… . . . Hitbound in the Big Town. . . …
Jim O’Brien (d. 1984) is featured in this composite of Boss Radio on FM in the Big Apple, just before his tours of duty at CKLW, KHJ and WFIL. O’Brien became a TV anchor in Philadelphia. He died tragically in a 1984 skydiving promotion. His daughter, TV actress Peri Gilpin, is known for her work on NBC’s Frasier.WOR-FM was where the Boss Sound became The Big Town Sound, and perhaps due to the multipath (some of which is showcased in this clip), did not survive as long as the “left coast” original. One must wonder – if “The Big Town Sound” had a 50KW AM in New York – would it have done as well as its 5KW sister in Los Angeles?
Did any current-day computer execs pay any attention to the spot to write “Computer, c/o WOR-FM New York”? They were IBM’s and UNIVACs, then – serious mainframes without even a hint of GUI, but you could make up to 8, 10, 12 thousand a year, (or more, thankfully), as a programmer, keypunch or console operator! It was many years later when expensive IBM “PC’s” running “MS-DOS” appeared in radio station offices. Also noteworthy is the promo for a recording contract with MGM, just 8 years earlier, the call letters of another NYC radio station. Who says things change faster these days?