Does anyone here remember the old WBEN of the '60's and '70's? I always thought it sounded very professional, somewhat serious, and a bit old fashioned....but very classy.
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WBEN
- Thread starter Mike Sheridan
- Start date
Mike,
Do you mean WBEN back when they actually had a news department with the resources to cover WNY as well as any of the TV news departments? When they had real a real news hour at noon, and real coverage in the late afternoon? When they provided entertainment, not blather, during mid-days and afternoon drive? When they had live, local sports in the evening that focused on sports, not "locker room talk"?
Do you mean WBEN back when they actually had a news department with the resources to cover WNY as well as any of the TV news departments? When they had real a real news hour at noon, and real coverage in the late afternoon? When they provided entertainment, not blather, during mid-days and afternoon drive? When they had live, local sports in the evening that focused on sports, not "locker room talk"?
N
Nick Seneca
Guest
Do you mean the WBEN of:
John Corbett and "Car and Kitchen"
Van Miller middays (with occasional drop-in guest Norman Oklahoma)
John Luther all night
Harry Webb
Ward Fenton and the 12 o'clock news
Kaleidoscope with Tom Jolls
Mike Merian live from the Statler Hilton (who once had my grandma, Sophie Sneigowksi, on the air - what a kick for a 10-year old listener!)
Arthur Godfrey Time
Ralph Hubbell
Chuck Healy
Stan Barron
Bill Masters
Ken Phillips
One beep TOH
2 beeps BOH sung "half-past seven standard time" by Clint
The lyrical 1:00AM sign-off:
"May you sleep the sleep of the just
With neither a care nor a sorrow
And when night turns to day as it must
May you wake to a brighter tomorrow."
also, Al Fox "It's Milkin' Time"
Jack Ogilvie
Tom Whalen a/k/a "Mr. Operator"
Arthur Mometer
and of course, "your AM MC, CB!"
Yes, it was very classy, all right! Call me a geezer, but I miss that 'BEN and stations like it!
Nick Seneca
John Corbett and "Car and Kitchen"
Van Miller middays (with occasional drop-in guest Norman Oklahoma)
John Luther all night
Harry Webb
Ward Fenton and the 12 o'clock news
Kaleidoscope with Tom Jolls
Mike Merian live from the Statler Hilton (who once had my grandma, Sophie Sneigowksi, on the air - what a kick for a 10-year old listener!)
Arthur Godfrey Time
Ralph Hubbell
Chuck Healy
Stan Barron
Bill Masters
Ken Phillips
One beep TOH
2 beeps BOH sung "half-past seven standard time" by Clint
The lyrical 1:00AM sign-off:
"May you sleep the sleep of the just
With neither a care nor a sorrow
And when night turns to day as it must
May you wake to a brighter tomorrow."
also, Al Fox "It's Milkin' Time"
Jack Ogilvie
Tom Whalen a/k/a "Mr. Operator"
Arthur Mometer
and of course, "your AM MC, CB!"
Yes, it was very classy, all right! Call me a geezer, but I miss that 'BEN and stations like it!
Nick Seneca
Nick Seneca said:
WBEN was the metronome for my childhood mornings. Clint B. rotated a series of themes in the quarter-hour
15, :30, :45) sponsor announcements; one was a Christmas theme of Bert Kaempfert that Clint used all year; another was the big band tune "Stealin' Apples"; that was the one I recall most strongly. Typically the theme ran for 12 - 14 seconds; my ears would perk up if it lasted longer than, say, 15 or so -- suggesting something was amiss in the studio.The radio was on WBEN whenever anyone was in the kitchen during the day; woe betide any of us who changed the dial. In the evenings, we were tuned to "WADV...the sound of music...one oh six point five".
This being the 60s, CBS news bulletins other than TOH were called "Net Alert" or something similar.
Some more names from the era:
Lou Douglas with the 6 o'clock news
Dick Rifenburg, who replaced Phillips after he bailed for Baltimore (and became a weather fixture there)
I had Stan Barron on my 6-transistor "Jade" radio under my pillow; the last piece of music before the TOH break was always an instrumental, and was timed to finish right before the station ID -- which usually meant Stan often cut into the piece after it started -- rarely was that TOH instrumental played end-to-end over the air.
Van & Stan called the Buffalo Braves games, though I believe Stan worked solo when Van was out-of-town for a Bills game.
Down here in Philly, KYW (all-news) has a beep (only a single, no doubles) at TOH and BOH.
