WBCN turns 40 on Sat the 15th

[raccoonradio]

http://www.bostonradiowatch.com pointed out that WBCN turns 40 on Sat the 15th. That's right, it was in March of '68 that they went all "progressive rock" right? I know in years past they used to have an on air party o a Saturday night with the Woofa Goofa, Peter Wolf...not sure if they plan to do much if anything...?

Apparently nothing on their site about a 40th birthday

>>WBCN began leasing out time at night for ‘underground rock’ broadcasts, under the name “The American Revolution”. The first rock song heard on WBCN, on March 15, 1968, was “I Feel Free” by Cream.
Within a year, WBCN had become a full-fledged rock station, and classical music was history on 104.1. Early WBCN personalities included Peter Wolf, later to become famous as a member of the J. Geils Band

http://bostonradio.org/stations/26897

 

[Eli Polonsky]

http://www.bostonradiowatch.com pointed out that WBCN turns 40 on Sat the 15th. That's right, it was in March of '68 that they went all "progressive rock" right? I know in years past they used to have an on air party o a Saturday night with the Woofa Goofa, Peter Wolf...not sure if they plan to do much if anything...?

They didn't go ALL progressive rock on 3/15/68. "The American Revolution" was at first just a late night show beginning at 10 PM. It was still classical during the daytime and early evening. I don't remember how long until rock became their full-time format, but I think it was within just a couple of months, not a year. I certainly remember listening to progressive rock on WBCN during the daytime by that summer of '68, as well as a short-lived automated prog. album rock format on WHDH-FM (94.5) already trying to compete with them by that time.

 

[pqgeorge]

http://www.bostonradiowatch.com pointed out that WBCN turns 40 on Sat the 15th. That's right, it was in March of '68 that they went all "progressive rock" right? I know in years past they used to have an on air party o a Saturday night with the Woofa Goofa, Peter Wolf...not sure if they plan to do much if anything...?

They didn't go ALL progressive rock on 3/15/68. "The American Revolution" was at first just a late night show beginning at 10 PM. It was still classical during the daytime and early evening. I don't remember how long until rock became their full-time format, but I think it was within just a couple of months, not a year. I certainly remember listening to progressive rock on WBCN during the daytime by that summer of '68, as well as a short-lived automated prog. album rock format on WHDH-FM (94.5) already trying to compete with them by that time.

I remember it well! You can only imagine the look on my Dad's face when we went into Friendly's in Holbrook for a sundae, one Saturday afternoon in early 1968 listening (on the way) to "Wonderful....1-0-4, in Stereo, WBCN/Boston" with it's beautiful music format, only to come out after my desert to hear "Purple Haze" from Jimi Hendrix on "The American Revolution". At that time 'BCN was still part-time beautiful music/classical. "The American Revolution" was in essence a brokered program. Simply, 'at the time, 'BCN was sucking pond water and barely was able to keep itself alive. Mr. T. Mitchell Hastings saw $$$$$ and decided to sell some of the time for the rock format.

WHDH-FM (94.5) had a lot of promise with the Rock format in 1968. For the most part it was below the radar of one Mr. Harold J. Clancy, CEO of WHDH Inc.. The FM was "just there" and was barely noticed by corporate. But as soon as Mr. Clancy heard about the FM making some waves in the market with (God forbid) , ROCK music on FM..... he wanted no part of it. Basically he said "No FM station of mine will ever run rock music, as long as I run it". So, the great rock experiment on WHDH-FM died on the vine by the summer of 1968. A shame too. It was really good for 1968 standards. They went quickly back to dentist music. This gave a lot of ammo for the rock staff of WBCN to go full-time with the Progressive format. Eventually, it did!

 

[raccoonradio]

Yes I should have amended my post to eliminate the "all" since I then looked up the info on bostonradio.org
which stated that it was only part time, but SOME form of rock did start on 3/15/68 (I was 6 at the time...)

 

[Time Traveler]

http://www.bostonradiowatch.com pointed out that WBCN turns 40 on Sat the 15th. That's right, it was in March of '68 that they went all "progressive rock" right? I know in years past they used to have an on air party o a Saturday night with the Woofa Goofa, Peter Wolf...not sure if they plan to do much if anything...?

