South and Central Jersey Radio of the 70's

[John1]

Re: South and Central Jersey Radio of the 70's - Joey Reynolds on 11-7?

I remember hearing that Joey Reynolds ended up at WHLW sometime after his time at Wibbage but I never heard much about it. It would seem to have been a comedown from all those short stays in major markets before that. Some questions - did he do a regular air shift, what did the station sound like (was it more the casual top 40 of 1969-71 WIBG or straight top 40), and are there any good stories that can be posted here?
These were they days he was still considered the 'bad boy of radio' so it's hard to see him fitting in at a little daytimer at the shore.

When Joey R. was on WIBG he used to immitate Lee Moore ('the coffee sippin' night hawk') who did overnights at WWVA (and a lost reference to most Wibbage listeners) so its funny he later worked at a station crowded out on the dial by WWVA. I could never pick up WHLW in the NE suburbs of Philadelphia but WWVA boomed in from before sundown to past sunrise (days before 1170 in Somerville).

 

[Classic Puker]

With regard to WWVA (as opposed to WVWA, but I digress...): our pal Jim Schuyler ("... Of The Ozone") used to sign-on 11-7 during the beloved "pre-sunrise authority" power level of .000001 watt or something. I can recall driving down Clayton Road toward Jackson, and about half a mile later, buh bye Lakewood; hello Wheeling. Totally pointless to be on that frequency, when 'VA was spewing.

Now about KFWB again (no, this isn't about what "Mommy" is holding up... you have a filthy mind... ):

I have always been stymied as to why both B. Mitchel Reed AND Gary Stevens... each the nighttime teen idol on the biggest contemporary station in New York City (yes, they beat WABC for years!)... both lasted maybe only one, two years at 'MCA and then quit!

These guys each were superstars from the moment they arrived at Fabulous 57. Their names are remembered fondly by Radio fans, even today, some 40 years later. Had either of them dug into the market even a little bit longer, they would have been of Cousin Brucie proportions (not that both of them didn't become legends in other areas, but that's neither here nor there).

Here's the thing: both these guys QUIT WMCA, after far shorter reigns than anyone today realizes. Gary Stevens initially went to Boston (Market # Not Number One) to do WBZ, after its Top 40 days; BMR did not go immediately to the emerging new FM Rock format in Los Angeles... he went "back" (see survey pic) to KFWB to play the Ronettes.

Is there a story here? Who in the 1960's wouldn't have enjoyed being the number one jock in New York? Is there anyone who can shed some behind-the-scenes light on why they both spun right around and hightailed it out of WMCA so quickly?

 

[deff junction]

A friend of mine had dealings with the family that owned WMCA,the Straus family, and they were as cheap as they come.

 

[tom]

I was at WOND when Bob Weems left the morning show to do full time
track announcing at Monmouth Park and Atlantic City.

Hal Murray arrived in an old Pontiac with all of his possessions in
a U-Haul rack on the roof. He was a friendly old guy, wearing a
well worn coat and tie and smelling of Old Spice.

Hal was quite the self promoter, I still have all of his nicely
printed promotional pieces with his long dossier of stations.
(Someplace I have a reel with promos he recorded announcing
his arrival at WOND)
When you read the fine print, it looked like his New York days
were as a "vacation relief" announcer for the union at
every station in town.

Hal was not bad on the air, kind of corny, but friendly.
Unfortunately, he apparently had never run a board before,
as Jay eluded to. WOND had someone run the board for him
for a week, then he was on his own. He couldn't handle it,
missed lots of spots, couldn't get into the news, etc.

Management didn't put up with it, and before long Hal was
heading up the Parkway to WHLW.

 

[HarrytheK1]

You're right, Jay. Even though I had lost touch with him, I remember hearing some heart-breaking stories about him at the end as well. Yes, he did keep at it, but what did it get him?

What makes it even sadder yet is that he was such a big deal during his career. It seemed like he worked every major market and I guess, for a while, he was the king of the hill in Pittsburgh. I remember the stories about him introducing the Beatles the first (the only?) time they came to Pittsburgh.

