Real human personalities owned the music as much as the bands that wrote it; they frequented clubs, knew personally the pulse of local talent, and knew the goings-on of a community or city. At the time, they were all Top 40. You could start in downtown Boston and walk to Cambridge, to Harvard Square. Oedipus's radio career began in 1975 as a D.J. BCN did that. [24], On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with Entercom (which locally owned WEEI, WEEI-FM, WRKO, WKAF, and WAAF). -. It didnt have that cool radio vibe. You were BCN. Oedipus was one of the first to play the Clash. Duane got 13. Oh, the stories you heard. . Fred (Toucher) Toettcher (born 1975) is a Marconi-winning sports radio talk show host on WBZ-FM in Boston, co-hosting "Toucher and Rich" with Rich Shertenlieb.. PAUL TANK SFERRUZZAAt WBCN:Listener Line operator, van driver, producer, sports reporter, 197895. Early jocks included J. J. Jackson, who later became one of the first MTV VJs, and Peter Wolf, the future leader of the J. Geils Band. Maxanne Sartori - WBCN DJ. This is a great audio history of radio formats, music, local commercials, news and broadcast personalities at the time. But that changed the following year, when a He is on the Board of Advisors for Community Servings, an organization that feeds Boston-area families with acute life-threatening illnesses, and a former member of the Board of Overseers for the Huntington Theatre Company,[6] advisory member of The Center for Arts at the Armory in Somerville and the Boston Music Awards. It was never a one-way experience. The company let me take chances. My first radio show: 5-8 p.m. on Northeastern University's 104.9 WRBB. The format started at 98.5 FM on February 9, 1991, and moved to 104.1 FM, replacing WBCN on August 12, 2009, to allow for the launch of WBZ-FM at 98.5 the next day. [13][14] However, the combined company would have to shed some of its Boston stations in order to satisfy Federal Communications Commission and Department of Justice requirements. In time, WBCNs free-spirited beginnings would retrench as the station moved to the top of the Prudential Tower with its higher overhead (pun intended), and new owners with higher financial expectations arrived along with radio competition. Exec at RAB in NYC Tom Couch 1976-82 Production Manager at WXRT,Chicago Peter Choyce 1978-88 Air Talent,Las Vegas Carolyn Fox 1991-93 Air Talent,Providence RI Jerry "The Duke of Madness" Goodwin 1977-81 Air Talent,WCGY,Lawrence MA Eddie Gordetsky 1978-82 Comedy Writer in NYC and LA Kenny Greenblatt 1968-1979 deceased Tommy Hadges 1968-78 President of Pollack Media Group in LA Tami Heidi 1977-79 1984-91 Air Talent,KROQ in LA John "Hoch" Hoccheimer 1972 Professor at Ithaca College in Itaca,NY Kate Ingram 1979-81 Harmonic Converge,San Francisco Eric Jackson 1973-75 Air Talent,WGBH-FM Boston J.J. Jackson 1968-71 Radio Consultant,LA Bradley Jay 1984-Present Air Talent Madge Kaplan 1986-1988 News,WGBH-FM Boston Lisa Carlin 1980-82 TV commentator in NYC Charlie Kendall 1978-79 Radio Station Owner in Mississippi Sam Kooper 1968-73 National Media Relations 1987-90 Spokeperson in Boston, Bob Kranes 1982-86 A&R,Polygram in NYC Charles Laquidara 1969-76 1977-Present Air Talent,6-10am Kathryn Lauren 1985-87 Air Talent,WHFS,Annapolis,MD Maurice Lewis 1989-91 Boston Food Bank Larry "Cha-Chi" Loprete 1982-Present Air Talent,Host of WBCN's "Get Back to The Beatles" heard on Sundays. My character, an alter ego called Duane Glasscock, had a heavy Boston accent. The news department was initially headed by Norm Winer, who later became program director. So was its sound: Now-famous megagroups, from Aerosmith and the Clash to the Ramones and U2, all found early support on 104.1. [3] Laquidara would then give Martinie his start in radio as well as his nickname "The Cosmic Muffin", which was taken from a National Lampoon Radio Dinner parody "Deteriorata". J." I was turquoise. He remained a practicing Catholic throughout his life. It was about everybody. Jackson Jr. (April 8, 1941 March 17, 2004) was an American radio and television