They didn't go ALL progressive rock on 3/15/68. "The American Revolution" was at first just a late night show beginning at 10 PM. It was still classical during the daytime and early evening. I don't remember how long until rock became their full-time format, but I think it was within just a couple of months, not a year. I certainly remember listening to progressive rock on WBCN during the daytime by that summer of '68, as well as a short-lived automated prog. album rock format on WHDH-FM (94.5) already trying to compete with them by that time.

I remember it well! You can only imagine the look on my Dad's face when we went into Friendly's in Holbrook for a sundae, one Saturday afternoon in early 1968 listening (on the way) to "Wonderful....1-0-4, in Stereo, WBCN/Boston" with it's beautiful music format, only to come out after my desert to hear "Purple Haze" from Jimi Hendrix on "The American Revolution". At that time 'BCN was still part-time beautiful music/classical. "The American Revolution" was in essence a brokered program. Simply, 'at the time, 'BCN was sucking pond water and barely was able to keep itself alive. Mr. T. Mitchell Hastings saw $$$$$ and decided to sell some of the time for the rock format.

WHDH-FM (94.5) had a lot of promise with the Rock format in 1968. For the most part it was below the radar of one Mr. Harold J. Clancy, CEO of WHDH Inc.. The FM was "just there" and was barely noticed by corporate. But as soon as Mr. Clancy heard about the FM making some waves in the market with (God forbid) , ROCK music on FM..... he wanted no part of it. Basically he said "No FM station of mine will ever run rock music, as long as I run it". So, the great rock experiment on WHDH-FM died on the vine by the summer of 1968. A shame too. It was really good for 1968 standards. They went quickly back to dentist music. This gave a lot of ammo for the rock staff of WBCN to go full-time with the Progressive format. Eventually, it did!

It is my understanding that WBCN went full time Progressive Rock only three months later, in June, 1968. With regards to WHDH-FM, they actually lasted well into the summer of 1969 as a Progressive Rocker. I believe that they went under in
mid or late August of that year...Almost six years to the day before they would come back as "Modified" Progressive Rock as WCOZ....

 

[DG02816]

Remembering The Big Mattress, and some of my WBRU cohorts from the 70's went there too. I used to love the WCOZ format....

 

[LA_Guy]

Yep...

I used to tape WBCN and play it back during the day (I was alseep by 10 PM on school nights usually). IIRC, WHDH-FM used to call their music sweeps "collages"...They were pretty cool! WEEI-FM was another fairly decent station-though they'd go mono when Dick Provo (their only DJ) talked. I'd be listening on headphones to the stereo music, then suddenly it would center and I'd know that Provo was about to talk. He'd end-and back to stereo. I guess they thought no one was listening in stereo anyway.
WLLH was a decent pseudo top 40 station on FM-they simulcast their AMs. WKBR-FM also played decent top 40 radio (they simulcast 1250).

Occasionally, WCCC would come in on 106.9-their 'all request' rock format.

Then one day, while tuning around the top of the dial with my new Pioneer receiver, I heard staticy rock. I carried the receiver and a pair of headphones into the living room and hooked the color TV's rotor antenna to it. Thus I discovered WAAF! At the time I believe they were only a couple of kw, so I could only get them in mono. Now I had one more good radio station to listen to. WAAF was different from BCN-BCN knew they had listeners, while AAF knew they didn't. It was a bunch of young DJs playing their favorite underground music (at minimum wage) and having a great time on the air. Cut ran through? No problem-just play the next one too! Both stations filled a void in my life that top 40 could not fill-though WRKO, WMEX, and earlier, WROL all got lots of time spent listening in my house.. When I got my driver's license in 1971, the first thing I got for my dad's car was an FM converter at Lafayette-remember those? They picked up FM (poorly) and re-transmitted it around 1400 AM. By side tuning the AM radio, they actually sounded pretty good.

Other stations I listened to back then included WCAS, WILD and WNTN (all on AM).