He was really a nice, sweet, good-hearted guy. He would tell me about I don't know how many ex-wives he had and how many kids he had scattered throughout the country, but that he had lost touch with all of them. He was the classic DJ "tired of packin' and unpackin'...movin' up and down the dial." But he kept doing it anyway, and, as you say, maybe even ended up living out of his car. The last I heard of him was from Chuck Kramer, I think. He told me the Emperor was working someplace in Florida and living in a flea-bag motel. In the middle of the night, a junkie broke in his room to rob him. Hal told the guy he could take anything, but to please leave him his alarm clock so he could wake up on time for his morning show at the station.

Mothers, don't let your sons grow up to be cowboys...but maybe better a cowboy than a radio guy.

One more story about the host of the Murray-Go-Round - One day I'm sitting in the newsroom and the phone rings. It's Hal, and he's frantic. "What's wrong, Hal?" I inquire. Apparently he went to lunch at the local Burger King with a couple of co-workers. While there, they came up with a great gag. They both excused themselves and drove back to the station, stranding Hal. I went to pick him up. He was upset. He may have been bothered even more by that than by the Gates President board.

Uhhh...might there be someone on the board who knows who those co-workers were?

 

[Big Jay]

If you're looking at ME when you say that, I have no knowledge, nor any memory of that story. But it IS funny, but happening to HIM...well let's say it was the wrong guy to do that too. If they did it to...oh good old George Benson, he would have stayed and had a few more hamburgers that he would gladly pay for tomorrow. I just thought of something. Are we TOO far away...or too obscure to do some kind of documentary revolving around the characters that we all worked with at that place alone? I'm sure EVERY radio station has stories..but WHLW and then OBM-AM to some extent, has SO much intruigue, suspense, sadness, happiness, stars, non-stars, bit-players and sad-sacks to fill 2 hours. Who knows..it could be VERY mass appeal to show what small town radio was like back then. 11-7 was, if nothing else, interesting. Some of MY recollections are now seen through smoke-filled lenses, and some I just plain forget, but I get this overall decent feeling that we DID something that NO one..and I mean NO one else was doing. I believe it was that revolutionary. Or just plain quirky. Take your pick. Harry? Classic Puker a/k/a/ Famous? World Famous Jerry Kristafer? Charlie Roberts? Joey Reynolds? Famous Voice-Over dude Don Kobiella? Sal Mineo...oh never mind..sorry.
BE BIG!

 

[HarrytheK1]

Hey amfmsw,

I was so into looking at the jock's pictures that, until you brought it up, I gave no thought to the idea that the "mommy" on the KFWB survey page was holding up anything, much less something as personal and private as a...whatever it is.

For you to interpret that drawing the way you did indicates that you must be some kind of warped, bizarre, perverted and disturbed wacko...which means of course that you'd make a great radio personality.

Are you on the air? I'd love to hear your show.

P.S. amfmsw is the best User Name I've ever seen on one of these boards.

 

[Big Jay]

Will you guys stay on one topic for just enough time to answer one at at time?
A few posts back someone asked about Joey at WHLW and WHY he was there and what did the station sound like, etc.. I would like to point out that I've done many disertations if you will about this station on this very board for quite some time. I recommend looking back at some of my old comments on THIS thread and the one that has my last name spelled incorrectly which should be approaching about 1,238,387 hits by this spring. But for those of yous who am too lazy to look, I'll give you a brief (that's a switch) overview of why and what 11-7 and Joey's tenure there was all about. Remember, this is MY recollection. If any of you former 11/7 types want to add, subtract, dubunk, refute, or just say something, go ahead. I DO smell at least a book out of this written by SOMEone someday I might add. Here goes.

