Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Don't know if it's the same guy, but there was a DJ I think on WABC in New York, and nationally syndicated, in the '60s called Cousin Brucie and he still has a show on SiriusXM live on Wednesdays and rerun on Sundays.
Cousin Brucie Morrow. He met the Beatles when they first flew to NYC in 1964 and interviewed and showed them around.
[b]There are many more discussion threads about this subject on the Entertainment section of City-Data forum.
Most of the stations discussed here, are maximum-power 50,000 watt Clear Channel stations with all-night service. The FCC allows only one or two highest-powered stations on each AM dial frequency, so their signal won't interfere with others at night. Sometimes one station in the East, and one in the West. Station owners could circumvent that restriction by locating immediately south of the Mexican border.
Some of the personalities I remember, - each of these has Wikipedia articles on them - include
Paul Harvey - whose network show was syndicated to many stations.
Don McNeil's "breakfast club" - ditto
. Barry Farber (WBZ), a highly intelligent guy.
Cousin Brucie Morrow (WABC),
Bruce Williams, and his predecessor Bernard Meltzer (sp?), who both offered general personal advice in a soothing, comforting way - advice on personal finance, business, marriage, life choices, etc. - on WOR New York, but syndicated to other stations.
Sally Jessy Raphael, similar to today's Delilah, and Dr. Ruth Westheimer the sex-therapist/ holocaust survivor.
Dr. Gabe Mirkin, a sport-medicine and dermatology physician, who answered questions from listeners about nutrition, exercise, and health in general, in a very friendly, welcoming voice. He would have assistants screen each caller shortly beforehand, and quickly look up information for him, which made it seem like the Doctor had amazing encyclopedic memory.
Last edited by slowlane3; 01-20-2019 at 12:53 PM..
There are many more discussion threads about this subject on the Entertainment section of City-Data forum.
Most of the stations discussed here, are maximum-power 50,000 watt Clear Channel stations with all-night service. The FCC allows only one or two highest-powered stations on each AM dial frequency, so their signal won't interfere with others at night. Sometimes one station in the East, and one in the West. Station owners could circumvent that restriction by locating immediately south of the Mexican border.
[b]Some of the personalities I remember, - each of these has Wikipedia articles on them - include
Paul Harvey - whose network show was syndicated to many stations.
Don McNeil's "breakfast club" - ditto
. Barry Farber (WBZ), a highly intelligent guy.
Cousin Brucie Morrow (WABC),
Bruce Williams, and his predecessor Bernard Meltzer (sp?), who both offered general personal advice in a soothing, comforting way - advice on personal finance, business, marriage, life choices, etc. - on WOR New York, but syndicated to other stations.
Sally Jessy Raphael, similar to today's Delilah, and Dr. Ruth Westheimer the sex-therapist/ holocaust survivor.
Dr. Gabe Mirkin, a sport-medicine and dermatology physician, who answered questions from listeners about nutrition, exercise, and health in general, in a very friendly, welcoming voice. He would have assistants screen each caller shortly beforehand, and quickly look up information for him, which made it seem like the Doctor had amazing encyclopedic memory.
I loved Chickenman, the Wonderful White Winged Weekend Warrior. We got it on Miami's WQAM, one of the two competing pop stations (the other was WFUN- The Fun Spot in Miami!") It was a send up of the TV Batman show, which of course was itself a send up of Batman in general.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CrownVic95
I remember Chickenman, but honesty it hadn't crossed my mind for 50 years. Seems to me I got it on one of the Chicago stations - either WCFL or WLS. They were both great back in the day.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81
The same guy did a program later on called the Tooth Fairy. Can't remember his name.
I remember the Tooth Fairy!
The Intro went "Knock! Knock! Knock! [door opens] I'm the Tooth Fairy, and I doth come [Slam!]"
It's impossible to do an online search for the "Tooth Fairy" and get something that links to these radio skits.
Anyone have a suggestion?
It would be a shame if such magnificent work was lost to the ages.
It's important to point out that there were two separate radio eras in the 50. Beffore and after TV. Before about 1950 families would sit in the living room from 7 to 10, dad reading the paper and mom darning socks, and listen to national network radio programs -- comedies, quiz shows, police thrillers, westerns, dramatized by actors standing around a microphone in front of a live Hollywood audience. Around 1952, all these shows quickly shifted to TV, which left a huge radio vacuum, with nothing for stations to do bug progran recorded music for houewives in the daytime and teens at night.
A city like Chicago might have a dozen radio station, St. Louis or Cleveland six, all AM. Virtually every town of 10,000 had one. FM existed, but the technology did not exist to listen in a moving car until the mid-70s.
WINS is one top-powered 50,000- watt N.Y.C. station that I for some reason could never hear at home as boy in Washington DC, like all the other clear-channel stations from even as far away as Dallas TX, Minneapolis, Iowa, New Orleans, Chicago, Boston, Canada, etc.), and I never understood why.
Recently someone on the C-D Entertainment forum, told me, it's because the WINS transmitter was pointed/ aimed away from the south.
In the early 50's, phonograph records were the only form of pre-recorded content. The wire recorder was around in the 40s, but problematic. Tape was developed in the early 50s, and for the first time, radio stations had a means of recording content for one-time use an then erasing and using it over again. No handy casettes, everything reel-to-reel in 7-inch Ampex as big as a suitcase. So in 1950, if you heard a singing commercial, the singers were right there singing around the mike, each time it aired. Into the 60s, WJR in Detroit still had a full-time studio orchestra, being paid union scale.
Most stations had a lathe, on which they cut a few minutes of content into a steel shellac-coated disc for multiple replays, but after cutting, could not be used again, which made them expensive. If the presenters made a mistake, Take 2 was on a fresh disc. WVLK in Lexington KY still used one when I worked there in 1959.
In 1950, the musicians union still required the stations to identify any pre-recorded content as "transcribed". The AFM had huge power, and for several years in the 40's, prevented any records from being played on the radio at all. If there was any music at alll, the station had to announce "The musicians in this program appeared through the courtesy of the American Federation of Musicians, James C. Petrillo, President" -- the most egotistical man in the history of the world.
Last edited by cebuan; 01-27-2019 at 01:28 AM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