The Pioneer receiver and my Somerville location was also sensitive enough for me to discover another good FM station-this one all the way at the bottom of the dial-WTBS. One summers day in 1970 I heard the announcer ask for people to come to the station to help them out-they were short staffed that summer. Thus started my almost ten year involvement with WTBS. I got my friend Tom involved there too-today he is a doctor and on their board of directors. At the time their 10 watt antenna was on the roof of the studio building-below the MIT ham club's beam antennas!

Today, radio is just a shell of its former self. Most of the fun is gone-replaced with concerns about next quarter's "guidance".

But today there's always the IPOD.....

Hear that gunshot, radio? That's YOU shooting yourself in the foot!

 

[pqgeorge]

Re: Yep...

Occasionally, WCCC would come in on 106.9-their 'all request' rock format.

Then one day, while tuning around the top of the dial with my new Pioneer receiver, I heard staticy rock. I carried the receiver and a pair of headphones into the living room and hooked the color TV's rotor antenna to it. Thus I discovered WAAF! At the time I believe they were only a couple of kw, so I could only get them in mono. Now I had one more good radio station to listen to. WAAF was different from BCN-BCN knew they had listeners, while AAF knew they didn't. It was a bunch of young DJs playing their favorite underground music (at minimum wage) and having a great time on the air. Cut ran through? No problem-just play the next one too! Both stations filled a void in my life that top 40 could not fill-though WRKO, WMEX, and earlier, WROL all got lots of time spent listening in my house.. When I got my driver's license in 1971, the first thing I got for my dad's car was an FM converter at Lafayette-remember those? They picked up FM (poorly) and re-transmitted it around 1400 AM. By side tuning the AM radio, they actually sounded pretty good.

FM converters, WOW...... now that takes me back! Before I got my first car Stereo, I spent $15.00 at K-Mart and got a new Audiovox FM Converter for my car, a 1971 Ford Maverick with the original stock AM radio. This was 1978 and I HAD to have FM in the car. WAAF was my favorite station at the time, next to WCOZ. I really wasn't into 'BCN all that much at the time. WTTK ("TK-101") was another good album station at the time as well. In order to get a little more high-end audio from the AM receiver, while using the FM converter, I used one of the sidebands of the AM signal by moving the AM dial just a little bit off center frequency. It wasn't bad. The quality was OK. What I was amazed with, later on was by moving the AM dial up the the dial about 60 to 70 kHz off center, I was able to listen to the 67 KHz subcarriers of several FM stations (SCA services). Using "slope-detecting", as this is actually an FM signal (several db down from the main carrier), I could hear Muzak on WCRB's SCA, as well as several other SCA's like WPLM's background music service and the Physician's Radio Network heard in WWEL's subcarrier (now WXKS-FM). I could even hear some telemetry chirps on some stations that weren't using their SCA for any narrowcasting. I also heard the Talking Information Center (reading for the visually impaired) on both WATD and WERS. (Some of the late night readings on the TIC had some "interesting" language!). So, in essence I was using the FM converter for something that it was never intended to do. I still have that old converter in my stash somewhere.

 

[Time Traveler]

Re: Yep...

WHDH-FM used to call their music sweeps "collages"...Good memory...they certainly did...


WEEI-FM was another fairly decent station-though they'd go mono when Dick Provo (their only DJ) talked.

WEEI-FM was a unique station with Dick Provo and the "Young Sound". I was bummed out when it left the air in October,
1972...



Then one day, while tuning around the top of the dial with my new Pioneer receiver, I heard staticy rock. I carried the receiver and a pair of headphones into the living room and hooked the color TV's rotor antenna to it. Thus I discovered WAAF! At the time I believe they were only a couple of kw, so I could only get them in mono. Now I had one more good radio station to listen to. WAAF was different from BCN-BCN knew they had listeners, while AAF knew they didn't. It was a bunch of young DJs playing their favorite underground music (at minimum wage) and having a great time on the air. Cut ran through? No problem-just play the next one too! Both stations filled a void in my life that top 40 could not fill.

WAAF did run at pretty low power for the first year or so of Progressive Rock, I believe it was 3500 watts. I am pretty certain that it went to the Progressive Rock format in early 1970. The station boosted its power to 20,000 watts in 1971, and was also sold to George Grey who main streamed the format...at least by 1971 standards. In 1972, the power was boosted to 50,000 watts (equivalent anyway) and they began to broadcast in "quad" as well...