Charlie Roberts, the ONLY holdover from WHLW's infamous UNION (AFTRA) vote situation where EVERYONE was blown out due to the voting, was a jock at the station. A live-out-of-his-car-type guy named Mike Cantoni I think his name was, came in as PD in early '72. I will not comment on this guy's character on this board for obvious reasons. But he DID hire ME as a weekend jock after I was fired by WOBM for not locking the front door. True story. (Plus my hair was too long for the owners tastes) and to run the God stuff on Sunday morning including a Black Gospel Show run by a one-time radical named R.C. Brown (since deceased). I actually LIKED some of that music as it went along..it was almost pure SOUL music. I digress. Cantoni made the station that had been MOR to compete with WOBM-FM at the time into a more mainstream soft Top-40 station. Then he wimped out and made it A/C. It was going nowhere fast. Remember this was a daytimer and the signal didn't cover all of even OCEAN County during the day..and it barely made it 1 mile north on Rt. 9 where you could actually SEE the towers from. Cantoni suddenly made a fast exit out of town (perhaps someone can elaborate on that. I have my theories.) So Charlie Roberts was named the PD. Good choice, as he was local, knew the music, and liked me. We actually had a VERY cool lineup..including TRIP REEB. That name may be familiar to some fans of the rockin' days of WPLJ. He was the all night guy for a while. He left there to go to K-ROCK in LA where he's been since the late 70's or early 80's. I think he's either still the GM or some corporate mucky muck. So HE did well for himself. Some of the timeline of this story may be off so forgive me. When Trip left, I was invited to become a full-timer. So we had a wonderful cast...EZ Ed Johnson (who also was Fast Eddie King on WIBBAGE), and later was the morning guy on WPST when THEY first went rock just before I got there..Me, and Charlie. Remember, it was a daytimer so most of the year you only needed 3 jocks. In December, you COULD get away with TWO. Now the owner, Seymour Abrahamson a Lakewood businessman, had a falling out with his partner something Lieberman..and also the famous network announcer Del Sharbutt..all part owners. There were MORE owners when the station was in it's planning stage but were bought out. Well..one day, Joey came to visit Charlie. THey had been buds since Joey's days in Connecticut and maybe even Buffalo at KB Radio. Joey went on the air that day. Remember, this was a semi-straight CHR and all of a sudden this guy comes on and does a couple of hours of talk. He was doing all of his then wild banter..and the PHONES went berserk. The owners didn't know WHAT to do..throw him out or just let him go on. He elected to let him go ON. And on top of that, let Joey become the station MANAGER. Now Joey has always been famous for having lots of people tag along with him whereever he goes. Still does. And each day, there would be another new person show up, and he'd put them on the air..even for just a half hour. So eventually we had something like 8 or 9 full time jocks each doing 1 hour and 25 minute shows, as it was STILL a daytimer. It was still a music station, but some of us talked the whole time, others played music and did some talk..whatever we wanted. I was the ONLY other guy who lasted through this time other than Charlie. EVERYone else was gone because they just couldn't DO what Joey asked. It was FREE FORM AM Radio..kind of what WNBC became in the Imus/Howard/Soupy/then Joey era. It was off the wall..not a lot of music, but a lot of bits and calls. A hybrid talk/music station (does anyone remember NJ 101.5 in the beginning?..sounds familiar doesn't it.) So Joey stayed there most of the time and we did some really cool things that only WE could get away with. We crossed the line a few times.. Once with a promotion that gave away balls. Yes..balls. We had this BIG voiced news guy named Bob Barry (some shore folks may remember him) Crusty old coot who liked his witches brew..anyway.. The liner went... (female voice--Marsha Knicely who went on to WNBC from 11-7..) She said: 11-/7 has... and then the big male voice said "Balls". Well. The complaints just kept on coming for days.. You would have thought we said God was dead. The FCC got complaints..and frankly..all we were giving away were cheap BALLS. Big ones, small ones, average balls..it was hysterical. And I have people to this DAY remind me of that. Legend has it that Joey came into town on an ASS. Yes.. I was doing a remote at the WT Grant Store and Joey came to the remote on a....DONKEY. Now remember this was radio..and you couldn't SEE it..but people THERE went nuts. Again..ya had to be there..but those are just a couple of things that happened. I'm sure that the rest of the 11-7 gang could remember other things even more incredible that we did just for the heck of it. Now through MOST of this time, the station had declared Chapter 11. So it was in receivership..we got paid every week from some lawyer from Asbury Park. We had some realllly talented people come through there..some I've mentioned previously..including Famous Amos, World Famous Jerry Kristafer, Charlie, Harry Kalish, Don Kobiella, Philly vets Harvey Holiday, Kevin Fennessy of WFIL and other stations, the late George Benson of Wibbage fame..the late Emperor Hal Murray, and dozens of others. Sometimes the news guys went on to great things too including Walt Golden..a kid from Imlaystown who went on to Pittsburgh and was at KQV NewsRadio for a quarter century. Henry Kavett, a well known executive at ABC Radio and other places was there for a while. I told him to get out of the on-air part of the biz. He's thanked me a thousand times for helping HIM make a nice living OFF the air for 30+ years now. Sal Mineo the actor was a friend of Joey's..and did some shows there..not long before his murder..as did Steve Martin (not THAT one..the face on the Max For Men Hairdryer box)..I know I've left out so many names..I am sorry..but that was the point. We had SO many people coming in and out of the place it was like a minor league baseball team..with people coming for a few weeks, and then gone...So the point here is Joey was an innovator, and a guy with guts to try something new. He had had a rough couple of years prior to coming to WHLW 11-7. But he righted his ship and went on to have quite an illustrious if not notorious career with ME in the mix at WNBC when Joey replaced some guy named Stern. Jeez..I feel like I left out a lot, but I wanted to give the poster a better view of WHY Joey was there and what it sounded like. Oh..we had a cheap Radio Shack Reverb unit in the audio chain..and it sounded like crap..but it was LOUD. (gee..kinda like NJ 101.5...hmmm...except their reverb costs a few more bucks than ours did.) I truly hope some of you other folks can fill in some gaps of this particular diatribe. For those who never heard this station, there are precious few airchecks..and that REALLY needs to be looked into..as it's a treasure trove of riches. I have SOME, but it's all sitting in that storage area in Dallas that I can't afford nor have the space to move back to Jersey. So there you have it. May I have a life please? And a job? I could run a WAWA..good call letters..and a great George Harrison song.
BE BIG
www.bigjayandanita.com

