Former WCOZ/WCAS DJ and "FM underground" pioneer Larry Miller returns to Boston airwaves!
I'm pleased to announce that Larry Miller, one of the pioneering DJ's of the "FM underground" radio movement of the 1960's, is joining the "Lost and Found" 1960's/70's music program at WMBR, MIT's all-volunteer non-commercial college and community radio station!
Until around 1966/1967, FM radio consisted of stations programming mainly classical, jazz, and background "elevator" music (when not simulcasting their AM partners). Rock'n'roll music was represented mainly on Top 40 stations on the AM band. Except for a few eclectic shows on non-commercial stations (including MIT's WTBS, now WMBR) there was not yet such a thing as "album rock" radio on the FM band, or on any commercial radio stations for that matter.
In 1966, legendary New York DJ's such as Scott Muni and Murray The K briefly experimented with a "deeper" approach to rock music programming on pioneering NYC FM rock station WOR-FM before WNEW-FM and WABC-FM/WPLJ became established as NYC's progressive album rockers, and in Boston, Dick Summer on WBZ evenings explored a "mellower" style of rock programming which was a precursor to "soft rock".
The doors to progressive "underground" rock programming were blown open a few months later in the Bay Area when Larry Miller joined foundering, brokered-time FM station KMPX San Francisco for an innovative overnight program in February 1967, blending the new album rock of the day with folk, blues, jazz, R&B, and whatever else fit in while establishing a "flow", creating thematic sets, and exploring the art of the crossover segue, creative elements which were not part of formatted AM Top 40 radio.
Larry's KMPX program also included album material from new local area artists of the day, which then included Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, The Doors, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Buffalo Springfield, The Grateful Dead, and many others who defined the psychedelic west coast sound at the time.
A few months later in April 1967, the late Tom Donahue took over as Program Director of KMPX, expanding the concept which Larry had begun into a full-time format for the station, and thereby claiming historical credit as pioneer of the "FM underground" progressive album rock format (for the west coast anyway).
Following a labor strike at KMPX in 1968, Donahue and most of the staff moved over to KSAN, which became legendary as San Francisco's FM album rock station throughout the 1970's. Many such stations were springing up in many major cities by that time (such as Boston's WBCN in March 1968), and Larry then returned to Detroit (where he had previously hosted a program on classical WDTM in the early 60's), and joined Detroit's burgeoning "FM underground" album rock station WABX for a three year stint in their "progressive" heyday.
The early 70's brought Larry back and forth across the country to major FM progressive rock stations including KLOS in Los Angeles, WPLJ New York City, and WBAB on Long Island until finally landing in Boston in 1977 where I remember first hearing him on WCOZ 94.5, a progressive album rock station which gave Boston's FM album rock leader WBCN a run for their money for a few years in the late 70's.
When WCOZ switched to a brief flash-in-the-pan hard rock format in 1979 (it's now urban "Jammin' 94.5" WJMN), Larry moved to the wonderful but short lived folk/folk-rock station WCAS 740 AM in Cambridge. (WCAS went under in 1982 and became gospel station WLVG, and is now WJIB, a great independent station in it's own right).
As FM rock radio became more mainstream in the 1980's, Larry decided to retire from the format. He was from the progressive "free-form" radio school of the late 60's, and he felt that the more formatted direction it was taking was not for him. He briefly played country-rock with a few former WCAS DJ's on WDLW 1330 AM (now WRCA), then returned to classical programming on WBUR (before they went all-news), WCRB, and WBOQ (now oldies North Shore 104.9).
Larry is now retired from professional radio and is teaching communications here in the Boston area, and is joining WMBR's all-volunteer staff. He will be hosting the 1960's/70's music show "Lost and Found" this season in my former (1983 to 1995) time slot, Tuesdays 12 noon to 2 PM, beginning October 4'th.
"Lost and Found" is WMBR's long-running (25 years!) mid-day 1960's/70's music program, showcasing a wide variety of "lost" tracks from the era including pop, rock, R&B, soul and much more, with a different host each weekday. Larry will be recapturing the flavor of 1960's "FM underground" progressive radio in his slot.
I left WMBR for three years in 1995, and returned in 1998 to do the "Lost & Found" Thursday slot until one year ago last week, when I retired from the show. (I no longer have the time or finances in my life to support doing weekly volunteer radio in today's economy). However, I will be returning to assist Larry some with his Tuesday slot, and perhaps may sit in from time to time.
My version of the "Lost & Found" show was essentially an imitation of what I heard listening to "FM underground" progressive rock programming on Boston area stations like WTBS and WBCN in the late 60's. I could only emulate what I had heard through young ears years before. Larry Miller was one of the pioneers of that radio sound, he was really there. It will be an honor to be participating in radio with him at WMBR.
WMBR can be heard at 88.1 FM in greater Boston, northeastern and parts of central Massachusetts and some areas of southern New Hampshire.