 

[Eli Polonsky]

Re: Yep...

Both stations filled a void in my life that top 40 could not fill-though WRKO, WMEX, and earlier, WROL all got lots of time spent listening in my house.

950 would have still had it's longtime call letters WORL back in it's Top 40 days, not yet WROL. It then became WRYT for awhile sometime around the late '60s or early '70s, then it finally became WROL in the late '70s or thereabouts, to the present.

The story was that new owners wanted to get the stations "heritage" WORL calls back after a previous ownership change switched them to WRYT, but another station elsewhere had snapped up WORL, so WROL was the closest they could get.

 

[pqgeorge]

Re: Yep...

Both stations filled a void in my life that top 40 could not fill-though WRKO, WMEX, and earlier, WROL all got lots of time spent listening in my house.

950 would have still had it's longtime call letters WORL back in it's Top 40 days, not yet WROL. It then became WRYT for awhile sometime around the late '60s or early '70s, then it finally became WROL in the late '70s or thereabouts, to the present.

The story was that new owners wanted to get the stations "heritage" WORL calls back after a previous ownership change switched them to WRYT, but another station elsewhere had snapped up WORL, so WROL was the closest they could get.

The reason 950 switched to WRYT was to change the format to a semi-beautiful music format after they were 4th in a 4 station Top 40 market. Their monker was "You're in the RIGHT PLACE, with W-RYT 950 in Boston". The other Top-40 stations at the time were the new WRKO, WMEX and WCOP (remember them before country?). In 1967, the new owners of WRYT eventually found that they would do better in brokering their hours (they were a daytime only station) to religious broadcasters such as Kathryn Kuhlman, Clinton White and other religious organizations. Even the late Sherm Feller (the famous PA announcer of Fenway Park, who I had the pleasure to work with so many years ago) also had a talk show in the late afternoons for a while, one of the few secular shows on the station. With a decent signal to boot, WRYT made "mucho dinero". My Mom (God rest her soul) really enjoyed some of the ministries on WRYT in the late '60 and early 70's.

 

[raccoonradio]

Yes bostonradio.org says it was in 1977 that Carter Broadcasting got the station and changed to WROL
after unsuccessfully trying to get WORL back (I do remember seeing a chart of stations and their frequencies
in the Globe on a regular basis--probably in the Sunday Globe TV magazine-and it did list a "WRYT" at 950
at one time)

http://bostonradio.org/stations/9139

 

[Eli Polonsky]

Re: Yep...

The reason 950 switched to WRYT was to change the format to a semi-beautiful music format after they were 4th in a 4 station Top 40 market. Their monker was "You're in the RIGHT PLACE, with W-RYT 950 in Boston". The other Top-40 stations at the time were the new WRKO, WMEX and WCOP (remember them before country?).

Wasn't WCOP already country by the time WRKO-(AM) went Top 40 in early '67?

Bostonradio.org says WCOP went country in the early '70s, but I seem to remember country on 1150 as far back as late '66, when I first began listening to the radio. I was listening to Top 40 on WRKO-FM ("Arko, the shy but friendly robot"), WMEX ("Woo-Woo" Ginsburg et al, barely came in out in Newton) and WBZ (a more AC-ish approach, and Dick Summer's eclectic evening show), but I thought WCOP had already recently given up on Top 40 and went country. I think country was also on WHIL AM-FM 1430 and 107.9 by then. WRKO-(AM) flipped from talk to Top 40 about a half-year after I began listening.

Many of the outlying small suburban stations were also doing Top 40 for their local listenerships back then. It was the happening thing!

Bostonradio.org also says that WILD didn't "focus on the Black community" until the early '70s, but I recall exclusively soul & R&B music and other urban-oriented programming on WILD as far back as the mid-'60s.

 

[Time Traveler]

Re: Yep...

The reason 950 switched to WRYT was to change the format to a semi-beautiful music format after they were 4th in a 4 station Top 40 market. Their monker was "You're in the RIGHT PLACE, with W-RYT 950 in Boston". The other Top-40 stations at the time were the new WRKO, WMEX and WCOP (remember them before country?).