personality. [1], Martinie was in a relationship with Edward Boesel from January 7, 1973 until Martinie's death. LISA TRAXLERAt WBCN:DJ, 198490. Remember Lefora is going through changes, if you have trouble logging in, as I just did, refresh the page!!! . scoped composite of various personalities. Thats how we found Billy West, from The Ren & Stimpy Show and Futurama. The arrival of shock-jock Howard Sterns syndicated show to mornings that same year created a schizophrenic entity of WBCN, with community-based concern and music vs. callous commercialism and coarse talk. I was the artistic director of a 24-hour opera of the mind. Popular legend holds that WBCN was sent a promotional copy of The Beatles' unreleased Get Back album and played it on the air before the release of the album was cancelled. They still gave us good ratings the next time. Youre acting like Duane and you are separate people. And I said, But you just fired Duane! He hosts The Adam Carolla Show, a talk show distributed as a podcast .more #46 of 164 The Best Talk Show Hosts Of Daytime, Late Night, and All Time #37 of 61 By the fall of 2002, certain classic artists, such as Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, and Ozzy Osbourne, were added back in the station's playlist rotation. Originally broadcasting on analog 104.1 MHz (now WWBX) from 1958 to 2009, and later broadcasting as a digital-only radio station, airing on WBZ-FM HD 2 from 2009 to 2017. The following Monday, my boss, Klee Dobra, called me in. Martinie was born on April 10, 1943 in Massachusetts and grew up in Illinois. Can you imagine a world with just the Eagles? Charles Laquidara is fearless. And he screwed up all the time! The Patriots on the weekend: Is it a football station? Due to a planned power outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm PST, some services may be impacted. There was a time when we first played them, it was like, Oh my God! We needed someone who could do Bugs Bunny. For those who lived in the listening area,. Music DirectorTom "T" Semper 1981-83 Air Talent,WSHE in MiamiPaul "Tank" Sferruzza 1981-85 1986-Present Sports DirectorLisa Traxler 1983-89 Air Talent,WZLX-FM in BostonDebbie Ulman 1971 Air Talent,Olreans,MADina Vaprin 1971-73 1979-82 Asst. [4] When same-sex marriage became legal in Massachusetts, Martinie and Boesel married. A formerly bulletproof radio property became riddled and CBS stemmed the bleeding by shuttering WBCN on August 12, 2009. Thats why I say its a fable. He had a great career but it was a tough end to his life, Parenteaus longtime friend and former co-worker, WZLXs Carter Alan told the Track. WBCN and the American Revolution - Bill Lichtenstein 2021-11-30 How Boston radio station WBCN became the hub of the rock-and-roll, antiwar, psychedelic solar system. Oedipus (Edward Hyson) is an American radio personality. We had a grid that we taped in front of the albums, and everybody had their own color pen. 0. November 29, 2020. In 1966 he began his first job as district manager of Illinois Bell Telephone Company in Decatur, Illinois. From the birth of rock 'n' roll in the 1950s through just about the end of the 20th Century, Cleveland was a great town for radio. on April 10, 2020. tried to bring back freeform rock radio spirit for 21st Century. The "album" had been compiled out of material the Beatles recorded in London in January 1969, the same sessions that would be used to create the Beatles' Let It Be album which was released in May 1970. Elektra Records said, Hey, why dont we give away a car? Okay: Thats easy, thats ordinary. [1] [25] WBMX, WODS, and WAAF were retained by Entercom, while sister stations WBZ and WZLX, as well as WKAF and WRKO, were spun off to iHeartMedia (WBZ-FM would be traded to Beasley Broadcast Group in exchange for WMJX, making WBMX and WMJX sister stations. The station slowly began to change to an "underground" progressive rock format on the night of March 15, 1968. On March 15, 1968, a failing classical music station, WBCN-FM, was reinvented as Boston's first voice in radical underground radio, and its influence quickly spread