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WBJH 101.5 Trenton 1975
- Thread starter stevations
- Start date
Hey Stav: Nice catch! Interestingly, the aircheck ran just prior to the transition
to NBC News and Information Services which we began. At the time, Joe Piscopo
was a jock at the station, and one of the voices on the aircheck was Phil Allen.
Allen and I worked together for a number of years at 920 WTTM. Lots of
interesting things happened in the Ewingville Road facility. Allen doubled as
"Captain Philadelphia- WKBS-TV Channel 48. Piscopo used many of his SNL
intros based on our experiences at 101.5 and 1260. They were the days when
radio was front and center. Great talent there as well with Allen. It was sort of
a 70's fraternity. BTW. the original NBC News and Information Service jingle
package had a preroll instrumental for headlines. That inrto was used for years
as the music bed for Casper's weather at NJ 101.5. Radio days.. man.. it sang in those
days.
to NBC News and Information Services which we began. At the time, Joe Piscopo
was a jock at the station, and one of the voices on the aircheck was Phil Allen.
Allen and I worked together for a number of years at 920 WTTM. Lots of
interesting things happened in the Ewingville Road facility. Allen doubled as
"Captain Philadelphia- WKBS-TV Channel 48. Piscopo used many of his SNL
intros based on our experiences at 101.5 and 1260. They were the days when
radio was front and center. Great talent there as well with Allen. It was sort of
a 70's fraternity. BTW. the original NBC News and Information Service jingle
package had a preroll instrumental for headlines. That inrto was used for years
as the music bed for Casper's weather at NJ 101.5. Radio days.. man.. it sang in those
days.
NJ101.5 TRENTON-FAIRLESS HILLS
AMFMSW.. Indeed it was a dual city of license radio station. Originally, as I understand it,
the license for WBUD was in Morrisville, PA, then moved across the Delaware and WBJH, which
stood for Dick Hardin's sons name Billie Joe Hardin was born. Trenton-Fairless Hills, especially as
industry towns in the 40's 50's and 60's had a rather large industrial footprint. WBJH was at 20kW but
only 200 feet off the ground. Really had an "okay" signal. But of course, when it was later
rolled up to 998 feet on the NJN tower, then reduced TPO to 18kW and of course
enjoys the best signal in the state. Lots of great memories when radio really was live and local
but the place was bereft with strange characters.. The funnest place to work, however was WHWH-WTOA
the forerunner to WPST. That place had the stars: John Matheu, Judy Muller, now key KABC -TV LA anchor, Tom
Taylor. WTOA was a beautiful music station. Left the Trenton stations and moved to WWSH-Philadelphia
and news assignments at WRFM- New York City. Radio was really fun in those days. Other dual cities
of license stations are WKBS- Channel 48 Burlington-Philadelphia, and our own WIBG1020 Ocean City-Somers Point.
AMFMSW.. Indeed it was a dual city of license radio station. Originally, as I understand it,
the license for WBUD was in Morrisville, PA, then moved across the Delaware and WBJH, which
stood for Dick Hardin's sons name Billie Joe Hardin was born. Trenton-Fairless Hills, especially as
industry towns in the 40's 50's and 60's had a rather large industrial footprint. WBJH was at 20kW but
only 200 feet off the ground. Really had an "okay" signal. But of course, when it was later
rolled up to 998 feet on the NJN tower, then reduced TPO to 18kW and of course
enjoys the best signal in the state. Lots of great memories when radio really was live and local
but the place was bereft with strange characters.. The funnest place to work, however was WHWH-WTOA
the forerunner to WPST. That place had the stars: John Matheu, Judy Muller, now key KABC -TV LA anchor, Tom
Taylor. WTOA was a beautiful music station. Left the Trenton stations and moved to WWSH-Philadelphia
and news assignments at WRFM- New York City. Radio was really fun in those days. Other dual cities
of license stations are WKBS- Channel 48 Burlington-Philadelphia, and our own WIBG1020 Ocean City-Somers Point.
