Remembering "Y107" - 10 Years Ago This Week

[disney fanatic]

This was according to Ray Rossi on the NYBHB:

Thomas Boston’s post on the NYRMB proclaimed tomorrow as the 10th anniversary of the switching of Y-107 eventually giving way to Rumba 107 the following day.

The change actually started in the fall of ’99 when Mike Kakoyiannis was replaced as CEO of Big City Radio by Charles Fernandez, who, according to “Barrons On-Line” >>got his start in business working for his uncle Amancio Suarez, a real-estate developer who owned two Spanish-language radio stations in South Florida. They sold out to a broadcasting chain called Heftel in 1995 for about $20 million.

He soon was CEO of Big City Radio, a radio chain that he converted to a Spanish-language format. Over the next three years, it lost $90 million and its stock slid from five bucks to 10 cents.<< (source: Barrons On-Line Saturday, October 22, 2011)

The rest, as they say, is history.

New management was brought in…staff tried in vain to convince clients that the station was going to remain with the country format…and a good many staffers, including good friend and market legend Jim Kerr, were let go in one fell swoop!

The last few months of Y-107’s existence were pure hell!

In the wake of the attack on the WTC, the station relocated from Hawthorne NY, into a pre World War II building (110 East 42nd St).
Ironic since at that at that time, many firms were LEAVING the city.

That winter, there was very little heat and the windows were left wide open at night.

One can only imagine what it was like coming in first thing in the morning to do a show under those conditions.

It only got worse as the winter turned into spring.

With the studio facing 42nd St, and the windows open, sound proofing did little to quell the din of the street below.

Adding to that was the fact that sandblasters would come by each morning at 7 to start a renovation project…making doing a show impossible.

There was never any time for a formal “goodbye” like the previous WYNY had in ’96.

How I managed to squeeze in a traffic report with Jay Tralease I’m still not able to figure out. The sandblasting project drowned out any attempt at a goodbye!

Whoever had the presence of mind to input “The Dance” into the ENCO before the start of the “hammers and saws” sound effects began, couldn’t have started it soon enough.

A sad way to make an exit!

But, it's all water under the bridge!

The reason why is that I didn't listen to that station back then, as of now, we have three stations including "The Wolf", WRWD and now "Kicks 105.5/106.3" that would brings country fans from the demise of WYNY's "Y107" when it was one of the quadcast. Down in New Jersey, they have "Thunder Country" at 106.3 and it did okay in the NYC area, but it didn't reached due to the pirates that has been going on. I found this clip is the last song that played on that station was "The Dance" by Garth Brooks. Here it is.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3674595221543443747

 

[Barry]

Y-107 was a very good country station that was ruined by an unfortunate change in management. It had live programming round the clock, and in-house produced programs such as a country dance show Saturday nights. Besides Jim Kerr and Ray Rossi, Amy Paige was another good jock there. Then nights went automated (OK, that was probably inevitable), Jim Kerr was let go, Amy left, and syndicated shows were aired. I still have no idea what the new bosses were thinking when they moved the studios from Hawthorne to that old building on 42nd street in Manhattan.
The new management had an agenda to convert the stations they gained control of, to Spanish formats. They apparently gave little thought to the fact that Rumba (the former Y-107) had precious little signal in the parts of the Metro area where there were large concentrations of Hispanic people. Predictably Rumba had disastrous ratings, and lasted only a few months. I recall checking out Rumba, and hearing mostly advertisers from the Jersey shore area, where the country format was quite popular.

 

[mary]

WOW 10 yrs, I was around with them, I have great memories and met great people. I even became a Alabama fan and still have the jacket I still wear it. I miss that group. They played Alabama alot. hey WYNY Y107 miss you all and Thanks.

 

[disney fanatic]

I'm glad you'd enjoyed it in the past. As I said, I didn't listened to "Y107" at the time when it was a country station in NYC. If you look at the Hudson Valley stations that were on at the time, there's WRWD which they did well before CC purchased it around 1999 or 2000 from either Roberts Radio or Strauss depending on the ownership. As of now, we got a few country stations that are so popular outside of New York City, we got WBDY/WDVY's "Kicks 105.5/106.3" in Danbury, CT. and in White Plains, WKXP/WZAD's "The Wolf" at 94.3 & 97.3, WRWD at 107.3 in Poughkeepsie and down in New Jersey, they got "Thunder Country" at 106.3, but it reached most of New York City including Staten Island, Manhattan, Long Island and Brooklyn, except the one in Brooklyn couldn't get the station due to the pirates that has been going on all the time. These four stations still fills in the void from the loss of WYNY's "Y107" back 10 years ago. "The Wolf" in Poughkeepsie also plays some country music along with a few classic 90's stuff that "Y107" used to played, I missed the "90's at 9" segment during the 9 AM hour with Jack Hammer when it was replaced by an hour of continuous country music at 9 AM and again at 5 PM with Beth Christy. The "90's at 9" on "The Wolf" was a segment playing country music from the 90's that we all remembered from the days of WYNY's "Country 103.5" and "Y107" back when Ray Rossi, Jim Kerr and a few others that are on "Y107" at the time when it was a quadcast station all on 107.1 until the format died around 2002. I remember when "The Wolf" sometimes played a song by Garth Brooks called "The Dance" which was the last song that played prior to the flip, this was the song that they remember reflecting back on WYNY's history as a country station that everyone remembered.

 

[nd2023]

The quadcast could still be a great idea today if all the stations were owned by the same company. Now there's a country station located near each 107.1. Having the 4 107.1s simulcast would be more profitable than Thunder 106.3, Kicks 106.3, Cat Country 96.1, and WJVC 96.1 combined. The signals would be strongest in the suburbs, yet would still be listenable in New York City if the transmitters were synchronized.

 

[XCountry285]

Too bad they aren't all at the same Frequency. Don't forget WRWD at 107.3 and at 99.3 FM in Hudson Valley and 94.3 and 97.3 The Wolf in the Hudson Valley as well.