 

[HarrytheK1]

I would say bigjay's 11-7 history is pretty complete. It's so complete that I don't think there's a need for anybody to write about a book about the topic because jay's post was longer than most books. Jay, I think you should have broken your post up into chapters and maybe even added an index

Jay was absolutely right about Joey having his hangers-on. One of them was hired to be the station's staff artist!!! That's right. A small-market radio station had a staff artist!!! Did WABC in its heyday have a staff artist? I have no idea what this guy did. Being a radio station, we didn't have a lot of need for visuals. I never understood how Seymour the owner ever let Joey get away with paying a salary to a staff artist? Can you imagine that today? Do you think Citadel or Emmis or CBS is running ads in the trades for staff artisits for their radio stations?

Anyway, while Joey was at 11-7, he made it clear his goal was to develop the format to the point where, at least, he could take it to a major market and, at most, have a broadcasting corporation pick it up and have him oversee it on all the stations throughout their chain...and he did make progress in that direction.

Somehow or other, he talked the Taft broadcasting company into letting him institute the format on KQV in Pittsburgh. (Could that be a reason the Taft broadcasting company no longer exists?) At the time, it seemed like he took a ton of people out there with him, but the only ones I remember now are World Famous (who was the star of 11-7. He was very funny and intelligent on the air and had a great voice), Hal Murray (Joey took a shot at recreating the magic Hal had brought to KQV much earlier in his career) and Walt Golden, a newsman. However, Joey's ideas didn't work in Pittsburgh, and, not being directly involved in it, I don't really know why.

However, I didn't realize how fine everything worked out for Walt. I didn't know he stayed at KQV for a quarter of a century. Jeez! Reading this board, it seems nobody lasts at a radio station for more than 15 or 20 minutes, yet Walt survived a failed format and made a succesful career out of it. I'm so glad to hear that. Walt and I worked together closely and he was a great guy. Not only was he talented with a great set of pipes but he would never hesitate to go out of his way to help others. Plus, I remember that when he went out to Pittsburgh, he was in the process of dealing with a family problem (don't ask for specifics), but, being that was over 30 years ago, he apparently dealt with it very well. Does anybody know if he's still in Pittsburgh or still in radio or did he become a TV anchorman, which I could easily see him being.