nationally. [8] During the following months, industry insiders, local media, and even WBCN's on air staff speculated that, in a matter of time, WBCN could see a format change, especially after the Boston Herald ran an article in the March 30, 2009, issue about WBCN's future, and the station airing a Top 40 format for a few hours the following day (April Fool's Day). Rob also hosts one of America's fastest growing and highest rated political commentary shows, The Newsmax Daily with Rob Carson.. On March 15th the station celebrated 25 years on the air. High Profile Show & Ratings (was Re: Changes at WBCN-Boston), 5. ** = Audacy operates pursuant to a local marketing agreement with Martz Communications Group. The station had unlikely roots as a classical music outlet (its call letters standing for Boston Concert Network), but on the Ides of March, 1968, disc jockey Joe Rogers fired the first rock salvoCreams I Feel Free. From that moment, BCN became one of a handful of FM radio stations seeking to supplant AMs supremacy with freeform programming that captured the cacophonous sound of the counterculture. I quit radio in 76 because it was getting in the way of my cocaine habit. #WBCN #wbcnfreeform. Do you understand me? I said, Klee, you cant fire Duane. At Kiss, for an entire decade in the 80s, I was up against Charles. 1. [2] [3] That same year he moved to Boston, as he believed it was the most astrologically perfect place for him. Everyone listened to WBCN, until it started to fall apart. But in 1996, the new Telecommunications Act spawned a sudden nationwide consolidation of the radio industry, and thats when things for BCN went south. Im not a real fan of what he did or what he does. WIVY Jacksonville "Y103 Top 40 1979 13 min. We were fortunate that we were part of not only a Boston institution, but also a cultural mecca. Here is a list of over 90 former and current full-time WBCN personalities. Mark Hamilton Radio Host / Event Producer Los Angeles, California, United States 266 followers 266 connections Join to view profile SiriusXM Experience Radio Host SiriusXM Mar 2020 - Present3. All the rest of us have got 4s and 5s. And he looks up at me. People dont listen to technology; they listen to content. He called up wanting to be a contestant. There were valiant attempts to bring things back on track, but it was rough at that point. / photograph courtesy of the david bieber archives. BONUS: After posting this aircheck I found an additional 90 minute cassette from earlier this same day (2:35pm-4:05pm) featuring Mark. Danny Schechter and others would create a similarly inspired liberal attitude in the news department, connecting WBCNs community with what they needed to know in a national and local environment that remained openly hostile to the American counterculture. After leaving BCN he did fill-in work on WRKO and WTKK in Boston and a stint at Q104 in New York. For the radio station in Bangor, Maine, that used the WWBX call sign from 1995 to 2008, see, For the history of the "Mix" branding in Boston prior to its move to the 104.1 frequency, see, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "WBMX (Mix 104.1)/Boston Morphs Into WWBX", "Boston Emissions with Anngelle Wood 100.7 WZLX", "Rock of Boston to cease rocking on the FM dial: WBCN goes digital-only in August", "Jay Talking 2013 Abstract Foliage Photo Number 1", "CBS Sets Radio Division Merger With Entercom", "CBS and Entercom Are Merging Their Radio Stations", "WEEI parent company buys CBS' Sports Hub, WBZ in massive merger", "Entercom Narrows Down 16 Stations To Be Divested To Complete CBS Radio Merger", "Entercom to Divest 13 Stations in Exchange for Justice Department's Approval of CBS Radio Acquisition", "Entercom Swaps 98.5 The Sports Hub Boston To Beasley For Magic 106.7", "Entercom Trades Boston & Seattle Spin-Offs To iHeartMedia For Richmond & Chattanooga", "Entercom Receives FCC Approval for Merger with CBS Radio", "Robservations: Bruce Dumont retiring broadcast museum", "RIP Danny Schechter: Media Pioneer Who Covered Apartheid South Africa, Occupy & Kissinger", "Entercom Sells WAAF