Tony Pigg entertained from 6 to 10 in the evening of September 23rd, 1977 on New York’s WPLJ-FM (95.5), the ABC-owned sister station to WABC-AM. Broadcasting in stereo, but with compression aggressive enough to suck the feedback out of most jock-worn headsets, this was no free-form rocker like Metromedia’s WNEW-FM. As you can hear in the quieter sections of the music, the grungy album scratches are boosted by the compression. Under Program Director Larry Berger’s leadership, WPLJ evolved by 1977 into “New York’s Best Rock,” generally shunning mainstream pop rock for a steady diet of somewhat heavier, but very familiar, album rock cuts. On this tape, you’ll hear Pigg scratch his beard for the benefit of the listeners after reading the weather forecast. On a newscast delivered for ABC’s American FM Radio Network by Breck Artery, you’ll hear of an emerging new technology that may one day replace the ubiquitous vinyl record. (Based on the heavy wear you can hear on the cuts played, that day couldn’t come too soon!) ABC News reporter Vic Ratner files a phoner about the Supersonic Transport jet. In terms of formatics, it’s the long set of music followed by a long-ish set of commercials, a practice that remains basically unchanged on FM to this day. The big difference is, of course, a national newscast broadcast in the evening! Also included, a rockin’ WPLJ White Port & Lemon Juice jingle. THIS CONTENT WAS CONTRIBUTED TO REELRADIO EXCLUSIVELY. Duplication and/or distribution is a violation of our Terms Of Service.