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For most of my life Tuesdays were made more interesting by a tradition at what was once a great radio station, WNEW-FM. A station that introduced progressive rock to New York City, changed a generation from pop singles to album oriented and in maturity deserved the slogan "Where Rock Lives." The tradition that people from other cities probably remember from other stations was called "Two for Tuesday."
Since tomorrow is sort of special in WNEW-FM history, I have a few other videos to post besides the obligatory two songs. On June 9, 1982 someone went into the studios at that once great radio station and tried to capture a day in the life of progressive rock radio. It might not be so interesting if you're not into the nostalgia so just click the links below if you would like to see the goings on at the station 38 years ago.
On Halloween, 1967, WNEW-FM adopted a progressive rock radio format and almost instantly became the place "Where Rock Lives" in New York City. At the time when FM was becoming more common and WNEW-FM changed over to a free form format lifted from WOR-FM, the WMCA Good Guys and WABC practically controlled the airwaves on the AM dial. This made New York a "Top 40" town but young New Yorkers were quick to dump the old format and changed from the high energy of AM and pop singles to deejays that seemed to be conversing with the listener and music that seemed a little less familiar. New Yorkers were ready to go from household names like Harry Harrison, Cousin Brucie and Dan Ingram to Jonathan Schwartz, Scott Muni and and Alison Steele, the Night Bird Flying. Not that there were not young New Yorkers that were ahead of their time but the birth of WNEW-FM warmed up the entire city for Woodstock.
The final moments of the old WNEW-FM came on September 12, 1999; sole remaining long-time jock Richard Neer signed off his Sunday morning show by playing Bruce Springsteen's beautiful dirge "Racing in the Street", and identifying the station one last time, changing the slogan to "Where Rock Lived."
On the day this video was made, June 9th of 1982, the station was a bit past its prime but way at the top for almost any young New Yorker interested in music. The first You Tube segment (below) begins with a once familiar voice on the street, Earle Bailey is at his desk and getting ready to do the morning news. Taking the microphone from Dan Near, a deejay who once wrote a book about glory days that most New Yorkers knew as DanO and loved as DanO, Earle begins talking up an upcoming anti-nuclear demonstration rally in Central Park that would be attended by 750 thousand people that Saturday. After the often heard intro by many artist that was once a signature of the station "Hi this is Joan Jett fron the Blackhearts and I love Rock n' Roll and that's why I love WNEW-FM in New York," the video was amended because of copyright so try to imaging Joan Jett singing "I Love Rock and Roll"
Then back to Earle Bailey for some fun news about a "comeback kid." Did you know that on this day in 1982 Governor Jerry Brown won the Democratic primary for a U.S. Senate seat? "So look for a colorful race out on the left coast, to say the least." The more things change, the more they stay the same. Also in the first segment DanO hands it off to one of the many greats in the WNEW-FM Hall of Fame. Pete Fornatale who as a WNEW-FM deejay founded "Mixed Bag" a program that can still be heard on public radio in the New York listening area, plays a special dedication very diffrent from the usual tracks "Lonely Teardrops."
My heart is cryin', cryin',
Lonely teardrops (Shoobie-doo, wop-wop-wop.)
My pillow's never dry of, (Shoobie-doo, wop-wop-wop.)
Lonely teardrops. (Shoobie-doo, wop-wop-wop.)
Come home, come home. (Shoobie-doo, wop-wop-wop.)
(Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah.)
Just say you will, say you will. (Say you will.)
Say you will. (Say you will.)
Hey, hey. (Say you will.)
Then the late great Scott Muni offering his best wishes to Jackie Wilson on his birthday.
In the second You Tube segment "The Professor" Scot Muni is getting ready to hand it off to Meg Griffin. Scotso introduces Robin Sagon as she reads the news of the day. More about the upcoming anti-nuclear demonstration rally in Central Park, those were the days. The interaction between Scott Muni, still remembered each day in New York Classic Rock through the "12 o'clock Beatles Block" and Meg Griffin who still has a story to tell brings back some great memories. But if you are not from New York and still "of a certain age," seeing all those stacks of LP's is a great visual.
"...in 1966 Muni joined (New York City's) WOR-FM, one of the earliest pioneers of freeform-based progressive rock radio. The notion did not last at that station, but in 1967 Muni moved to legendary rock station WNEW-FM, where the format really took hold. Muni stayed there for three decades as the afternoon DJ and sometimes program director. Muni was described by fellow WNEW-FM DJ Dennis Elsas as "the heart and soul of the place." Under assorted management changes during the 1990s WNEW-FM lost its way, and in 1998 Muni ended up as a one-hour noontime classic rock personality at WAXQ 104.3, where he worked until suffering a stroke in early 2004.
Day after day I'm more confused
So I look for the light in the pouring rain
You know that's a game that I hate to lose
I'm feelin' the strain, ain't it a shame
Oh, give me the beat, boys, and free my soul
I wanna get lost in your rock and roll and drift away...
This third segment is a very warm reminder of what WNEW-FM was once all about. As my personal favorite deejay starts off the ten o'clock hour with his friendly intro that would always be followed by a night of great stories "Pilot of the Airwaves" is playing.
Pilot of the airwaves
Here is my request
You don't have to play it
But I hope you'll do your best
I've been listening to your show on the radio
And you seem like a friend to me
There is a scene of the night shift at an FDNY Firehouse listening to Dave on the radio just a few years past the prime of WNEW-FM and a few years past when Dave used to wake most of us up in the morning. Many lifelong middle aged New Yorkers loved Dave for waking us up with a dose of "Bruce Juice" and he was back in the 80's to play us us through the night.
Late at night I'm still listening
Don't waste my time chasing sleep
People say I look weary
But that 's just the company I keep
Ooooh, you make the nighttime race
Ooooh, I don't need to see your face
You're sounding good (sounding good)
Sounding good to me
The fourth and final segment begins with John Lennon singing "I just had to let it go." In an era when the freedom of FM radio was ending or moving to public radio because of all the money being made Dave discussed his "Dreaded Midnight Oldies' and what it was like to be on the radio back then. Talking about those radio days Dave said "It is live, and it's all I've lived..."
And since this is "Two for Tuesday" the recording artist that both Pete Fornatale and Scott Muni were wishing a Happy Birthday to on June 9, 1982. Jackie Wilson was still in a coma at the time from an onstage heart attack and never recovered. Tomorrow would have been Jackie Wilson's birthday. He was before my time but watching these two it looks like he was also ahead of his.
For most of my life Tuesdays were made more interesting by a tradition at what was once a great radio station, WNEW-FM. A station that introduced progressive rock to New York City, changed a generation from pop singles to album oriented and in maturity deserved the slogan "Where Rock Lives." The tradition that people from other cities probably remember from other stations was called "Two for Tuesday."
