The Sandy Wells Collection

It’s Monday, May 31st in New England and the 50,000-watt rock powerhouse WRKO is jamming “all summer long” with afternoon driver Harry Nelson at the helm, giving away t-shirts, Beach Boy albums and hundred dollar bills. A thunderstorm is lurking in the western sky and will cause some electrical interference for some listeners tuned into their AM radios that day. Nelson’s regular guy persona – albeit amped up for the top 40 format – made him a favorite in New England. He never sacrificed the pace of playing the hits for some self-serving personality bit. He was always relatable and friendly within the austere context of the “hits keep coming” style of Drake radio. In the format geek department: I always liked the weather read out of a stop set with no music under and then into a record after the current temperature and call letters. Nelson, of course, executes this little task flawlessly. And on a technical note, you’ll hear a cart machine seize up and get stuck as a Juicy Fruit gum commercial starts – but never finishes. (Figures it would get stuck during a gum commercial!) It was live radio and even the “Big 68” would stumble now and then. THIS CONTENT WAS CONTRIBUTED TO REELRADIO EXCLUSIVELY. Duplication and/or distribution is a violation of our Terms Of Service.

It’s Monday, May 31st in New England and the 50,000-watt rock powerhouse WRKO is jamming “all summer long” with afternoon driver Harry Nelson at the helm, giving away t-shirts, Beach Boy albums and hundred dollar bills. A thunderstorm is lurking in the western sky and will cause some electrical interference for some listeners tuned into their AM radios that day. Nelson’s regular guy persona – albeit amped up for the top 40 format – made him a favorite in New England. He never sacrificed the pace of playing the hits for some self-serving personality bit. He was always relatable and friendly within the austere context of the “hits keep coming” style of Drake radio. In the format geek department: I always liked the weather read out of a stop set with no music under and then into a record after the current temperature and call letters. Nelson, of course, executes this little task flawlessly. And on a technical note, you’ll hear a cart machine seize up and get stuck as a Juicy Fruit gum commercial starts – but never finishes. (Figures it would get stuck during a gum commercial!) It was live radio and even the “Big 68” would stumble now and then. THIS CONTENT WAS CONTRIBUTED TO REELRADIO EXCLUSIVELY. Duplication and/or distribution is a violation of our Terms Of Service.

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.

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.

The golden tones of Johnny Donovan, who held the 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. shift weekdays on WABC back in the fall of 1977, open this aircheck.

Dan Ingram kicks off this Friday in September with a bit about “ways to getting even – number 99.” He tells of a guy who orders a contractor to fill up a neighbor’s convertible with cement to punish him for habitually parking in front of his driveway. Then the rumble of a heavy guitar intro comes in as if to darkly underscore the theme of revenge. It’s early 60’s “color radio” updated to the late 1970s, Ingram’s rich baritone gleefully painting word pictures over record intros, record outros, jingles, between (and within) commercials and wherever this maestro of clever mayhem decides to inject his bigger than life personality. The intro into a popular movie theme of the time also heard in this hour is classic Ingram.

Although revered throughout the industry for his impeccable timing, Ingram fouls a talk-up in this hour, starting a contest read over a too-short intro. Not sure if the engineer started the record too soon – or what, but Big Dan steps on some lyrics – and orders the record stopped. I have to say the error is covered pretty smoothly. What the hell, it was Friday.

Like many fans of classic top 40, I miss the pounding midrange of AM broadcasts that made pop, rock and soul hits sound so exciting. WABC’s processing especially, including its legendary reverb; seemed to charge the recordings with added emotional intensity.

THIS CONTENT WAS CONTRIBUTED TO REELRADIO EXCLUSIVELY. Duplication and/or distribution is a violation of our Terms Of Service.

The golden tones of Johnny Donovan, who held the 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. shift weekdays on WABC back in the fall of 1977, open this aircheck.

Dan Ingram kicks off this Friday in September with a bit about “ways to getting even – number 99.” He tells of a guy who orders a contractor to fill up a neighbor’s convertible with cement to punish him for habitually parking in front of his driveway. Then the rumble of a heavy guitar intro comes in as if to darkly underscore the theme of revenge. It’s early 60’s “color radio” updated to the late 1970s, Ingram’s rich baritone gleefully painting word pictures over record intros, record outros, jingles, between (and within) commercials and wherever this maestro of clever mayhem decides to inject his bigger than life personality. The intro into a popular movie theme of the time also heard in this hour is classic Ingram.

Although revered throughout the industry for his impeccable timing, Ingram fouls a talk-up in this hour, starting a contest read over a too-short intro. Not sure if the engineer started the record too soon – or what, but Big Dan steps on some lyrics – and orders the record stopped. I have to say the error is covered pretty smoothly. What the hell, it was Friday.

