The Rob Frankel Collection
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Rob Frankel discovered radio in late 1965 when a friend turned him onto the sound of the WMCA Good Guys. Listening to WMCA (and later WABC, WWRL, WNEW-FM, and others) provided him not only with great entertainment, but also a direction in life.After being bitten by the radio bug, Rob briefly aspired to be an air talent, but soon realized that his real talents lie in production and programming. Opting to go the network / syndication route (therefore bypassing the nomadic existence of the local radio jock or PD), he worked as a producer/engineer for the Progressive Radio Network's "NewsBlimp", and as Head Producer for Drake-Chenault's 48 hour fantasy concert, "SatCon 1". Rob's connections at Drake led him back home to New York, and he spent the next eight and a half years working as a producer / engineer for the legendary RKO Radio Networks (which evolved into United Stations, Unistar, and ultimately ended up as a part of Westwood One).
In 1989, Rob left the network, and moved into his present job when he joined Radio Today Entertainment as one of the producers of "Flashback!" (on air since 1987) and "The Live Show" (for which he won a gold medal at the 1993 International Radio Festival). In 1998, Radio Today was bought by, and ultimately absorbed into the ABC Radio Networks. Parent company Disney spun off the radio division to Citadel Broadcasting in 2007, and the radio networks became known as Cumulus Media Networks in 2011. Rob was the Senior Producer for Cumulus Media Networks' New York production team. From 2000 through 2009, Rob was also Co-Producer and Tape Restorian for WABC Radio's annual "WABC Rewound" special, a look back at the station's history as a Top 40 icon, told entirely through vintage airchecks. Since 2012, Rob has been Co-Producer of "Time Warp with Bill St. James", a 4-hour weekly classic rock series distributed by United Stations Radio Networks. He also freelances as a Master Control engineer for New York Public Radio, and is available for other audio projects as well. After all these years, Rob still loves working in the medium, and is still a fan of classic rock 'n' roll radio. He has been recording, collecting, and restoring classic radio airchecks since the 1960's, and is proud to share some of his best here on REELRADIO. |
The Repository thanks Rob Frankel for sharing!
Description
[By Rob Frankel]
This is a collage I produced back in the mid-seventies, utilizing almost every WMCA aircheck in my collection at that time. Over the years, I’ve added “new” material that I’ve acquired through trades.
This collage includes almost every air talent that passed through the station during the Good Guy I, Metheny, and Good Guy II eras, ending with the final minutes of the music format.
… Mama, come and get your baby boy – the leader’s first name is Burton …
Description
B. Mitchel Reed, prior to joining WMCA. The inscription reads, “Never be in need, with B. Mitchel Reed”. (Courtesy Ben Fong-Torres.)
[By Rob Frankel]
This aircheck was given to me by Gary Liebisch, who recorded it himself. I’ve done some minor restoration work, but it is mostly intact.
[By Uncle Ricky]
In the early years of the Top40 format, B. Mitchell Reed was one of the few jocks to have been successful on both the East and West Coast. A native of Brooklyn and one of the original Swingin’ Gentlemen at Chuck Blore’s Color Radio KFWB in 1957, Reed returned to New York to become a WMCA Good Guy in 1963. His motivation was to unseat Murray The K on WINS. BMR felt that Murray hadn’t earned the position replacing Alan Freed. Mission accomplished, he returned to KFWB and when they dropped their music format, B. Mitchel Reed became a pioneer in the emerging Album Rock format. B. Mitchell Reed passed away in Los Angeles on March 16, 1983 at the age of 56, of heart disease.
Scoped
… Mama, come and get your baby boy – the leader’s first name is Burton …
Description
B. Mitchel Reed, prior to joining WMCA. The inscription reads, “Never be in need, with B. Mitchel Reed”. (Courtesy Ben Fong-Torres.)
[By Rob Frankel]
This aircheck was given to me by Gary Liebisch, who recorded it himself. I’ve done some minor restoration work, but it is mostly intact.
[By Uncle Ricky]
In the early years of the Top40 format, B. Mitchell Reed was one of the few jocks to have been successful on both the East and West Coast. A native of Brooklyn and one of the original Swingin’ Gentlemen at Chuck Blore’s Color Radio KFWB in 1957, Reed returned to New York to become a WMCA Good Guy in 1963. His motivation was to unseat Murray The K on WINS. BMR felt that Murray hadn’t earned the position replacing Alan Freed. Mission accomplished, he returned to KFWB and when they dropped their music format, B. Mitchel Reed became a pioneer in the emerging Album Rock format. B. Mitchell Reed passed away in Los Angeles on March 16, 1983 at the age of 56, of heart disease.
Unscoped
… It gets better, it picks up a little bit …
Description
This Exhibit ‘SCOPED (29:06)
Even though the music restoration is flawless and sounds great, if you just don’t want the music, this version’s for you!
[By Rob Frankel]
Peter Kanze gave me this board-quality ‘scoped aircheck of Jack Spector on WMCA, from Friday, September 10, 1965.
