WABC Musicradio 77

This web site has been accessed 4229255 times since January 5, 1997
Last updated January 6, 2008

WABC's Saturday Night Oldies Show!
Today's WABC has taken a page from its Musicradio WABC past
by programming an oldies show every Saturday Night.
Hosted by Mark Simone, it features the great music of the
Top 40 radio era as well as interviews and those great jingles!

Roby Yonge officially started on WABC January 1, 1968.
It was on that date 41 years ago that WABC eliminated much of the
ABC Network required programming that
hampered the station's "Most Music" image.

From the trivia department:
Roby actually started on WABC
in December 1967 because of a snow storm
that prevented Charlie Greer from
making it to the station. Since Roby
was living in New York City, he
was available to fill in for Charlie.

Roby spoke about that first show in this
interview he conducted with John Paul Roberts in 1996:

This Week's WABC Music Surveys for 30, 35, 40 and 45 Years Ago
Updated Every Tuesday Night (WABC New Survey Day!)

What's new on the WABC Musicradio Web Site?

Scott Benjamin Interviewed Bob Gibson for a tribute to the ABC Staff Announcers!

Bob Gibson On The ABC Staff Announcers

Conversion to Mp3 Sound Files

When this web site began in 1996, the Mp3 format did not yet exist.
At the time, there were several streaming audio formats, the most popular one being Real Audio.
As a result, most of the sound files on the site have been Real Audio as the vast majority were posted in the first few years.
When Mp3's became the predominant format, newer airchecks and sound files were posted in that format.
It is a daunting task to go back and re-format hundreds of sound files so it's not something I've wanted to do.
However, time has passed, more people now have Mp3 and, honestly, Real Audio can be a hassle.
So by popular request, all sound files on the site have been reposted in Mp3 format.
The Real Audio files remain posted for those who still prefer that format for older files but
from now on all new audio files will only be posted as Mp3's.
This has been a HUGE job. It's a lot more fun posting things the first time then going back and doing them all over again.
There may be some missing files or links that are not working so you all can be my proof-readers :)
Also, I'd like some feedback from visitors to get a feel for how it's working.
Thanks!!
Click:

E Mail Allan Sniffen

Pat St. John is well known to New York radio listeners from WPLJ, WNEW-FM, WCBS-FM and WAXQ.
But... did you know he came close to becoming at Musicradio WABC DJ in 1974?
According to former WABC program director Glenn Morgan,
Pat was on the short list of candidates to replace Bruce Morrow...
something Pat didn't even know until recently.
Scott Benjamin has more:

Pat St. John Profile

Harry Harrison is doing well in his retirement although it would seem
he has a legion of fans who would welcome him back on the air tomorrow!
Mark Simone caught up with Harry on September 6:

Harry and Mark
September 6, 2008

Mark Simone had Bruce Morrow on his WABC Saturday Night Oldies Show on August 16.
This is a very good interview as Bruce has some very insightful radio comments
about the growth of FM and what AM Top 40 radio was about.
This interview with Bruce is different from others you may have heard:

Mark Simone Interviews Bruce Morrow
August 16, 2008

How would you like to have a program for your own computer
that lets you search through and list all the songs
that made the WABC weekly music surveys?
Sound too good to be true?

Thanks to Kris Earl Phillips, we now have a program
you can download and install on your own computer
that lets you filter and list all the songs that made the weekly
WABC Surveys from July 1960 until May 1982.
And... it's FREE!!!
Interested?
(who isn't?)

Click:

WABC Music Surveys Download Site

The introduction to this web site and why WABC was the "greatest Top 40 radio station of all time".

The most extensive single audio project undertaken by this web site was from January 12 to November 16, 1999. Over that time, we chronologically posted one new Dan Ingram aircheck per week to give web site visitors an opportunity to experience WABC as it evolved over its years as a music station. This section includes all of the airchecks from that series in order from 1961 until 1982. This is the section for true WABC fans.

Sound Files. LOTS of them! This section includes hundreds of WABC recordings including airchecks, interviews, promos and even a few bloopers!

There are hundreds of these and we have every single one posted! Special thanks to Ken Williamson, Tom Natoli, Mike Riccio and Don Tandler!

The WABC Top 100 Songs of The Year lists from 1964 to 1982 as published by Musicradio WABC ranked in order. You may also download a program which allows you to sort these lists on your own computer.

WABC is the most famous radio station ever for its jingles from legendary companies like PAMS of Dallas, and JAM Creative Productions. This section describes the history of those jingles, the years they were made, anecdotes about many of them and more than 250 jingles in .wav format that you can download.

The great WABC DJ's! This is the most accurate and updated information we have about their careers before and after WABC.

The complete list of the dates and times that each air personality was scheduled on WABC from December 1960 to May 1982.

Harry Harrison did the "Morning Drive" show on WABC from 1968 until 1979. Harry has contributed an unbelievable collection of memorabilia to this web site. Pictures, airchecks, a biography of his career and more! THANKS to former WABC and WCBS-FM "Morning Mayor" Harry Harrison!

Rick Sklar was the programming wizard behind Musicradio WABC. This is a biography of his career and a tribute to his genius. It includes numerous audio clips from interviews he gave.

Glenn Morgan came to WABC as Assistant Program Director/Production Director in 1971. He became Program Director in 1975 and Operations Director in 1977. He was responsible for most of the promos heard on the station in the seventies and also for programming the station after Rick Sklar was promoted. He has contributed his recollections and various promos to this web site!

Al Brady was program director of WABC in 1979 and 1980. He comments on his tenure at WABC and some of the difficult decisions he made in trying to cope with the changing face of music on AM radio in the late seventies.

Did you know that Les Marsak started in radio at WABC? It's true! Les wrote his story and contributed additional airchecks to this web site!

