York, USA
Format: Top 40
Featured Air Personality: Howard Hoffman (WPIX-FM/WPRO-FM/KUAM/KMEL/KKFR/WQHT/KFRC/KMPC)
Comments:
1980 was a year of change for WABC. By the end of the year the music would begin to shift to a more adult sound, but in the early part of 1980, WABC was still a hot Top 40 station, as evidenced by this short scope of the wacky Howard Hoffman show. Hoffman is really out of control on this night. How does one describe the Howard Hoffman show? Well, lets just say that he wouldn’t be allowed on the air with this approach anywhere today.
WABC, with Hoffman in the lineup, is a much different sounding station than that of just over a year prior, when PD Al Brady cleaned house, getting rid of most of the staple WABC jocks except for Ron Lundy and Dan Ingram (who, at the time of this aircheck, was doing mornings). Still, this is Top 40 WABC and the brand with it’s late 70s Jam jingles is still intact.
There aren’t many recordings of the end of the Top 40 era at WABC, and this one from 1980 is an original recording available no place else but right here. We invite you to listen now to this unique slice of history!
Howard You Went On To Join KMEL In The Mid’ 80’s And Then To WQHT In The Early ’90’s Right?
Howard Hoffman was in Phoenix in the late 80’s/early 90’s. I worked with him at KKFR in 87/88.
I am noticing how many network spots they are running…and very few (if any) local spots. This might indicate that WABC is in trouble.
That’s something I hadn’t thought about. But that’s a valid point. Those network spots were must carry and I don’t think WABC made a dime on them, it went to the corporate account.