***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.

Drum machines and synths and a techno vibe was dominant at CFNY during this period but as you will hear on this clip the station could be still be counted on for  variety. You will hear Jim Reid play Marvin Gaye and Bebop Deluxe who are thought of as a new wave band but they actually predated the new wave and released their first album in 1974. I always thought of their earlier work as the thinking man’s Queen.

Jim Reid may have been the DJ with the longest tenure at NY during the “Spirit of Radio” era. His set is followed by James Scott another stalwart of the Spirit. We get to hear James play Chris de Burgh, “Oh Superman” by Laurie Anderson and even some mid 60’s Bob Dylan. interesting listening and a free form ethos still apparent at the station.

Listen near the very end for an AD by Ivor Hamilton for his import show.

Quality is poor particularly on the first half compounded by the fact that the Bebop Deluxe tune uses the phasing effect.

 LISTEN TO FREE FORM FREEDOM IN HIGH FIDELITY STEREO. A REAL MIX AND ACTUAL VARIETY!

Have received lots of presets and rank on Live 365 one of the hottest on Network

***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.

Jim Santella could be called the Dean of all Buffalo DJ’s from the free form era and beyond. He started his professional career at Buffalo’s first free form called WYSL.  That station changed it’s called letters to WPHD and Santella also made the transition.  He later moved to 97 Rock where he stayed for many years. More recently he had a blues show on public WBFO and has since retired.

This clip finds him firmly in new wave land on WUWU FM ( June 1983) playing tracks by Q-Field, The Talking Heads and more. Some jazz by Jean Luc Ponty for a change of pace. My favorite musical selection on the clip is “Church of The Poison Mind” by Culture club which finds Boy George in full Motown mode.

An interesting commercial with Jeff Gordon for a WUWU party  plays during the first break.

There’s around the dial twisting starting at the 47:00 minute mark you can hear Rick Ringer on CHUM FM announcing his last set. Yes this was the time when they actually played Quiet Riot. You can also hear James Scott on CFNY announcing an interview with Kajagoogoo by The Live Earl Jive later that day. Unfortunately I did not stay on any one station for too long during the dial changes, save for a classical station near the end.  Quality is so so on the clip and falters badly at the end as the tape rolls off the reel. Highlighting the ephemera of the listening experience.

The clip ends where it began in “the belly of the beast” with Jim Santella. That phrase, used by Santella in his ID’s, quite aptly described the format and vibe at WUWU FM and I hope you enjoy this clip from one of the legendary broadcasters from Western New York.

Cross Posted in the Radio Corner.

***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.

This is an intriguing clip that provides a picture of the rock radio dial in western New York during the summer of 1982.

Things get started with selections played on the Import/Export show on WCMF FM – Rochester, New York with Unkle Roger hosting. Alternative rock and some of it never played in Toronto (cuts by The Dream Syndicate, Fleshtones, The Cramps and Chesterfield Kings). CFNY was not big on this type of garage rock but WCMF’s Import Export and WUWU gave well deserved exposure to the genre.

You also hear a bit of mainstream AOR by way of WCMF and 97 Rock from Buffalo All of the tracks are recorded off the radio but the announcements for some are missing unfortunately,

The best part of the clip is near the end when we hear Jeff Gordon on WUWU playing a comedy cut by George Carlin and a special dance mix of Our House by Madness called Madhouse.  Creative programming could still be heard in some quarters in 1982 and Jeff Gordon’s segment is a great example.

Listen also for a syndicated segment from Pete Fornatale of WNEW FM. He was one of the legendary free form Jocks and in later years hosted the “Mixed Bag” program on WNEW and WFUV.

Cross posted at the Radio Corner.

WUWU  107.7 FM Station ID’s and More

HEAR A UPDATED AND EXPANDED VERSION OF THIS CLIP HERE

During the 60’s top 40 stations had some great jingles to ID their stations and these were a key part of a stations’s brand image.

WUWU FM in 1982 was definitely not top 40 but they were looking to build an audience, Their playlist during the day included some mainstream acts as you hear Gary Storm announce that he just played Rush and the Headpins. I think they had realized that you cannot build a station just with alternative artists so they would try to woo ( or would that be woo woo) the listeners with a few known commodities and then introduce them to some amazing alternative music as you hear on this clip with an unusual rendition of “Whole Lotta Love”. The clip is from September 1982.

Listen at the beginning to two ID’s. The station was different sometimes way out there and these ID’s are among the best that I have heard. They were longer than the usual but I believe they were a very effective tease to listen to the station. They were not recorded on the same show as the rest of the clip and you will find them interspersed between parts of several tracks. I have also placed a contemporary ID from 97 Rock so you can compare what a more mainstream station was doing.  I love how one ID segues into”Princess of the Universe” by Todd Rundgren. Total Rock’n Roll !

Gary Storm I believe was doing day time and not his Oil of Dog  all night extravaganza  See the Oil of Dog Corner on this web site for more on that.  Also note that you can hear the infamous Bob Allen on this clip  promoting his talk show the Town Crier which he also presented at WBUF earlier. Yes the man who took the station hostage during it’s last day with this format.

 Ladies and gentlemen now presenting John Farrell on WBUF from 1975

***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.

This air check clocks in over an hour and gives you a great taste of what a real free-flowing rock station could sound like.  Farrell worked at least three of the Buffalo NY  progressive rock stations WPHD, WBUF and WZIR. In a way BUF was the best progressive rock station that the city ever had. They were the longest lasting and the format was never watered down until they changed to pure album rock in 1978.  John sounded serious and was concise and not prone to ramble. The atmosphere created on his show was one of smokey psychedelia. The music featured on this clip includes Spirit, Phil Manzanera, Armageddon, Weather Report, Emerson Lake and Palmer and an entire side of Hendrix.

Yeah this is far out man and you will be somewhat “experienced” in the art of progressive free form after you listen.

The end of the clip segues into the next show.