WABC Disc Jockey Frank Kingston Smith contributed some terrific "inside" stories about some of his experiences at Musicradio WABC.

WABC Engineer Bill Epperhart contributed a fascinating look at what it was like to be a Studio Engineer at Musicradio WABC. Pictures included!

WABC successfully aligned itself with the greatest pop music phenomenon of all time: The Beatles. Here is how they did it including sound files.

Yes, you really could hear WABC "everywhere" (or so it seemed). Here's why. This section also includes a history of the call letters on 770 kHz. in New York City and an actual Musicradio WABC "QSL card".

Julian Breen was Assistant Program Director at WABC from 1968-1971. Here are some of his recollections of Musicradio WABC and an explanation of "The Pulse" ratings system.

Unfortunately, it all came to an end. WABC as a radio station lives on but Musicradio WABC became Talkradio WABC on May 10, 1982. Here is why. Pictures included!

Pictures of the Musicradio WABC studio at 1330 Avenue of The Americas. There are 16 pictures with detailed descriptions so be patient with the download time.

Before WABC moved to the famous "Avenue of The Americas" address, it was located at 1926 Broadway in New York. We have pictures.

WABC Engineer Richard Silverberg contributed this picture of the WABC Gates console in 1966. Bill Epperhart contributed an additional description of what else is in this commercial photograph of the WABC studio.

My obsession with Dan and Musicradio WABC was in full swing by 1972. I wrote to Dan and got a letter back...

Musicradio WABC Disc Jockey Johnny Donovan donated these series of Jack Davis caricatures to the web page. It is a scan of a series of promotional pictures of the WABC disc jockeys from the early seventies.

One of the greatest Musicradio WABC promotions was the "$25,000. button". Here's what it looked like.

You'll just have to look to see what it is. A good promotion should tease you just a little...

So, lets say you were a DJ at Musicradio WABC in August of 1978. What did your playlist look like?

As a special, "Talkradio WABC" became "Musicradio WABC" on May 25, 1998 for twelve hours. This web site contributed a number of sound files. It was so successful in 1998 that look what happened in 1999!

On May 31, 1999 WABC presented "WABC Rewound". Classic Musicradio WABC airchecks were aired as WABC relived its glory days of Top 40 Radio. Allan Sniffen, Peter Kanze and Jon Wolfert contributed to this effort which was created by WABC's Johnny Donovan. It was a great day and this very web site was part of the inspiration for it!

The first WABC Rewound was so successful, WABC did it again in 2000! Once again, classic Musicradio WABC airchecks were aired on Memorial Day. There were a number of contributions from this web site as well as form other sources. This year, thanks to Spencer Morasch, we have pictures!

Now it's a tradition! WABC's Third Annual Rewound was as much fun as the first two. Johnny Donovan once again put together some terrific airchecks which took a year to find and restore. We again have pictures from a great day along with the "Post Rewound Talk Show" which featured Chuck Leonard and Glenn Morgan!

The Fourth Annual WABC Rewound was just as much fun as the first three. The quality of the recovered airchecks continues to improve and it really felt like Musicradio WABC had returned. The "Post Rewound Talk Show" featured both Dan Ingram and George Michael!

The Fifth Annual WABC Rewound featured new airchecks and even some vintage commercials. Johnny Donovan was the guest on the "Post Rewound Talk Show" and told some fun stories about first starting at WABC as well as the amount of work that goes into the production each year.

The Sixth Annual WABC Rewound continued the tradition. This year was made even more special by a live appearance from Dan Ingram on the "Post Rewound Talk Show"!

The Seventh Annual WABC Rewound. Has it been that long? The enthusiasm and the fun keep on coming. This year Cousin Brucie and Harry Harrison appeared on the "Post Rewound Talk Show"!

The Eighth Annual WABC Rewound. How about THAT! More great airchecks and a surprise call from Dan Ingram on the "Post Rewound Talk Show"!

Scott Benjamin has contributed many tributes and profiles to the web site from those who worked at WABC during the Musicradio era. Here is the archive of his contributions.

"Hi, Kemosabe! A Conversation with Dan Ingram" was a presentation Dan Ingram gave at the Museum of TV and Radio in New York City on October 25, 2001. Dan spoke about his career, told some terrific stories and took questions from the audience. Pictures included!

Former WABC personality Harry Harrison did his final show on WCBS-FM on March 19, 2003. Harry spent a total of 44 years on New York radio on WMCA, WABC and WCBS-FM. This section includes airchecks and pictures from his final show!

Former WABC Air Personality Ron Lundy retired from WCBS-FM on September 18, 1997. This section includes pictures, airchecks of his last four shows, newspaper accounts of his retirement and a special tribute written by WABC engineer Bill Epperhart.

"Big" Joe Rosenfeld did an overnight program in the early years of WABC's run as a Top 40 radio station. Information about the show has been contributed by several visitors to the web site!

From 1998 until 2006, we conducted yearly surveys of web site visitor's favorite songs. This was carefully conducted by Survey Guy Mike Riccio as a way to accurately determine what songs deserve to be at the top an all time favorite songs list.

Thanks for stopping by and stay tuned!
Allan Sniffen
Musicradio77.com Web Master

This page is not an "official" page, and is not created or endorsed by the current or former management of radio station WABC. Except where otherwise noted, the information on this page is from items I personally collected or heard actually broadcast over many years and represents my personal interpretation and opinion of those events.

All written material on the pages of this web site is the property of Allan Sniffen unless otherwise noted, and cannot be duplicated or otherwise distributed without prior written consent. Image files are either the property of Allan Sniffen or are the property of the noted contributor and also cannot be duplicated or distributed without prior written consent.