Wasn't WCOP already country by the time WRKO-(AM) went Top 40 in early '67?

Bostonradio.org says WCOP went country in the early '70s, but I seem to remember country on 1150 as far back as late '66, when I first began listening to the radio. I was listening to Top 40 on WRKO-FM ("Arko, the shy but friendly robot"), WMEX ("Woo-Woo" Ginsburg et al, barely came in out in Newton) and WBZ (a more AC-ish approach, and Dick Summer's eclectic evening show), but I thought WCOP had already recently given up on Top 40 and went country. I think country was also on WHIL AM-FM 1430 and 107.9 by then. WRKO-(AM) flipped from talk to Top 40 about a half-year after I began listening.

Many of the outlying small suburban stations were also doing Top 40 for their local listenerships back then. It was the happening thing!

Bostonradio.org also says that WILD didn't "focus on the Black community" until the early '70s, but I recall exclusively soul & R&B music and other urban-oriented programming on WILD as far back as the mid-'60s.

I have to completely agree with you. I moved to that area in mid-1966, and for AM Top 40, Boston at that time, had WBZ and WMEX. WCOP was already Country and WRYT had already found Jesus. Perhaps the reference to WCOP going Country in the 70s is a reference to WCOP-FM flipping to Country from Oldies in 1974...

 

[pqgeorge]

Re: Yep...

The reason 950 switched to WRYT was to change the format to a semi-beautiful music format after they were 4th in a 4 station Top 40 market. Their monker was "You're in the RIGHT PLACE, with W-RYT 950 in Boston". The other Top-40 stations at the time were the new WRKO, WMEX and WCOP (remember them before country?).

Wasn't WCOP already country by the time WRKO-(AM) went Top 40 in early '67?

Bostonradio.org says WCOP went country in the early '70s, but I seem to remember country on 1150 as far back as late '66, when I first began listening to the radio. I was listening to Top 40 on WRKO-FM ("Arko, the shy but friendly robot"), WMEX ("Woo-Woo" Ginsburg et al, barely came in out in Newton) and WBZ (a more AC-ish approach, and Dick Summer's eclectic evening show), but I thought WCOP had already recently given up on Top 40 and went country. I think country was also on WHIL AM-FM 1430 and 107.9 by then. WRKO-(AM) flipped from talk to Top 40 about a half-year after I began listening.

Many of the outlying small suburban stations were also doing Top 40 for their local listenerships back then. It was the happening thing!

Bostonradio.org also says that WILD didn't "focus on the Black community" until the early '70s, but I recall exclusively soul & R&B music and other urban-oriented programming on WILD as far back as the mid-'60s.

I have to completely agree with you. I moved to that area in mid-1966, and for AM Top 40, Boston at that time, had WBZ and WMEX. WCOP was already Country and WRYT had already found Jesus. Perhaps the reference to WCOP going Country in the 70s is a reference to WCOP-FM flipping to Country from Oldies in 1974...

I'm not sure about WCOP/("One-one-five-oh") going full Country prior to 1968. I recall hearing The Four Tops-"Bernadette" on WCOP in the early spring of 1967. Also, I know that WCOP also played "Chicken Man" episodes in late 1966, as my Dad's Ford dealership where he worked at on Cummins Highway ("Cote Motor Company") sponsored those Chicken Man episodes for bit.

As for WCOP-FM (100.7), they ran the Drake/Chenault Sold Gold format for exactly one year (10/73-10/74) as WROR was in the midst of being sold to Summit Broadcasting and was to go to beautiful music. The deal folded as the FCC said that RKO General, already being considered an unfit licensee, cannot sell a station that they don't legal own. So the oldies stayed on WROR for another 5 years as "The Golden Great 98!". WCOP-FM sought greener pastures and went to Country as companion to the AM side. Looking back, WCOP-FM was doing quite well with the oldies in the Arbs. But with 'ROR, under ace radio programmer John Long (a very nice guy), took that station to some great heights and it all paid off. Today, many people think fondly of the days of "The Golden Great 98!", the moniker that John Long created totally of the top of his head! I was a big fan of the original WROR, myself!