Here is WBJH in 1976 with oldies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYGSheMBJ8Y
Who was the announcer that did the local commercials?
Also, WIBG1020 who was the announcer on the 1975 airchecks that did the intro to the songs with the nasal type voice? (the one heard on WSTW and other stations up and down the east coast) Any idea of the lady announcers name also? She seemed to be on WBUD AM ut once in a while was on WBJH.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYGSheMBJ8Y
Who was the announcer that did the local commercials?
Also, WIBG1020 who was the announcer on the 1975 airchecks that did the intro to the songs with the nasal type voice? (the one heard on WSTW and other stations up and down the east coast) Any idea of the lady announcers name also? She seemed to be on WBUD AM ut once in a while was on WBJH.
VOICES of WBJH 101.5 Trenton 1975
Phil Allen worked with us at WTTM and WBUD and WBJH. It was he and owner Hardin who suggested
I move from 920 to 101.5 and 1260 in 1975. Phil served as on camera at WKBS- TV48 as Captain Philadelphia.
He did a lot of commercial, work voice overs, booth announce etc during the heyday years of 68 thru 77.
He was instrumental in moving the NBC News and Information Service 24/7 All News format to WBUD.
The other voice, I believe, was the son of legendary Trenton area broadcaster George Luthre Bannister,
but I don't recognize the lady's voice. They were the final days of the beautiful music formats in the states.
Remember, the 101.5 footprint at that point was far smaller than it is now, and without a qualified sales
group, they were mostly relegated to the locals, Extension Diner, etc. The original building on Ewingville
Road was located in a floodplain. During the storm of '75, we could only get into the building with a small
paddleboat. The building was "U" shaped, and while everything was silent, the old AP teletype machine, submerged
underwater, continued to clang away. They subsequently quickly erected a modular building behind the
school bus yard across the street, and its there where they constructed the four tower array for the AM,
and for awhile, 101.5's three bay antenna sat perched on one of them .Lots of moldy memories there.
Phil Allen worked with us at WTTM and WBUD and WBJH. It was he and owner Hardin who suggested
I move from 920 to 101.5 and 1260 in 1975. Phil served as on camera at WKBS- TV48 as Captain Philadelphia.
He did a lot of commercial, work voice overs, booth announce etc during the heyday years of 68 thru 77.
He was instrumental in moving the NBC News and Information Service 24/7 All News format to WBUD.
The other voice, I believe, was the son of legendary Trenton area broadcaster George Luthre Bannister,
but I don't recognize the lady's voice. They were the final days of the beautiful music formats in the states.
Remember, the 101.5 footprint at that point was far smaller than it is now, and without a qualified sales
group, they were mostly relegated to the locals, Extension Diner, etc. The original building on Ewingville
Road was located in a floodplain. During the storm of '75, we could only get into the building with a small
paddleboat. The building was "U" shaped, and while everything was silent, the old AP teletype machine, submerged
underwater, continued to clang away. They subsequently quickly erected a modular building behind the
school bus yard across the street, and its there where they constructed the four tower array for the AM,
and for awhile, 101.5's three bay antenna sat perched on one of them .Lots of moldy memories there.
Re: NJ101.5 TRENTON-FAIRLESS HILLS
Is Judy still working? I thought she was retired. What a great career she's had. She applied to me for her first broadcasting job. I turned her down. I told her she sounded like the NY Times and I was looking for someone who sounded like the NY Daily News.
Additionally, I replaced John Mathieu at WHWH. He was a great broadcaster and classy guy, but they didn't think he handled on-air phones well. Sometime later he landed at WCBS-AM. I don't know if he's still there.
wibg1020 said:The funnest place to work, however was WHWH-WTOA
the forerunner to WPST. That place had the stars: John Matheu, Judy Muller, now key KABC -TV LA anchor, ...
Is Judy still working? I thought she was retired. What a great career she's had. She applied to me for her first broadcasting job. I turned her down. I told her she sounded like the NY Times and I was looking for someone who sounded like the NY Daily News.