In many ways, all these little nuances remain fresh in my mind... amazing how many of them I remember.
Thanks for making me feel a bit older today... ;-)
Richard in Allentown, PA (ex-East Aurora)
Wow, you guys are bringing back a lot of memories. Nick, I'm glad I'm not the only one who can recite the WBEN schedule from the mid 60s ! If you want to get a flavor of those times, the Buffalo Broadcasters website (http://www.buffalobroadcasters.com/) has airchecks of a late '60s promotional package that must have been sent out to commercial clients at the time. It contains both the personalities and the news. It's pretty quick, and I think you'll enjoy it.
! If you want to get a flavor of those times, the Buffalo Broadcasters website (http://www.buffalobroadcasters.com/) has airchecks of a late '60s promotional package that must have been sent out to commercial clients at the time. It contains both the personalities and the news. It's pretty quick, and I think you'll enjoy it.To all....Yes that's what I'm talking about!
I listened to KB most of the time but I admit that every once in awhile my radio slipped over to 930.
As a fellow geezer I'd be very proud to work for a station like that.
Mike
I listened to KB most of the time but I admit that every once in awhile my radio slipped over to 930.
As a fellow geezer I'd be very proud to work for a station like that.
Mike
When AM Was King
It seemed there always was a reason to listen to WBEN back in the golden era.
It might have been sports for the Bills and the Braves or detailed weather forecasts which included wind speed & direction, humidity and barometric pressure. It might have been for school closings or news, which always locked-out by giving credit to "*___* at the editor's desk." I often wondered if crediting the news editor was a matter of station etiquette or required by AFTRA rules.
Consider the AM band at the time: WGR, WBEN, WEBR, WUFO, WWOL, WNIA, WYSL, WKBW. Those also were the days when co-owned FM stations had mirror call letters such as WGR-FM, WBEN-FM, WEBR-FM, WWOL-FM and WYSL-FM. Who would have thought THREE of those FM's would be housed in one building!
While my brothers and I listened to WKBW, WYSL and WNIA, our parents gravitated more to WEBR than WBEN. Both were legendary radio stations, chock full of gravitas, especially where news was concerned.
Many posters (like my friend Nick Seneca) can recall WBEN in intimate detail because of the station's place in their households and their parents' listening habits. Because my parents gravitated to WEBR, I can recall the lush vocals of the WEBR jingles:
What an absolutely classy jingle package. (Might those be on CD, Mr. Wallack?)
Jim Pastrick
It seemed there always was a reason to listen to WBEN back in the golden era.
It might have been sports for the Bills and the Braves or detailed weather forecasts which included wind speed & direction, humidity and barometric pressure. It might have been for school closings or news, which always locked-out by giving credit to "*___* at the editor's desk." I often wondered if crediting the news editor was a matter of station etiquette or required by AFTRA rules.
Consider the AM band at the time: WGR, WBEN, WEBR, WUFO, WWOL, WNIA, WYSL, WKBW. Those also were the days when co-owned FM stations had mirror call letters such as WGR-FM, WBEN-FM, WEBR-FM, WWOL-FM and WYSL-FM. Who would have thought THREE of those FM's would be housed in one building!
While my brothers and I listened to WKBW, WYSL and WNIA, our parents gravitated more to WEBR than WBEN. Both were legendary radio stations, chock full of gravitas, especially where news was concerned.
Many posters (like my friend Nick Seneca) can recall WBEN in intimate detail because of the station's place in their households and their parents' listening habits. Because my parents gravitated to WEBR, I can recall the lush vocals of the WEBR jingles:
"The sound of the city, that sound that is heard in Buffalo, New York....
W-E-B-R.... W-E-B-R."
W-E-B-R.... W-E-B-R."
What an absolutely classy jingle package. (Might those be on CD, Mr. Wallack?)
Jim Pastrick
Jim, I ran the radio at home and for some reason my much older parents seemed to like top 40. I got a good dose of WEBR from my Aunt and Uncle who didn't have any kids.
"The Sound of The City" is a jingle I will never forget. I found it on the Buffalo Broadcast Pioneers site and made a recording of it on minidisc.
I have no problem including WGR and WEBR in that list of great adult stations, Buffalo was blessed with some very good radio. I think you have to put WBEN at the top of the list though.
Mike
"The Sound of The City" is a jingle I will never forget. I found it on the Buffalo Broadcast Pioneers site and made a recording of it on minidisc.
