WABC Radio last day of music (WCBS-TV report)

[joeybinky]

I remember when WABC played music when I was a little kid. Radio was good then. Now it's the same 10 songs all day, every hour on the hour by the same artists. Music and radio really sucks today. I'm very disappointed, being that I grew up loving radio and wanting to be a radio disc jockey when I was age 5.

[TheScreamboy123]

lol "So you listen to FM?"

[patrickb5197]

If you grew up in NY in th 60s, as I did, this station and these DJs will never be 4gotten.

[tyrese3745]

...And to simply quote Steely Dan's 1978 hit songs "FM" (also the title for that 1978 movie) from one of their verses: No static at all.

[Harlan346]

My time in NYC in the early 60s was the greatest time of my life. I want to go back to the past!

[lpvcrcd]

@Harlan346 sounds like a great past --Go for it --Life is too short -- Don't hesitate!

[fluffydolly]

it was sad ....but now real americans can be heard....a great thing!!!!

[godgundam10]

After WABC switched to talk, why didn't WNBC switch to a new format as well? What I mean is, why didn't NBC phase out Top 40 for sports so they didn't have to sell to WFAN?

[wannawatchu66]

@godgundam10 WNBC didn't switch to another format because music was still working, and with WABC now out of the race, they had no competition from them as they always had. One could also ask why WLS didn't switch formats when WCFL did. The less competition you have, the better. Plus, NBC decided to get out of radio, they didn't have to sell off their flagship AM.

[thunderstruck665]

In my opinion, this really cements why there was so much outrage when WCBS-FM was yanked from the air all of a sudden five years ago. It was really the only remnant left of the giant that was WABC. To take it away was utterly foolish. Even though it's not the same in its current form anymore, hopefully it will never leave the airwaves again.

[Buckpenn]

WABC was a great music station; as a music station, it was my overall favorite. The problem is I have always lived in Ohio and I could only pick up ABC at night. Also, it was next to WJR in Detroit, which came in regularly and was geared to the older folks. Thirdly, ABC would fade in and out, and joy was when I could receive the station.

[MrAccordionPimp]

I loved how music sounded on AM and still love when I find AM radio stations braodcasting music.

[rentslave]

For those outside the listening area,WABC was the winner of the three station music wars of the 1960's.First to fall was WINS in 1965,followed by WMCA in 1970.However -as noted here-,the victory was merely temporary.

The station did not go conservative until the hiring of Bob Grant in 1984 and the subsequent repeal of the Fairness Doctrine.

[ElxTacoxKid]

I personally i'm a fan of satellite radio, cousin brucie rocks and you cant beat commerical free music and with wifi radio starting to take a peak regular radio might have their days numbereb

[ElxTacoxKid]

never listened to this station being a west coast guy but judging by the posts it was a giant. with todays choices there will never be any big radio station again and for that matter there will never be big time performers like elvis, beatles and love him or hate em michael jackson. things like that will only live in memory and kool people who share them or post on you tube.

[joelcab2]

The lengendary Ron Lundy passed away this past week. He was 75 years old. May he rest in peace. My condolenses to his family and friends. Seeing that story brought back alot of memories when I grew up listening to him, Dan Ingrim and the gang back in the 1970s. There will never be another one like him. He was the ONE and ONLY!!! ALWAYS!!!

[tvnutboy]

Hello (And Goodbye), Luv :-(

1935-2010

[TheMelarose]

2:50! Johnny DARK  Rules! Love him!

Almighty dark one!

'82 rules! and so does Johnny!

[gto66solstice08]

I grew up with these guys ... WABC & WMCA. Thanks guys... Herb Oscar Anderson, Ron Lundy, Scott Muni, Dan Ingram and all of you! Life goes on, but you folks intro'd me to being a teen boy in 1963.Go With God!

[abernam]

3:10 Pig Vomit!

[ladditude]

I was there in 1974 with Ron, Dan and Rick, as an engineer. My favorite was pretty Nancy, Rick's assistant. We went to "Yankee Doodle Dandy" that year on the Fourth of July!

Tom Klemesrud

[WLNG92]

The WABC sound continues on WLNG 92.1 FM and streaming on the web, check it out.

[BDF5K]

But didn't they have a sister FM station at the time and move their DJs there?

[thedude19766]

yeah short lived WABC fm

[SHMUJEW]

talk radio has killed true dissent

[themagicjellybeans]

I wonder what bonehead suit killed this legendary radio station?????????????,77WABC MUSIC radio was the best,thanks to all who programmed it.

[patrickguice]

It was from corporate they where really hurting in the number of listeners and had to make a change to survive.

[EIH3021]

It was a commercial for WNDE indianapolis. It was recorded in 1979.

[floralparkkid]

Dan Ingraham, Ron Lundy, Harry Harrison, George Michaels were classic DJ's and radio personalities. Grew up listening to them on Long Island. Lundy was right in the news report, no station has ever come close to being as big as WABC was. Thanks for posting.

[Waldocounty]

WABC was the 800-lb. gorilla in the room when it came to East Coast music. I listened to it constantly as a teen, and I grew up in Maine--its signal out of NY was that strong. Not so good daytime, but strong & clear after sundown. Other stations in Boston, Philly, etc., competed, but "77 WABC" ruled. WABC was pivotal in introducing the Beatles, Stones, the whole "British Invasion," and so much more.

Today's FM wars-- constant format changes, and canned content--are killing radio.