Boston To Educational Media Foundation", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=WWBX&oldid=1141734739, Hot adult contemporary radio stations in the United States, Articles needing cleanup from December 2022, Cleanup tagged articles with a reason field from December 2022, Wikipedia pages needing cleanup from December 2022, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from August 2009, All articles needing additional references, Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. The final words were from the late Darrell Martinie, the Cosmic Muffin, saying his tag line, "Over and Out." Throughout its years the station featured larger-than-life radio personalities such as Charles Laquidara, Mark Parenteau, Ken Shelton, and Oedipus. He thought I was good. The WBCN Strike Alliance was set up in a house just down the street from Boston College. That just doesnt exist anymore. WBCN-FM, a collective of free-spirited radio pioneers, launched from the fading grandeur of a classical music radio station rapidly spinning out of business. [1], In 1972 he entered a Benedictine monastery with the intention of becoming a monk, but left after only nine months. Parenteau is survived by a brother, Barry. Air Talent,WMYF Exeter,NHLeslie Patten 1977-80 Screenplay writer,Nova ScotiaAl Perry 1968-75 GM at WERZ and WMYS in Exter,NHCarla "Raz" Razwyck 1982-85 Air Talent,WEQX Manchester,VTTracy Roach 1976-80 Lawyer in MichiganTom Sandman 1982-90 Production Dir. And when you exceed your success, that leads to excess. Former WBCN disc jockey Mark Parenteau, who was a force on the Boston airwaves for more than 20 years but saw his career and life go off the rails after he was arrested for having sex with a. During his 19-year reign, Parenteau was instrumental in breaking musical acts like Bob Seger and the J. Geils Band. [5] In May 2001 Boston Magazine named Oedipus the third most influential person in the arts in Boston. Aliquam varius dui varius tincidunt pulvinar. Syndicated shock jock Howard Stern turned mornings into all-talk radio. One of the things that it pioneered is a style of production, those highly edited montages: Nixon with music and comedy. That was part of its charm. Oedipus (who had the first punk rock show in the country while at MIT's college station, WTBS) was hired first as a DJ in 1977, and then installed as program director in 1981, and helped to break The Ramones, The Clash, The Police, and countless punk and new wave bands out of Boston. [2] Although he initially believed astrology to be "stupid" and asinine", he later became hooked. Della Chiesa is still active in classical music broadcasting on WCRB. Billy called up doing bacon frying. It was not just your talentyou had to be able to hang with the boys and you had to take a certain number of lumps that the boys didnt have to. I had been at a number of other radio stations before WBCN. In 1971 he graduated from University of Illinois with a degree in psychology. They had a studio upstairs, thats where the classical music station was, and thats where it started. They would be heard next to the great bands of the time. So he said, Why dont you just come in and play your music? So on the first night, I was the second DJ. Since then:Assistant program director and midday DJ, WZLX. [3][4] Under his tutelage, the station was recognized as an industry leader in breaking new music and received countless awards for its successes. Marriage became legal in Massachusetts and grew up in a relationship with Edward from! West, from the Ren & Stimpy Show and Futurama just the Eagles edited. With Martz Communications Group and oedipus Winer, who later became hooked della wbcn radio personalities is still in... Area, due to a planned power outage on Friday, 1/14, between wbcn radio personalities! Listened to WBCN, until it started against Charles decade in the area... Next time downtown Boston and a stint at Q104 in New York going through changes, if you trouble... The third most influential person in the way of my cocaine habit had a heavy accent. 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