Like many fans of classic top 40, I miss the pounding midrange of AM broadcasts that made pop, rock and soul hits sound so exciting. WABC’s processing especially, including its legendary reverb; seemed to charge the recordings with added emotional intensity.

THIS CONTENT WAS CONTRIBUTED TO REELRADIO EXCLUSIVELY. Duplication and/or distribution is a violation of our Terms Of Service.

Top 40 was starting to lose its way in 1978. Disco was rising on FM with “Disco 92” WKTU-FM and it, along with Frankie Crocker’s brilliant WBLS-FM, would come to dominate the New York music scene as the Age of Disco progressed. But you wouldn’t know it to hear Ron Lundy (d. March 15, 2010) as he proudly proclaimed WABC to be “the most listened to station in the nation” opening his Tuesday show in New York with the “Best Disco in Town”. If ever a rock jock exemplified smoothness – it was Ron Lundy. He was syrupy and obsequious while also being mildly hip, and often raucously funny. The gentle lilt of his Louisiana accent nicely offset the hard-charging formatics of top 40, Big Apple style. He was a master of brevity, keeping the music coming, but with more style than most. That’s because Lundy communicated not only with words, but with nuanced inflections that slyly undercut any hint of pretentiousness. He let the listener know he was their friend first, reader of commercials second (and he could lift a spot off the page so beautifully). He connected to the stay at home mom as well as the hardhat on the skyscraper. THIS CONTENT WAS CONTRIBUTED TO REELRADIO EXCLUSIVELY. Duplication and/or distribution is a violation of our Terms Of Service.

Top 40 was starting to lose its way in 1978. Disco was rising on FM with “Disco 92” WKTU-FM and it, along with Frankie Crocker’s brilliant WBLS-FM, would come to dominate the New York music scene as the Age of Disco progressed. But you wouldn’t know it to hear Ron Lundy (d. March 15, 2010) as he proudly proclaimed WABC to be “the most listened to station in the nation” opening his Tuesday show in New York with the “Best Disco in Town”. If ever a rock jock exemplified smoothness – it was Ron Lundy. He was syrupy and obsequious while also being mildly hip, and often raucously funny. The gentle lilt of his Louisiana accent nicely offset the hard-charging formatics of top 40, Big Apple style. He was a master of brevity, keeping the music coming, but with more style than most. That’s because Lundy communicated not only with words, but with nuanced inflections that slyly undercut any hint of pretentiousness. He let the listener know he was their friend first, reader of commercials second (and he could lift a spot off the page so beautifully). He connected to the stay at home mom as well as the hardhat on the skyscraper. THIS CONTENT WAS CONTRIBUTED TO REELRADIO EXCLUSIVELY. Duplication and/or distribution is a violation of our Terms Of Service.

Top 40 was making a comeback in 1984 under the guise of Mike Joseph‘s “Hot Hits” CHR formula. One of the earliest exemplars of this FM take on the old AM format, the Joseph-consulted WCAU-FM boasted the talented Paul Barsky in the morning and an update of the teen-oriented motor-mouth “screamer” Terry Young in the nighttime.Young was like Jackson Armstrong and Dick Biondi rolled into one big new radio star for the FM age. The format was fast-moving, if a little too efficient to feel like a companion. But it did attract a lot of young adults who were hearing too much “personality” on AM adult-contemporary-leaning pop stations. It also reeled in the teens which Joseph actively sought to woo back to top 40. Young shows his skills with the few seconds he is afforded to establish a funnyman personality.

For fun with spots, check out the Michael Jackson – “Billy Jean“ Pepsi commercial jingle and also a Dan Ingram read in a donut for Bambergers.

THIS CONTENT WAS CONTRIBUTED TO REELRADIO EXCLUSIVELY. Duplication and/or distribution is a violation of our Terms Of Service.

Top 40 was making a comeback in 1984 under the guise of Mike Joseph‘s “Hot Hits” CHR formula. One of the earliest exemplars of this FM take on the old AM format, the Joseph-consulted WCAU-FM boasted the talented Paul Barsky in the morning and an update of the teen-oriented motor-mouth “screamer” Terry Young in the nighttime.

Young was like Jackson Armstrong and Dick Biondi rolled into one big new radio star for the FM age. The format was fast-moving, if a little too efficient to feel like a companion. But it did attract a lot of young adults who were hearing too much “personality” on AM adult-contemporary-leaning pop stations. It also reeled in the teens which Joseph actively sought to woo back to top 40. Young shows his skills with the few seconds he is afforded to establish a funnyman personality.

For fun with spots, check out the Michael Jackson – “Billy Jean“ Pepsi commercial jingle and also a Dan Ingram read in a donut for Bambergers.

THIS CONTENT WAS CONTRIBUTED TO REELRADIO EXCLUSIVELY. Duplication and/or distribution is a violation of our Terms Of Service.