I have no problem including WGR and WEBR in that list of great adult stations, Buffalo was blessed with some very good radio. I think you have to put WBEN at the top of the list though.
Mike
One More Note...
One thing that you might want to note is that Buffalo was around Market 25 back in the '60s, and was a destination market. Now, at Market #54, like a lot of other mid-markets, we're a destination only for those people who are already from the area. Otherwise, we're either a stepping-stone, or just another affiliate for a big-market syndicator.
One thing that you might want to note is that Buffalo was around Market 25 back in the '60s, and was a destination market. Now, at Market #54, like a lot of other mid-markets, we're a destination only for those people who are already from the area. Otherwise, we're either a stepping-stone, or just another affiliate for a big-market syndicator.
WBEN... But Not In Our House
Growing up in my home, I remember mom and dad starting the day with WPhD or John Rivers and Mary Van Voorst on QFM97. Occasionally, they'd spark one up before breakfast and start the day with a smile.
Late at night when Jim Santella was on, they'd crank up the Sansui receiver with the big speakers in the living room. Those Klipsch speakers were the size of a small refrigerator and the neighbors at the end of our street could hear Zep, Deep Purple and the Doors with no problem.
Mom and dad knew how to rock the house in more ways than one. Ahhh, growing up in a two-parent household in the late 60's, early and mid 70's... hard to believe that was nearly 40 years ago.
....poof
Where were we?
Oh yeah, it's 2007.
Already?
-9-
Growing up in my home, I remember mom and dad starting the day with WPhD or John Rivers and Mary Van Voorst on QFM97. Occasionally, they'd spark one up before breakfast and start the day with a smile.
Late at night when Jim Santella was on, they'd crank up the Sansui receiver with the big speakers in the living room. Those Klipsch speakers were the size of a small refrigerator and the neighbors at the end of our street could hear Zep, Deep Purple and the Doors with no problem.
Mom and dad knew how to rock the house in more ways than one. Ahhh, growing up in a two-parent household in the late 60's, early and mid 70's... hard to believe that was nearly 40 years ago.
....poof
Where were we?
Oh yeah, it's 2007.
Already?
-9-
Re: One More Note...
I was waxing philosophical about that fact the other day. My new area - the Lehigh Valley - certainly feels a lot smaller than WNY did back in the 1960s and 70s, and it was...but now is steadily climbing as a bedroom community to NYC and Philadelphia.
It is interesting to extend the thinking further, back to the first quarter of the 20th Century, to visualize how important Buffalo was back then.
Alas, the "morning zoo" and Don Imus world is a far, far cry from "yours truly, 'Buehly'"...
Richard in Allentown, PA
SirRoxalot said:
I was waxing philosophical about that fact the other day. My new area - the Lehigh Valley - certainly feels a lot smaller than WNY did back in the 1960s and 70s, and it was...but now is steadily climbing as a bedroom community to NYC and Philadelphia.
It is interesting to extend the thinking further, back to the first quarter of the 20th Century, to visualize how important Buffalo was back then.
Alas, the "morning zoo" and Don Imus world is a far, far cry from "yours truly, 'Buehly'"...
Richard in Allentown, PA
Re: WBEN... But Not In Our House
Hey -9- You must be Alex Keaton!
Do your parents still have their hearing?
Mike
Element9 said:
Hey -9- You must be Alex Keaton!
Do your parents still have their hearing?
Mike
Re: One More Note...
Ironically radio today may be better in some of the smaller markets where station owners are still very much in touch with their community.
As for the zoo, how true. Even Joey Reynolds who calls himself "the first shock-jock" never said anything as unkind as what you might hear today. It was funny and just a little shocking, but he new the limits.
rdcuffpa1 said:
Ironically radio today may be better in some of the smaller markets where station owners are still very much in touch with their community.
As for the zoo, how true. Even Joey Reynolds who calls himself "the first shock-jock" never said anything as unkind as what you might hear today. It was funny and just a little shocking, but he new the limits.
Re: WBEN... But Not In Our House
Whhhhhut? Herring? No, they prefer TUNA!
These days, we're like the Loud Family from SNL... a TV show mom and pop liked to watch... when it used to be FUNNY and hip.
