More Programming Geniuses...
Here are, in my opinion, some more programming geniuses:
(1) Clark Smidt: In the early 1970's, he took WBZ-FM-106.7 to an automated top-40 format which for a time was the second-most-popular station among young adults in the market, behind only WRKO-680.
In 1975, he left WBZ and took over programming duties at the old WCOZ-94.5, which at the time was an also-ran beautiful-music station. In August of that year, Smidt dumped beautiful music for a "modified" progressive-rock format, at first automated, but with live announcers 17 hours a day by October (and 24/7 by the end of 1975). The station quickly became a force to be reckoned with in Boston radio.
Smidt eventually became a radio programming consultant; I believe Smidt is still in that business.
(2) Tommy Hadges: In March of 1968, he put together a late-evening and overnight show called "The American Revolution", a program of progressive rock, on WBCN-104.1 (which was otherwise classical). The block became quite successful, and as a result, 'BCN went 24/7 progressive rock by that Summer. He started what has now become arguably the most legendary rock station in the business.
(3) Ron Robin: Why would I include a top-40 jock among my list of programming geniuses? In early 1978, he left the old WVBF-105.7 in a dispute over the length of a weekly program of disco music he did titled "Disco Notes". He found a new home for the show at WBOS-92.9; at first a four-hour show on Sunday nights. By April, disco had expanded to the 8 P.M.-12 Midnight hours every night; by September, WBOS was New England's first 24/7 disco station, and Ron Robin programmed it. For a few months in late 1978 and early 1979, WBOS was extremely successful as a disco station, ranking in the Arbitron top ten in 12-plus and even higher among teenagers and young adults (indeed, the station's ratings were much higher during late 1978 and early 1979 than they were prior to that or have been since).
The success of WBOS as a disco station was short-lived as WXKS-107.9 flipped to disco in January, 1979 and with a huge promotions budget, blew 'BOS out of the water and forced it to change formats in 1980. I'm of the opinion that if "Kiss-108" had not come along at that point, WBOS would have become hugely successful in 1979 and might well have evolved the way "Kiss-108" eventually did (going beyond pure disco).
(4) Arnie "Woo-Woo" Ginsberg: As far as I've been able to determine, "Woo-Woo" was the man who made the decision for WXKS-1430 to drop disco (and a partial simulcast with it's FM sister station) in late 1979 to flip to adult standards as one of the first four or five "Music of Your Life" stations. As a disco station partially simulcasting it's FM sister, WXKS-AM barely showed up in the ratings. After the flip to adult standards, the station did far better, even landing in the top ten (in 12-plus) during one Arbitron book---and this was back when WXKS-AM was still a daytimer!
(5) John H. Garabedian: At the end of the 1960's and the beginning of the 1970's, he was the youthful program director (and an air personality) at the then-WMEX-1510. Although the recently-flipped-to-Top-40 (1967) WRKO-680 had a much better signal than WMEX, the fact that WMEX was able to successfully compete against WRKO for a time was due in large part to Garabedian's programming skills. And he's still in the business, hosting the weekly "Open House Party" which is syndicated to a number of top-40/CHR stations around the country.