[funtyrone]

i agree, radio today just doesn't cut. although born in los angeles, can remember stations like these, but WABC seemed to be tops. i wasn't even born when that was around but still feel the pain. I have to say, todays KIIS FM doesn't have that rockin sound and the jingles to match and the jingles from jam can own. and I think they can still own realworld! Do any LA fans agree, I say put Jam back on KIIS, we rocked the 90's and still think we can own 09!

[altfactor]

Anyone who (as of 2009) is in their mid-to-late-30's or older who lived anywhere on the East Coast between 19690 and 1982 listened to WABC Musicradio 77 at least once.

And now, talk is starting to migrate to the FM dial as well.

Proposed legislation that would force radio stations to pay royalities to performers for music played could accelerate this trend.

Ironically, WABC-AM today consists of 24/7 syndicated talk shows , although several of them are produced at WABC's studios.

[jrzgirl56]

77WABC was the best station for it's time, and the best time for this station. There was the rival station WMCA the Good Guys, which was also good.

But nothing compared to WABC with the best of them all Cousin Brucie.

[djgof58]

Man!!! just listen to that jingle. What memories

[slingblade65]

Imus is now the king of WABC

[MIESMAN80]

I loved 77 WABC. WNBC was almost as good. Todays radio stations are not as good, I think. Good memories!

[jahnbon]

Still a sad day for me, a born and raised NYC kid.

Remarkable in retrospect is the idea of a local newscast devoting 4 minutes to a story that featured no violence or titillation as a selling point. A different time!

[GeorgeVreelandHill]

That was a sad day!

I grew up in New York and remember WABC very well.

It will always be my all-time favorite radio station.

I loved it and miss it.

Thank you for posting this.

George Vreeland Hill

[Rollin558]

Agree, George, even though I liked the WMCA Good Guys just a little more.

[dann2ptf]

I'm listening to WABC's sat nite oldies right now on a '58 Grundig

[JAMcreative]

That commercial was called "Remarkable Mouth" and was created by Chuck Blore in Los Angeles. I don't believe it was ever used by WABC, but there are several of them posted on YouTube. Try searching for "Remarkable Mouth Radio" and you'll find a few.

[writerspells]

Ironic. The last minute of WABC's music station was "Imagine" by John Lennon and news/talk radio with names like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity took over.

[JAMcreative]

I understand the irony, but it was many years later before Limbaugh and Hannity arrived. In the beginning, WABC's talk shows were fairly mellow and not totally political. Many of them originated on the west coast and were part of the ABC Talkradio network. In fact, Ross and Wilson continued to do the morning show for a while and even played some music!

[dinfg6]

KGO talks shows today are some political and some mellow as of today.

[pkennyburns]

WOW!!! PIG VOMIT!!! (at 3:10)

[radioman66]

You know for a brief blip in time last year 2007 I got the chance to somewhat re-create the MusicRadio sound at a station I worked at. The owner was a big WLS fan as a kid and so we took their jingle package and did it up with heavy reverb major compession and a PHATT oldies library.I brought my WABC/WNBC Time Machine & WFIL growing up style to the table and it worked great for about 5 months,the owner buckled under pressure & switched format to Classic Rock.Have no video,but cool audio!

[nutballgazette]

This was the beginning of the End Of The World!

Bring back Dan Ingram

[keiichiudagawa]

anpanman!

[Bill463]

Gosh! I remember these folks on Channel 2! I loved growing up with WABC. Anybody remember the spotting buttons that we all wore that were given away at McDonalds? When WABC went to all talk I switched to 99X Fm, which was also fantatic at the time.

[randal2477]

PIG VIRUS!

Paul Giamatti did him a favor.

[mrsmagloo]

I feel gifted that I was able to live at the time when WABC was first playing the Beatles and Beach Boys, etc. Cousin Brucie! Dan Ingram! all the other great disc jockies! It was one of a kind. Incredible.

[thedude19766]

i bet WABC was the tops before talk?

[kdfelton]

Yes indeed it was! I listened as a kid with my small battery operated radio growing up in central NJ.

[fanfestdhl]

You better believe it.

[mrsmagloo]

Uh, to put it mildly, from a Boomer who was there during the PEAK of the 60s.

[prausch65]

I still own the small transistor radio I received as a gift in 1972, my first one, and will never forget listening to WABC and Dan Ingram.

[USAGiant]

Now almost 30 years after WABC-AM disappera forever as a music station, radio is going through a similar change ie salelite, the internet etc.

[patrickguice]

Thanks so much Jon for the post. I did not get to see the report back then, or hear the final broadcast on May 10, 1982 I went to FM in 1978 like many others.

[nleibo]

Great Stuff, Jon--Thanks for the clip & the effort!!

[AarHan3]

And WNBC would also succumb, in 1988.

There may as well not BE AM radio at all, what with FM having eased it out of its place in radio popularity. :-P

[RCAVictor12759]

Great CBS TV Version I have the Channel ABC 7 version. One day I'll upload it.

[patrickguice]

Could you please I would love to see it. I am curious to see what WABC had to report about their own station.

[Ron90069]

"It's just a whole world of electronic media out there, whether it's wired or over-the-air...".

If everyone's now a producer, who are the listeners?

It was a sad day for radio, but only the start...

Nice post, Jon!

[Morasch]

"today there are more stations and more choices.... but no giants".

That saying is just as true today as it was back then, and Ron Lundy's prediction for the future still holds true today.

Great video post Jon!!

[jpwjr1199]

@Morasch what was ron lundy's prediction?

[Boston4Today]

What a great clip -

JAM jingles are the best!

Thanks for posting this gem...

[DaveNightingale]

Kevin Metheny,there...

If you've watched Howard Stern's movie "Private Parts",Paul Giamatti's character is based on this guy...