Actually... my original post here was a commentary about how we posters wax poetically about "the good old days." While many posters walk down memory lane and wax about KB, WGR and WBEN, and other stations, there are those who could easily view the late 60's and 70's in the very same way. We're all walking a similar path, but we see different snapshots of history as we walk it. There are newbees who post here who might look at Shredd & Ragan and Norton in the same light as other posters look at Beuhlman, Roberts and Neaverth. Imagine that!
Perspective.
-9-
Mike Sheridan said:
Whhhhhut? Herring? No, they prefer TUNA!
These days, we're like the Loud Family from SNL... a TV show mom and pop liked to watch... when it used to be FUNNY and hip.
Actually... my original post here was a commentary about how we posters wax poetically about "the good old days." While many posters walk down memory lane and wax about KB, WGR and WBEN, and other stations, there are those who could easily view the late 60's and 70's in the very same way. We're all walking a similar path, but we see different snapshots of history as we walk it. There are newbees who post here who might look at Shredd & Ragan and Norton in the same light as other posters look at Beuhlman, Roberts and Neaverth. Imagine that!
Perspective.
-9-
Child of the '70s
Nine, this may explain your occasional forays into uncharted territory.
Nine, this may explain your occasional forays into uncharted territory.
B
Bob1370
Guest
Jim Pastrick of WHTT writes above, "It seemed there always was a reason to listen to WBEN back in the golden era. It might have been sports for the Bills and the Braves or detailed weather forecasts which included wind speed & direction, humidity and barometric pressure. It might have been for school closings or news, which always locked-out by giving credit to "*___* at the editor's desk." I often wondered if crediting the news editor was a matter of station etiquette or required by AFTRA rules."
Us old newsies from WBEN's last golden era thank you for the shout-out. Of course we got the Bills back in '78, with Stan, Van and Murph to keep everyone updated on them, and kept them, IIRC, until well into the '90s. Those detailed weather reports remained a rule because we were told by TPTB (Larry Levite and Jim McLaughlin, to be exact) to always think of ourselves as the station of record and do everything accordingly.
The "editor's desk" credits died out when the anchors took on the job of writing and editing their own newscasts--saved money and physical space, but also meant the newscasts always reflected the personal style of the person who aired it because he or she had written it as well as voiced it. Jim thought that made the sound of the news better, and bonded us more effectively with listeners, by giving news a touch of personality. I think he was on to something there...
Us old newsies from WBEN's last golden era thank you for the shout-out. Of course we got the Bills back in '78, with Stan, Van and Murph to keep everyone updated on them, and kept them, IIRC, until well into the '90s. Those detailed weather reports remained a rule because we were told by TPTB (Larry Levite and Jim McLaughlin, to be exact) to always think of ourselves as the station of record and do everything accordingly.
The "editor's desk" credits died out when the anchors took on the job of writing and editing their own newscasts--saved money and physical space, but also meant the newscasts always reflected the personal style of the person who aired it because he or she had written it as well as voiced it. Jim thought that made the sound of the news better, and bonded us more effectively with listeners, by giving news a touch of personality. I think he was on to something there...
Didn't the Bills go to WGR & 97 Rock around 1990-1994 or 1995. Ahhh, the Super Bowl years!Bob1370 said:
I also recall the "editor's desk" tags, but thought they were during the Buffalo Evening News-WBEN-AM-FM-TV era.
Indeed, WGR had the Bills for each of the Super Bowl years. What timing. During the 1990 season, the games were simulcast on WGR and 97 Rock. You'll recall they were co-owned at the time by Rich Communications. But in 1991, the games were exclusively on WGR. The Bills returned to WBEN in 1995. The Bills went to the Super Bowl each year they were on 'GR. The Sabres have enjoyed playoff success since returning to 'GR. Hmmmm! Dare I say Bills games should be returned to WGR if we want the Bills to go to the Super Bowl? Too bad the Bills are tied to a long term deal with 97 Rock. I never thought about it before this thread. But our sports teams are on an incredible roll when their play-by-play is on WGR!
Too bad the Bills are tied to a long term deal with 97 Rock. I never thought about it before this thread. But our sports teams are on an incredible roll when their play-by-play is on WGR!In my early memories (late '50's, early '60's) it seemed like WGR was usually the station for sports. It might have been their affiliation with The NBC radio network. While I wasn't a big sports fan my uncle was and he listened to WGR allot. There was a World Series where the Yankees played the (LA) Dodgers (early 60's) and everyone seemed to be into the games. I remember my Zenith Royal 675 was tuned to WGR 55.
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