The music has been fully restored, by yours truly.
Scoped
… It gets better, it picks up a little bit …
Description
This Exhibit ‘SCOPED (29:06)
Even though the music restoration is flawless and sounds great, if you just don’t want the music, this version’s for you!
[By Rob Frankel]
Peter Kanze gave me this board-quality ‘scoped aircheck of Jack Spector on WMCA, from Friday, September 10, 1965.
The music has been fully restored, by yours truly.
Unscoped
… If Frankie Crocker isn’t on your radio, your radio really isn’t on …
Description
[Description by Gary Pedoto]
Here is “Instant Play” with Frankie Crocker, recorded on Wednesday, August 6, 1969, between 10 and 11pm on WMCA/570 AM.
It was recorded on an Aiwa AM/FM/Marine Band cassette recorder. The marine band section was interesting to me. I would listen to ship-to-shore calls placed with the “New York Marine Operator”, the time station CHU in Canada, and other utility stations. The actual frequency range of the marine band, as I remember, was 1.7 Mhz to 4.3 Mhz. It was the lower end of the shortwave frequencies.
I used a 120-minute cassette to make this recording. There were a few repairs in the tape because it broke in two or three places, but only a few seconds of the program were lost each time.
TECHNICAL NOTE FROM UNCLE RICKY: 10 of the 14 reportable music performances were restored. All of the restored songs were played in their entirety. The songs that were not restored were cut short in the original broadcast.
Thanks to Stormy Hunter and Rob Frankel for their assistance in creating this exhibit.
Scoped
… If Frankie Crocker isn’t on your radio, your radio really isn’t on …
Description
[Description by Gary Pedoto]
Here is “Instant Play” with Frankie Crocker, recorded on Wednesday, August 6, 1969, between 10 and 11pm on WMCA/570 AM.
It was recorded on an Aiwa AM/FM/Marine Band cassette recorder. The marine band section was interesting to me. I would listen to ship-to-shore calls placed with the “New York Marine Operator”, the time station CHU in Canada, and other utility stations. The actual frequency range of the marine band, as I remember, was 1.7 Mhz to 4.3 Mhz. It was the lower end of the shortwave frequencies.
I used a 120-minute cassette to make this recording. There were a few repairs in the tape because it broke in two or three places, but only a few seconds of the program were lost each time.
TECHNICAL NOTE FROM UNCLE RICKY: 10 of the 14 reportable music performances were restored. All of the restored songs were played in their entirety. The songs that were not restored were cut short in the original broadcast.
Thanks to Stormy Hunter and Rob Frankel for their assistance in creating this exhibit.
Unscoped
… Remember that record? Then you is old …
Description
This Exhibit ‘SCOPED (08:27)
Even though the music restoration is flawless and sounds great, if you just don’t want the music, this version’s for you!
[By Rob Frankel]
The WABC Spring 1972 Station Composite came from board-quality ‘scopes that I restored for WABC Rewound.
Since WABC’s legendary reverb was added at the transmitter (and not on the board), I added it to these restorations to better approximate the on-air sound of the station.
Featured (in order of appearance): Harry Harrison, Ron Lundy, Dan Ingram, Cousin Brucie, Chuck Leonard, Jay Reynolds, and Frank Kingston Smith.
Scoped
… Remember that record? Then you is old …
Description
This Exhibit ‘SCOPED (08:27)
Even though the music restoration is flawless and sounds great, if you just don’t want the music, this version’s for you!
[By Rob Frankel]
The WABC Spring 1972 Station Composite came from board-quality ‘scopes that I restored for WABC Rewound.
Since WABC’s legendary reverb was added at the transmitter (and not on the board), I added it to these restorations to better approximate the on-air sound of the station.
Featured (in order of appearance): Harry Harrison, Ron Lundy, Dan Ingram, Cousin Brucie, Chuck Leonard, Jay Reynolds, and Frank Kingston Smith.
Scoped
… Janice, of Sherman Oaks, is taping my show, even as I speak. She’s gonna use it against me, years later …
Description
This Exhibit ‘SCOPED (05:37)
If you just don’t want the music, this version’s for you, in the same hi-fi bandwidth!
[By Uncle Ricky with notes from Rob Frankel]
On a Broadband connection, this exhibit should sound very, VERY good. 46 minutes of Emmy-Award Winner
Beaver Cleaver (aka: Ken Levine) on 97 KHTZ-FM in Los Angeles. Even Kiss was making Disco. The Beaver does it in stereo, and Earth is singing the lead for After The Love Is Gone. There’s an obvious edit or two, but otherwise, this one is very smooth from top to bottom.
We note that Beaver’s time at KHTZ-FM is not included with his bio in L.A. Radio People, so maybe he never really worked there, at all, or maybe this radio station was never rockin’ out with free-form professional deejays AND these formula CHR hits in 1979. CAUTION! Includes DISCO tunes. Somethin’ you wanna hear? Leave it to Beaver