Of course, after that, Joey went to Miami, where he had a radio show and then later a short-lived morning TV talk show; WFIL in Philadelphia where he did the morning show (prior to the station going religious); WNNNNBC in NY and now the all-night show on the WOR network, where it seems as if he's thriving. I haven't heard him on-the-air in ages, but, on another radio board, I saw a poster describe him as the Joe Franklin of the 21st century. Joe was a pioneer and innovator whose longevity was beyond belief. Congrats to Joey for being in that company (and for having more lives than the average cat).

World Famous has gone on to a long and successful career as a broadcaster on various stations in Connecticut, and even during this sad time of consolidations, cut-backs, layoffs and voicetracking, he continues to land squarely on his feet.

I'm curious if anybody might know the current whereabouts of any of the other 11-7 veterans (or, for that matter, veterans of WMGM, WSLT-FM, WMVB, or WHWH)?

By the way, John 1, it's no surprise you couldn't pick up WHLW in the NE suburbs of Philadelphia. You couldn't pick it up in the NE suburbs of Howell Twsp., which is where the station was located.

 

[Big Jay]

Author! Author!!
Thanks Harry. Your post was almost as long as mine..but mine's bigger than yours.
Anyway...I didn't get too much into what happened to Joey AFTER 11-7 Jersey Shore, as I wasn't there in Pittsburgh to witness it. I WAS invited to GO, but I felt I was too green to go to a BIG city at that time, even though I was in radio for 5 years at the time..wish I had..but in some ways glad I didn't. It didn't last...but they did some wacky stuff out there too.. Walt Golden IS a great guy. He came up to WNBC one night about 20 years ago to visit.. And yeah..his personal situation was a soap opera only 20 years too hip. Great guy..great pipes.. I'll try to hunt him down for us. I'm SURE he's in PA still, but he's NOT at KQV. I must say that I bet MOST of the people who DID come through there went on to nice things..some IN and some OUT of radio. I'd love to know where Cliff Bakely is..a quiet news guy...good delivery..I have no idea whatever happened to him. I could go on with a list. But I won't because my publisher wants y'all to BUY the book.
Joey didn't have it all that great for some stretches after 11-7.. He did go to Pittsburgh..and of course ended up at NNNNBC with me and a super staff of people.
He went to Miami with a not so successful time of it, but he DID manage to always find a gig from sheer talent. Then he was lucky to be in the right place right time when Bob Aronson got hurt riding his bike when he was the all night guy at WOR. Rick Buckley, Joey's old employer from the Wibbage days and Hartford took him on..and as you say, he's the slightly younger man's Joe Franklin. His stream of consciousness is not everyone's cup of meat, but I get it. He actually had ME on for an hour once touting my wares. Maybe I should go back and do another hour to show that I'm still alive. World Famous Jerald Jeffery Kristafer, Jr. has done ok too as you mentioned. He just landed his cats paws back at WDRC-FM in Hartford doing wakeups like he did for a dozen years. Sometimes it just comes around in circles. New management saw that HE was the right guy all along.. I just wish some OTHERS ahem...would see the same about MY ass sometime. Joey WAS a visionary, and I wish the climate HAD been right for him to do the 11-7-style free-form radio..it KINDA happened with FREE-FM except THAT was all targeted to guys who go to shaker bars and have multiple tatoos and nipple rings. But good NON political talk DOES work..again...101.5 thank you. Mix IN the politics when needed but talk about what REAL people talk about most of the time and YOU WIN> That's what I did at JRZ on Sunday mornings, that's what we attempted to do at WPHT and we DID do ok with it at WWDB, but alas the format was gone by the time OUR numbers were the only thing left on the station going up. Woulda, shoulda, coulda.
That's all for now. Where are all the other guys?? And were Marsha Knicely's real or fake?
BE BIG...bad choice of phrase..sorry.