Additionally, I replaced John Mathieu at WHWH. He was a great broadcaster and classy guy, but they didn't think he handled on-air phones well. Sometime later he landed at WCBS-AM. I don't know if he's still there.
BROADCAST TALENT OF THE 70's
Harry.. I really lost contact with most of my colleagues of that era. As far as
Judy, I really don't know. Some of the best on air live talent came from Central New Jersey.
Among them was a unique guy, Phil Painter. Painter was a great friend, an absolutely astounding
local radio newsguy, and served with so many fine stations. The golden combination of Doug,
Phil Painter and Alan Casper back in the WADB, South Belmar days were legendary. The three
could create the best combination of comedy, sincerity and continuity of any regional station.
Really "the theatre of the mind" was what they created.Other big names were Howard David,
later leaving our group at Nassau Broadcasting and did Mizlou Broadcasting and alot of national
sporting events MLB was noted for. For me though, ownership of the two Atlantic City AM & FM
stations, coupled with national voiceover, and full TV field and post production, really haven't had the
time for a radio re-union. Hey, Harry.. that would be a great idea. How bout it. We do a radio reunion.
Harry.. I really lost contact with most of my colleagues of that era. As far as
Judy, I really don't know. Some of the best on air live talent came from Central New Jersey.
Among them was a unique guy, Phil Painter. Painter was a great friend, an absolutely astounding
local radio newsguy, and served with so many fine stations. The golden combination of Doug,
Phil Painter and Alan Casper back in the WADB, South Belmar days were legendary. The three
could create the best combination of comedy, sincerity and continuity of any regional station.
Really "the theatre of the mind" was what they created.Other big names were Howard David,
later leaving our group at Nassau Broadcasting and did Mizlou Broadcasting and alot of national
sporting events MLB was noted for. For me though, ownership of the two Atlantic City AM & FM
stations, coupled with national voiceover, and full TV field and post production, really haven't had the
time for a radio re-union. Hey, Harry.. that would be a great idea. How bout it. We do a radio reunion.
Great airchecks, I got my answer who the main voice of WBJH was, Phil Allen. I never knew Alan Kasper was at WADB South Belmar, that blows my mind! WBJH kind of sounded like WLEV 96.1 in that same period, automated, with one main voice. They were sleeping giants weren't they?
GOLDEN AGE OF RADIO TRANSITION
Bob.. Indeed it was the golden age of radio. In 1967, first year of my career, FM radio had
absolutely no traction, with the exception of the major markets. The days of the beautiful music
stations were readying their peak . FM began heavy traction ('69-'73), and in the NYC-Metro area, the big
players were WRFM 105.1 NYC, WPAT 93.1, WLEV and WADB 95.9. Yes indeed in the metro NYC TSA
WADB gave the New York stations a real run for their money. WPLJ- 95.5 NYC really broke the ice along
with WXLO (formerly WNBC-FM) with alternative programming. One by one, things changed. When working
for United Artists owned WWSH 106.1 Philly, the Jim Shulke format was huge, and so were their delivery
reels, 24 inch reels, all wound tails out, but it was a beautiful music jukebox.
John Beatty our PD there predicted the decline of the
beautiful music format. At WADB, we had the Schaffer Carosel automation system, and Adamant Brown
nurtured the station and its format. WBJH had, shall we say, unusual ownership/management and because
of a lack of consistency, never really developed velocity. Have been truly blessed to have worked with some
of the nations best talent, the ones that didn't have to remind you every five minutes how great they are.
Today, however without vision, most corporate owners haven't a clue of what live and local means, and therefore
they are being outgunned by other platforms, satellite, internet, Pandora etc. Only live, local radio will
survive. The true visionaries were guys like Herb Hobler, Nassau Broadcasting, Bob MacAllan, Press Communications
as he tweaked NJ101.5 into the monolith that it became. Proud to have worked with all of these guys and rebirthing
live local radio is working very, very well for us. Dave Herman of WPLJ and NEW-FM fame actually started his
career in the "little house on the prairie" 1129 Hope Rd, Tinton Falls at WHTG1410. Theo Gade later acquired
WFHA 106.3 in Red Bank, after they reportedly were double billing and she won the license after discovering it.
