Still squeezing out the sparks from my WBCN tapes that I began uploading more than 5 years ago. This tape suffers from some audio issues that may be due to my playing it  several years ago on a machine with wiring problems.  Unfortunately I may have caused irreplaceable damage but the gist of the great format still shines. Interesting that the end of Layla is played a track before the rest of the tune.

Listen for a Tina Turner station promo at 27:50.  One of a kind and probably only available here.

***A note to air check traders. Please do not record these air checks and try and trade. I have the original tapes many of which I recorded myself and thus the authenticity can not be in doubt and can be easily traced.

Charles plays some rare ( at the time) Dylan recorded in mono and turns the stereo feed off and then on again. When he is turning it back on he says “plunk your magic twanger froggy” Classic !

In the best tradition of free form radio the clip starts with a  long selection of classical music and then on to Dylan. Recording is from 1971.

***A note to air check traders. Please do not record these air checks and try and trade. I have the original tapes many of which I recorded myself and thus the authenticity can not be in doubt and can be easily traced.

More from WBCN FM one of the best commercial free form stations in the US.  The DJ is Charles Laquidara with help from Captain Squid and station PD Norm Winer. Fantastic and genre bending music by way of Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa, Tom Rush and more.

***A note to air check traders. Please do not record these air checks and try and trade. I have the original tapes many of which I recorded myself and thus the authenticity can not be in doubt and can be easily traced.

Another fantastic set from the WBCN series. The first clip features Charles Laquidara from January 16, 1971. He can be heard playing the new ELP track  Lucky Man as it was released. This is the second air check on the site to feature that album at release time. David Pritchard from CHUM FM being the first. WBCN must have worn out it’s copies of The Notorious Byrd Brothers album as can be heard on this air check. I believe the flaws are more than just tape distortion. The set starts with the Cat and Dog Report and into some folk by way of Tom Rush and Fred Neil. This segment  continues on a clip I posted earlier which can be heard here

The second clip is a continuation of Charles playing the Stones because he could and not because it was a special. The first half of that was uploaded earlier this year.  Highlight for me from this segment is Mick’s “Memo from Turner”  an old FM staple from the Performance soundtrack with slide guitar played by Ry Cooder.

Quality is better on the Stones segment. Still more to come on the site from the great WBCN FM. The content guaranteed not to disappoint.

***A note to air check traders. Please do not record these air checks and try and trade. I have the original tapes many of which I recorded myself and thus the authenticity can not be in doubt and can be easily traced.

A rare early clip of Boston’s oldies DJ Little Walter and his signature show Time Machine. Walter had paid his dues at MIT’s original WTBS FM.

Oldies were becoming  hip . The Woodstock appearance of Sha Na Na may have been a touchstone. NRBQ was was a contemporary band sounding somewhat retro. Cat Mother and the All Night News Boys had their hit Good Old Rock’n Roll. A number of free form FM stations added an oldies show starting in the early 70’s. This clip provides a good example of that. Another example was John Donabie’s  Sock Hop on CHUM FM and you can catch a brief segment of that here  (at the end of the clip).

On This clip you will hear Little Walter spinning some oldies, a  few cool ads and even an appearance by the legendary Arnie “Woo Woo” Ginsburg,  the pioneering Boston Top 40 jock. Ginsberg was the WBCN station manager at the time of this air check. Listen also for a live cut by Little Richard recorded at the Boston Tea Party in 1970.

***A note to air check traders. Please do not record these air checks and try and trade. I have the original tapes many of which I recorded myself and thus the authenticity can not be in doubt and can be easily traced.

The first clip is an absolute treasure . You will hear the great Charles Laquidara with a heartfelt plea for volunteers to help with the phones and some great music including the closing track by Hapshash and The Coloured Coat.  The track may gave been played by others during the free form era but I don’t remember hearing it and it sounds  ahead of it’s time in early 1971.

The second clip features Charles reading the news and playing the Stones. This was not a Stones special but he seemed to be playing them because he wanted to and could.

Radio when it was great and worth listening to. You can hear other clips from the great WBCN FM on this site with more to come.

Most of the WBCN air checks on this site are quite good quality-wise but there are a few hiccups on these particularity at the beginning of the second clip.

https://youtu.be/AVi_Z5aQRHE