 

[deff junction]

Harry

What about Larry Keene or Ellen Hudson at WSLT?

 

[Big Jay]

My good friend Eric Johnson (who told me he remembers listening to Hal Murray on WOND when HE was a kid and that makes ME really old) came up with some audio and brief history of HAL MURRAY the famous Emperor of Pittsburgh. I'm sending a link if that's allowed on this site..so here it is..

http://user.pa.net/~ejjeff/halmur.html

I guess ya gotta copy and paste.
Hal was a gentle man, but time had unfortunately passed him by by the mid 70's. Although, looking back, I respect him even MORE for trying to keep it alive. That was a time when being a jock was a CRAFT. Not just saying..and now here's another set of contunious punk polka on the New Hot Kielbasa 102...or more people get their fill of gas on the NEW Hot Kielbasa 102. Hal was corny..and THAT was the act. He knew he was corny. He was like Milton Berle..he had thousands of one liners and jokes in his HEAD and he also carried around books of jokes. It was a different time, indeed, but shows just how much Top-40 radio was a part of people's lives back then. It was MUST listen. There is a brief snippet of Hal on 11-7 I believe. I wish I save more tape from back then. We MUST preserve it somehow all of you former jocks from there. But most of MY audio is still in a storage area in Dallas (still a long story>)and may have to be "BAKED" to preserve it..otherwise it won't play because the oxide doesn't have any KY jelly anymore.. Kidding of course, but you pros know what I mean. And now back to our postings that 3 people care about..
BE BIG
www.bigjayandanita.com

 

[HarrytheK1]

To answer the earlier question as to why neither BMR nor Gary Stevens stayed at WMCA all that long, they actually both had some good, solid reasons for leaving.

That KFWB survey posted earlier saying B. Mitchel Reed is back was from 9/61. However, Mitch didn't leave 'MCA until 1965. So where he was coming back from in '61 is a mystery...at least to me. He came to 'MCA in '63 and left to go back to KFWB in '65. When he left LA in 1963, his children stayed back west. BMR also had some health issues as well (and eventually died of heart problems at the too-young age of 56). So, in order to be around his kids and hoping the milder climate might help his health, he simply got his old job back.

Certainly he could've been Cousin Brucie (or, at least, Murray the K) huge, but his radio legacy is as good as it gets, both for top 40 and for pioneering Underground and AOR in LA.

Gary Stevens was at 'MCA for almost four years, but, as much as he loved being a top 40 jock in NY, the guy apparently had much bigger aspirations. Amos (and you are a classy puker you crazy guy...and you look mahvelous too), I don't know where you got the info that he went to WBZ but I don't believe that is accurate. He left WMCA to go to Switzerland and then England, where he worked in TV syndication marketing.

After that, he came back to NY and became the head of a Wall St. Brokerage firm (really! I'm not kidding). After he made skedaddles of bucks, he went back to his first love - radio - working for Doubleday Broadcasting, first as a GM in Phoenix, then Minneapolis. He did so well, they named him President of the company, which he later arranged to be sold, making him even more skedaddles of bucks. He then went into business for himself and started a radio brokerage company, doing billions of dollars in mergers and acquisitions. These days, he's also on the boards of major broadcast groups.

So, if he stayed on the air at WMCA, he may have become as huge as Cousin Brucie, but he chose a different path and instead became Robert F.X. Sillerman huge (obscure reference...or insightful commentary? You be the judge.)