Clearly radio pioneers of that era.
Bob.. Indeed it was the golden age of radio. In 1967, first year of my career, FM radio had
absolutely no traction, with the exception of the major markets. The days of the beautiful music
stations were readying their peak . FM began heavy traction ('69-'73), and in the NYC-Metro area, the big
players were WRFM 105.1 NYC, WPAT 93.1, WLEV and WADB 95.9. Yes indeed in the metro NYC TSA
WADB gave the New York stations a real run for their money. WPLJ- 95.5 NYC really broke the ice along
with WXLO (formerly WNBC-FM) with alternative programming. One by one, things changed. When working
for United Artists owned WWSH 106.1 Philly, the Jim Shulke format was huge, and so were their delivery
reels, 24 inch reels, all wound tails out, but it was a beautiful music jukebox.
John Beatty our PD there predicted the decline of the
beautiful music format. At WADB, we had the Schaffer Carosel automation system, and Adamant Brown
nurtured the station and its format. WBJH had, shall we say, unusual ownership/management and because
of a lack of consistency, never really developed velocity. Have been truly blessed to have worked with some
of the nations best talent, the ones that didn't have to remind you every five minutes how great they are.
Today, however without vision, most corporate owners haven't a clue of what live and local means, and therefore
they are being outgunned by other platforms, satellite, internet, Pandora etc. Only live, local radio will
survive. The true visionaries were guys like Herb Hobler, Nassau Broadcasting, Bob MacAllan, Press Communications
as he tweaked NJ101.5 into the monolith that it became. Proud to have worked with all of these guys and rebirthing
live local radio is working very, very well for us. Dave Herman of WPLJ and NEW-FM fame actually started his
career in the "little house on the prairie" 1129 Hope Rd, Tinton Falls at WHTG1410. Theo Gade later acquired
WFHA 106.3 in Red Bank, after they reportedly were double billing and she won the license after discovering it.
Clearly radio pioneers of that era.
Re: GOLDEN AGE OF RADIO TRANSITION
wibg1020 said:The big
players were WRFM 105.1 NYC, WPAT 93.1, WLEV and WADB 95.9. Yes indeed in the metro NYC TSA
WADB gave the New York stations a real run for their money. WPLJ- 95.5 NYC really broke the ice along
with WXLO (formerly WNBC-FM) with alternative programming.]
98.7 WXLO was fomerly WOR-FM until November 1972 (not WNBC-FM).
Was 95.9 WADB a player in the New York market? When I lived in Hazlet, NJ (Monmouth County), 95.9 had "signal issues" there- I can't imagine it making it up to North Jersey and beyond and being a large player in the NYC ratings. Also, there is a 95.9 allocation in Southern Connecticut. Not sure if this station was on the air in the early 70's, but if it was, I would imagine 95.9 being a mix of the two stations in North Jersey and NYC.
WHTG-FM was orginnally on the air at 105.5 mHz. This station suffered interference issues with WDHA-FM in Dover, NJ. (For a "Class A" station WDHA had a great signal toward the Shore). In the 1960's, the owners of WHTG discovered that WFHA?, 106.3 Red Bank, NJ was double billing its clients. The FCC pulled the Red Bank station's license and then WHTG was able to move to 106.3. I think that was around 1967 or so.
These are great stories. Even before NJ 101.5 came on the air, I used to listen to the then Kix 101.5 quite often. They had a fairly diverse Sunday night oldies show in the late 80s, which continued into the early NJ 101.5 days. Based on this post, it sounds like 101.5 had the following call letter/format history..
1960s- simulcast of WBUD
early 1970s-1976- Beautiful Music as WBJH-FM
1976-1980- oldies as WBJH and then WTRT
1980-mid late 1980s- hot AC WKXW "Kix 101 and a half, then Kix 101.5"
1988-1990-AC/oldies WKXW ("Kix 101.5)
1990- NJ 101.5
Quick question- what was so unusual about the management of WBJH in the day? Was the owner eccentric or was radio more of a "hobby" for him and he was an absentee owner?
