***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.
Going deeper into the night with Gary Santucci on Albany NY’s free form WQBK FM. The eclecticism of the format still apparent on this air check as more and more FM stations on the continent were tightening their playlists. I still have more of this night to upload in the future.
Note: Parts one and two of this broadcast were in stereo but this is mono.
***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.
I have a an interesting lot of tapes which seem to have been made by recording from microphone to radio and not direct via patch cords. The quality is not great. They include some content from WBBF AM which was Rochester NY’s first and most successful Top 40 station. The first clip includes that and may have been recorded in late 1963 and early 1964. The DJ patter is short but the highlight is the intro to the Trashmen’s Surfin Bird.
The first clip also has a few ads recorded in 1972 during the airing of a Beatles special in 1972 on WAXC AM. The station went onto competition with WBBF as a top 40 outlet in 1972. The special was produced by CHUM radio in Toronto and you can hear the CHUM production credit near the end of the clip.
The second clip consists of ads and other content that was recorded during the airing of a BBC Beatles special in April 1973 on WCMF FM. WCMF at the time was a free form station that I would tune into when I could get it in Toronto. The clip includes a few different versions of ads for a Frank Zappa and John McLaughlin concert and a Ten Years After, Strawbs and Eagles show. There’s also stereo store ads and a PSA for the Wounded Knee reservation plus some other WCMF content about the Beatles special. The CMF DJ sounds like Buffalo and Rochester radio legend “Unkle” Roger. The only thing I have copied from the Beatles special is a Murray the K intro to the Beatles song Happy to Dance With You and a part of a WABC jingle.
WCMF was a wonderful station during the free form era and it’s the first station I heard Lothar and The Hand People and I think it may have been the only station I heard that group other than perhaps WZIR and WUWU from Buffalo. The third clip has CMF during the tail end of the free form years in 1975. I recorded this myself and have uploaded it previously. Musical highlight for me is near the end when The Beach Boys free form era classic Feel Flows is played. The DJ on the clip is Bernie Kimblel I believe.
Check out this great clip from one of the best free form stations in North America. CHUM FM in Toronto from 1971. Clip uploaded to the section of the site devoted to contributions from radio archivist Kal Raudoja: KAL’S COLOSSAL KORNER
These air checks were contributed to the web site by Terry Alexander. He transferred them himself from a reel to reel tape and it’s a great quality transfer,
The air checks are from 1977 and like the 1979 air checks from KOME on the site, they also feature music from the “Johnson Years.” Music from when LBJ was president . The clip features a great set of music which includes free form era favorites as well as some Top 40 nuggets. Great to here less known San Francisco bands such as the Vejtables. The DJ featured on the air checks is Jona Denz-Hamilton who still works in the San Jose area on KBAY FM.
Thank you Terry for these excellent recordings and I have more tape from the set to upload in the future.
Here is more from KPPC FM, KMET FM and KROQ. The three stations were an important part of the free form and alternative broadcast history of Los Angeles and California.
In a sense the clips chart the history of free form in the city. KPPC FM was the first major free form outlet in the area and then the mantle was passed to KMET. K Rock or KROQ became one of the premiere alternative rock stations on the continent but at the beginning they had the attitude and a free form ethos which is evident on this clip featuring Jimmy Rabbit from November 1976.
Cosmos is the DJ on the KPPC clip from September 1971 and B Mitchell Reed is heard once again on on KMET from June 11, 1975. I have more to upload from these great stations in the future.
Have a listen to more vintage KMET at the Past Daily site and use the search function at the site to find more than what is on the link.
***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.
Scott Muni was on New York radio for almost 50 years. He began as a Top 40 DJ and in 1966 he became a radio pioneer at proto free form WOR FM in New York. He moved to WNEW in late 1967 and and the station became the first real progressive station in the city and one of the earliest in the country.
This air check is from Nov 4 1980 election day. The station by that time was starting to move to a more conventional AOR format but could still be counted on for some element of musical diversity and surprise as you will hear on this.
I still have a second part of this broadcast to upload in the future plus more including a clip from the vintage free form era. WNEW was an important part of the NY rock ‘n roll scene and you get a glimpse of that in these air checks.
***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.
Clips feature DJ Larry Sharp on Seattle’s KISW FM from the late summer of 1981. Most of the programming comes from a show called “Sunday Night Oldies” and you will hear some cuts that are rarely played on the radio now. KISW’s regular AOR programming is heard during the last 15 minutes of the first clip.