 

[Big Jay]

Harry..
BMR may have been the first jock I REALLY paid attention too. I loved his rapid delivery..not unlike Hy Lit in Philly. BMR was a visionary..or he just moved back to LA for his health. The WoolyBurger was a different animal. He was good too, but in a different way. I never liked him as much, but that's ok..as I was starting to paying attention to the JOCKS more than the music by the time I was 12 or so. Tune were important of course, but what was between the music counted more for me. Stevens made quadrillions of bucks by getting OUT of the business...much like my friend and confidant Henry Kavett, who I rudely told to get out of the on-air part of radio back in '73 or '74. Now he thanks me daily for doing that. So for all of you who I either DISSED or encouraged, please don't hate be because I'm beautiful. I was only trying to help. In fact, if any of you want to comment about THAT, go ahead. I can't be more hurt or damaged than I have been in the past...it might HELP get my mojo back actually...so blast away. (Either I was hit in the head, or the dilaudid is kicking in again.)
BE BIG
Jay

 

[HarrytheK1]

As an addendum to the BMR and Gary Stevens departures, the Strausses may have been cheap but it doesn't seem as if that's the reason either of those two guys left.

However, on a separate but barely related topic, here's a piece of trivia you may not have known, and, even if you did, I'm sure you've forgotten it.

R. Peter Strauss was the owner of WMCA during its Good Guys heyday. He inherited the station (and some others in upstate NY) from his father Nathan Strauss. R. Peter was married to Ellen Strauss who was a NY socialite (from the Schelsinger family) and also played a role at the station, having developed the Call-for-Action consumer telephone bank, which was later adopted by many stations throughout the country.

Some time after the station was sold, Ellen passed away. After a few years, R. Peter remarried. His new wife was a divorcee named Marcia Lewis. Marcia had a daughter from a previous marriage. The daughter, of course, carried her father's last name. The daughter's first name was Monica. Her last name was - yes! You guessed it! - Lewinsky. So R. Peter Strauss is the stepfather of Monica Lewinsky!!!

And now.....you know.....the rest of the story.....almost.

Where do Marcia and R. Peter live? They live in the Carnegie Hall Towers on - where else? - West 57th Street

 

[Big Jay]

First of all Harry...You're scaring me with the depth of your knowledge of WMCA..and now you're starting to sound like the guy who came up with all the coincidences about Abe Lincoln and John Kennedy..ya know the same amount of letters, both had Johnsons, etc. We KNOW Kennedy had a Johnson..ask Marilyn Monroe. Lincoln had a Mary.. There's a joke in there somewhere..
Nyuck Nyuck.
Harry you MUCT call me send me a private email..
BE BIG
bigjayandanita.com

 

[HarrytheK1]

Tom McNally,

I would be surprised if you remember me, but we (very briefly) worked together at WMGM. I did the Saturday and Sunday mid-day shifts there during the latter part of 1972.

I came on after you on Saturdays. What I remember about you most, Tom, is that whenever I came into the studio, you would barely acknowledge me. I would get a grunt instead of a hello and you always had a look on your face like you had an upset stomach. Any attempt I would make to start a conversation with you was always futile. I am not writing this for any particular reason, but those thoughts came to my mind after I saw your earlier post. Isn't it funny the odd things one remembers thirty-five years later? Well, hopefully, you're feeling better about things these days, Tom I also checked out your web site. That's one impressive resume. Congratulations on having made a continuous career out of radio. To what do you owe your longevity? Is it because you're also an engineer in addition to being a jock?

Another DJ I remember from 'MGM was Joe Satta. He was a real nice guy. (We always talked during shift changes I know he went on to work at a number of South Jersey stations, and then later made it to NY as a country jock on the old WYNY. The last I heard of him was that he replaced Dean Anthony (the legendary WMCA Good Guy) at standards WHLI on Long Island after Dean passed away.

Another guy I worked with at WMGM was Jerry Hebert (there should be an accent mark over the first e in Hebert - Jerry thought he was French). Jerry was a weekender at the station, and during the week was a high school teacher. He left teaching for a full-time job at WYSP, where he stayed for about 20 years (He was the newscaster on the classic Fox and Leonard morning show, which was pre-Howard)! He then went to WIOQ, where he stayed for about 20 minutes. After he was gone from 'IOQ, I ran into him at a restaurant and asked him what he was doing. I think he was managing a Circuit City.

The night guy at WMGM was Elliot (no last name). I remember Elliot getting busted and Jim Earle telling me he asked the Atlantic City Press to keep the story out of the newspaper, but they didn't. I think Elliot was released by the station shortly thereafter. Does anybody remember if I have that story right, or, for that matter, whatever happened to Elliot?