WMBR also streams live on the web from their site <u>http://www.wmbr.org</u>
I'm pleased to announce that Larry Miller, one of the pioneering DJ's of the "FM underground" radio movement of the 1960's, is joining the "Lost and Found" 1960's/70's music program at WMBR, MIT's all-volunteer non-commercial college and community radio station!
Until around 1966/1967, FM radio consisted of stations programming mainly classical, jazz, and background "elevator" music (when not simulcasting their AM partners). Rock'n'roll music was represented mainly on Top 40 stations on the AM band. Except for a few eclectic shows on non-commercial stations (including MIT's WTBS, now WMBR) there was not yet such a thing as "album rock" radio on the FM band, or on any commercial radio stations for that matter.
In 1966, legendary New York DJ's such as Scott Muni and Murray The K briefly experimented with a "deeper" approach to rock music programming on pioneering NYC FM rock station WOR-FM before WNEW-FM and WABC-FM/WPLJ became established as NYC's progressive album rockers, and in Boston, Dick Summer on WBZ evenings explored a "mellower" style of rock programming which was a precursor to "soft rock".
The doors to progressive "underground" rock programming were blown open a few months later in the Bay Area when Larry Miller joined foundering, brokered-time FM station KMPX San Francisco for an innovative overnight program in February 1967, blending the new album rock of the day with folk, blues, jazz, R&B, and whatever else fit in while establishing a "flow", creating thematic sets, and exploring the art of the crossover segue, creative elements which were not part of formatted AM Top 40 radio.
Larry's KMPX program also included album material from new local area artists of the day, which then included Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, The Doors, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Buffalo Springfield, The Grateful Dead, and many others who defined the psychedelic west coast sound at the time.
A few months later in April 1967, the late Tom Donahue took over as Program Director of KMPX, expanding the concept which Larry had begun into a full-time format for the station, and thereby claiming historical credit as pioneer of the "FM underground" progressive album rock format (for the west coast anyway).
Following a labor strike at KMPX in 1968, Donahue and most of the staff moved over to KSAN, which became legendary as San Francisco's FM album rock station throughout the 1970's. Many such stations were springing up in many major cities by that time (such as Boston's WBCN in March 1968), and Larry then returned to Detroit (where he had previously hosted a program on classical WDTM in the early 60's), and joined Detroit's burgeoning "FM underground" album rock station WABX for a three year stint in their "progressive" heyday.
The early 70's brought Larry back and forth across the country to major FM progressive rock stations including KLOS in Los Angeles, WPLJ New York City, and WBAB on Long Island until finally landing in Boston in 1977 where I remember first hearing him on WCOZ 94.5, a progressive album rock station which gave Boston's FM album rock leader WBCN a run for their money for a few years in the late 70's.
When WCOZ switched to a brief flash-in-the-pan hard rock format in 1979 (it's now urban "Jammin' 94.5" WJMN), Larry moved to the wonderful but short lived folk/folk-rock station WCAS 740 AM in Cambridge. (WCAS went under in 1982 and became gospel station WLVG, and is now WJIB, a great independent station in it's own right).
As FM rock radio became more mainstream in the 1980's, Larry decided to retire from the format. He was from the progressive "free-form" radio school of the late 60's, and he felt that the more formatted direction it was taking was not for him. He briefly played country-rock with a few former WCAS DJ's on WDLW 1330 AM (now WRCA), then returned to classical programming on WBUR (before they went all-news), WCRB, and WBOQ (now oldies North Shore 104.9).
Larry is now retired from professional radio and is teaching communications here in the Boston area, and is joining WMBR's all-volunteer staff. He will be hosting the 1960's/70's music show "Lost and Found" this season in my former (1983 to 1995) time slot, Tuesdays 12 noon to 2 PM, beginning October 4'th.
"Lost and Found" is WMBR's long-running (25 years!) mid-day 1960's/70's music program, showcasing a wide variety of "lost" tracks from the era including pop, rock, R&B, soul and much more, with a different host each weekday. Larry will be recapturing the flavor of 1960's "FM underground" progressive radio in his slot.
I left WMBR for three years in 1995, and returned in 1998 to do the "Lost & Found" Thursday slot until one year ago last week, when I retired from the show. (I no longer have the time or finances in my life to support doing weekly volunteer radio in today's economy). However, I will be returning to assist Larry some with his Tuesday slot, and perhaps may sit in from time to time.
My version of the "Lost & Found" show was essentially an imitation of what I heard listening to "FM underground" progressive rock programming on Boston area stations like WTBS and WBCN in the late 60's. I could only emulate what I had heard through young ears years before. Larry Miller was one of the pioneers of that radio sound, he was really there. It will be an honor to be participating in radio with him at WMBR.
WMBR can be heard at 88.1 FM in greater Boston, northeastern and parts of central Massachusetts and some areas of southern New Hampshire.
WMBR also streams live on the web from their site <u>http://www.wmbr.org</u>