One final question on 101.5, when did they move to the WNJT Tower? I would guess sometime in the '80s. That must have been quite an upgrade- going from 20kw @ 220 feet to 18.5 kw @ 900 feet must have really added alot of coverage.
Thanks and have a great day...
-Mike
s
CENTRAL JERSEY RADIO
Mike: Me bad. You are correct.. WXLO was WOR-FM, You are quite correct. As I recall, there was a swap with WDHA at 105.5 with WHTG sometime in the early 60's. I recall the WHTG management mentioned those details. WADB 95.9 hit air in 1968, and they did compete with the biggies in NYC
in the Arbitron Total Survey Area, which included Monmouth-Ocean. WADB really had little useable
signal north of Aberdeen-Matawan, but they scored very big numbers in Monmouth-Ocean. I can still recall the day Adamant Brown learned that his legacy in beautiful music was being rebranded as the Rat.
As a matter of fact, probably the longest running jocks in the country is Lee Greenwood, now branded as "Uncle Leo" on the Rat. Lee, Marc Matlin, formerly with WCTC and many other great people came through South Belmar Lee Greenwood was the very first board operator and jock at WADB in '68. Lee is perhaps one of the most venerable jocks around.. He has transitioned through multiple owners and various formats.
One of the humblest, most astonishing guys I've worked with. By the way, Lee has always been the overnight host for all these many years. A guy with a body clock that's 7/24 instead of 24/7. A remarkably talented and gifted guy. And Marc Matlin is my best friend, a gentleman of gentlemen, and has a great voice, has done a lot of character voices.
Mike: Me bad. You are correct.. WXLO was WOR-FM, You are quite correct. As I recall, there was a swap with WDHA at 105.5 with WHTG sometime in the early 60's. I recall the WHTG management mentioned those details. WADB 95.9 hit air in 1968, and they did compete with the biggies in NYC
in the Arbitron Total Survey Area, which included Monmouth-Ocean. WADB really had little useable
signal north of Aberdeen-Matawan, but they scored very big numbers in Monmouth-Ocean. I can still recall the day Adamant Brown learned that his legacy in beautiful music was being rebranded as the Rat.
As a matter of fact, probably the longest running jocks in the country is Lee Greenwood, now branded as "Uncle Leo" on the Rat. Lee, Marc Matlin, formerly with WCTC and many other great people came through South Belmar Lee Greenwood was the very first board operator and jock at WADB in '68. Lee is perhaps one of the most venerable jocks around.. He has transitioned through multiple owners and various formats.
One of the humblest, most astonishing guys I've worked with. By the way, Lee has always been the overnight host for all these many years. A guy with a body clock that's 7/24 instead of 24/7. A remarkably talented and gifted guy. And Marc Matlin is my best friend, a gentleman of gentlemen, and has a great voice, has done a lot of character voices.
Re: CENTRAL JERSEY RADIO
"Uncle Leo" is really one of the best in NJ radio - a pleasure to work with, and has a deep knowledge of all genres of music. He used to come to the oldies shows the WJRZ would host in West Long Branch before heading to The Rat for the overnight shift. I believe he is the only GMNJ live overnight jock left...
wibg1020 said:As a matter of fact, probably the longest running jocks in the country is Lee Greenwood, now branded as "Uncle Leo" on the Rat. Lee, Marc Matlin, formerly with WCTC and many other great people came through South Belmar Lee Greenwood was the very first board operator and jock at WADB in '68. Lee is perhaps one of the most venerable jocks around.. He has transitioned through multiple owners and various formats.
"Uncle Leo" is really one of the best in NJ radio - a pleasure to work with, and has a deep knowledge of all genres of music. He used to come to the oldies shows the WJRZ would host in West Long Branch before heading to The Rat for the overnight shift. I believe he is the only GMNJ live overnight jock left...
Uncle Leo is still on overnights to this day, he is probably one of the few overnight jocks left anywhere peiod as it is a dying breed due to automation etc.
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