Of course, the WMGM alumnus who went on to the most fame and fortune had to get out of radio to get that fame and fortune. I remember taking a Saturday off and he had to fill in for me. I remember his getting on the air and saying, "It's a beautiful day outside. But I'm stuck inside because I have to fill in for Harry Kalish. I hate Harry Kalish!" I had never even met the guy! He then left radio (maybe because he had to work on a beautiful Saturday) to become a concert promoter in Philly, eventually selling to Electric Factory for who knows how much. Then, out of nowhere, he starts opening restaurants...first in Philly, then AC, and now Manhattan. He is now the most successful non-chef restauranteur in the country, and he is Stephen Starr.

A few years ago we went to his Barclay Prime steakhouse restaurant (home of the $100 Kobe beef burger - fries not included) on Rittenhouse Square in Philly. I asked our waitress if he was around that nite. He was. So I introduced myself to him and told him that we had worked together many years before at WMGM. The first thing he says is "The PD at that station was Jim Earle. Before he came to the station, he ran a surf shop. He didn't know crap about radio."

So, the moral of the story is, no matter how rich and successful you become, you're always gonna remember that your PD didn't know crap.

 

[tom]

Harry -

I remember your name, but that's about it, I
thought I knew you from WLDB ?
I think the only people I never had time for in
radio were people that followed me on the air
that were LATE for their shifts. Maybe you fit
that category ?

I enjoy what I do, and even though I'm not a
diarrhea of the mouth "personality" I have always
been able to get jobs without resumes or
airchecks. Mixing engineering with on air/programming
isn't very common, but it's always allowed me
to make more money, and have a station with
clever, jock-friendly studios, because I know what
I like, and what works.

Jim Earle got the job done, and an "Underground Rock"
station should't need a Program Director anyway, the
jocks were supposed to program their own shows,
definitely a thing of the past. Jim defended the format
against extinction, and getting $ 2.00 an hour guys to
drive 60 miles to work there wasn't easy either.
The format only lasted a few years anyway ...
it changed to Elevator Music when we moved to Linwood
it was "Stereo 103.7 ... Your Beautiful Island" in 1973.

The only people I remember on your list are
Elliot Nachbar (google him), Joe Satta and Jerry Hebert.
Jerry was a French teacher at Holy Spirit High School
as a I recall ... I guess "Hee-burt" didn't sound right.

 

[abonita]

Another DJ I remember from 'MGM was Joe Satta. He was a real nice guy. (We always talked during shift changes I know he went on to work at a number of South Jersey stations, and then later made it to NY as a country jock on the old WYNY. The last I heard of him was that he replaced Dean Anthony (the legendary WMCA Good Guy) at standards WHLI on Long Island after Dean passed away.

Joe is still at WHLI, doing noon to five, and enjoying it. He has some fond memories of his time in AC; Famous and I sat with him recently at a Tamela D'Amico showcase at the Metropolitan Room in the City.

Anita

 

[Big Jay]

Just "who do you think you are?" Bo Donaldson's daughter? And who the $&%^ is Tamela D'Amico anyway? Sounds like a Detroit record company with Mafia backers. And how DARE you post something on this board. This isn't for intellectuals! It's for us guys who live with our mothers or mother's in law who sit up until 3 am stroking our cats or anything else we can get their hands on.
Plus...Aren't you banned from most of these boards for your high IQ and SniffiN The Tears comments a few years ago. I'm in the "Driver's Seat" now you wench. And how dare you post something when I asked you to call me over the weekend! I'm insensed. I'm peppermints. You had MORE time to do this than to get in touch with your piney-partner of all of 2 weeks. Harumph. You ingrate. You...you...Pygmy.
You and Famous will be the ONLY ones getting MOST of this post but I felt the urge. It's the only way people know I'm still alive. It's ALIVE!!! IT'S ALIVE. Ooops. Cap letters. Sorry Russ.
BE BIG
www.bigjayANDanita.com