This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 14:42. Is it possible that WBCN, the greatest rock n roll radio station in American history, died five years ago this month? The entire musical landscape of America, and maybe the entire world, would have been different. Air Talent,WMYF Exeter,NH Leslie Patten 1977-80 Screenplay writer,N, by mikekelly.. Mon, 25 Mar 2013 23:58:04, 3. A Worcester native, Parenteau began his career at 15 on WORC-AM in his hometown. Between the cars playing BCN, with their open windows in the summertime, and all the dormitories, apartments, and houses, you could hear BCN from one end of the city to the other. Oedipus also hosts an annual Christmas Eve show featuring rarely heard Christmas songs. Parenteau, who claimed he did not know the boy he was charged with molesting was under age, agreed to plead guilty to one count of child sexual abuse and was sentenced to three years in prison. At first, the new "American Revolution" format was only heard during the late-evening and overnight hours, but in mid-May, the station expanded the rock programming to 24 hours a day. The morning-show format with Charles, The Big Mattress, every station uses that idea nowa morning zoo where youve got a couple of hosts, youve got sidekicks. OEDIPUSAt WBCN:DJ and program director,19772004. On the night of March 15, 1968, Mississippi Harold Wilson (Joe Rogers) touched the needle to Creams I Feel Free, declaring FM independence and the beginning of Bostons underground radio experiment, dubbed The American Revolution. Boston Tea Party owner Ray Riepen saw that the stereo LPs being played in apartments and dorms werent getting radio airtime. Over the years he interviewed major rock and comedy legends including John Lennon, Frank Zappa, Little Richard and comedian/Blues Brother John Belushi and Jerry Seinfeld. Host Robin Young speaks with filmmaker Bill Lichtenstein about "WBCN and the American Revolution." That killed radio. Thats how we found Billy West, from The Ren & Stimpy Show and Futurama. In the early days, each shift was a DJ with a mike and three turntables and some cartridges, interacting with the audience on the phone. There was a period in the mid- to late 80s when BCN was regularly the number one station in Boston. WBCN switched to digital only on August 12, 2009, with two digital-only automated streams, one on the HD2 channel of WBZ-FM continuing the modern rock format, the other Free Form BCN, airing an eclectic mix of rock, related genres, and a lot of new music - essentially the WBCN of 1968 to 1988, brought into the 21st century. In 1976, he was featured in a voice-only performance as a DJ of the fictional KGYS radio in the movie Car Wash. The station had unlikely roots as a classical music outlet (its call letters standing for Boston Concert Network), but on the Ides of March, 1968, disc jockey Joe Rogers fired the first rock salvoCreams I Feel Free. From that moment, BCN became one of a handful of FM radio stations seeking to supplant AMs supremacy with freeform programming that captured the cacophonous sound of the counterculture. "King of All Media" The original "shock jock", Though controversial, he is one of the highest-paid radio personalities in the United States and the most fined personality in radio broadcast history. That, for me, was the best thing about working at WBCN: He took a liking to me. Also,acting Promotions Director at WBCN. WBCN was more than simply an entertainment vehicle. The jocks now are continually selling you something. You cant go backward. There were all the artistsSpringsteen, Led Zeppelin, U2that the station broke and changed lives. His radio . Innovations at BCNlike the mix of music, talk, and humor that Charles Laquidara brought to his morning show The Big Mattresswere soon replicated across the country. As the 90s beckoned, WBCNs taste for fresh sounds placed it in the Alternative Music format, but rapid changes began to sap its vital energy. You were BCN. He was one of the few African Americans to DJ an "album rock" radio station. The arrival of shock-jock Howard Sterns syndicated show to mornings that same year created a schizophrenic entity of WBCN, with community-based concern and music vs. callous commercialism and coarse talk. There is comedy, news, information about peace marches ('BCN was the "internet" for the young crowd (me at the time!!). There was coke residue on the records, and marijuana stems in the back. 3. They were just business guys who only looked at numbers. Segal's arrival was critical to the station's early development since he came in from Los Angeles and San Francisco, where he had been mentored by the legendary West Coast DJ Tom Donahue, who was credited with starting the very first underground rock FM station at KMPX the year before. Putting Howard Stern on the air was certainly a good decision financially, but it brought our defenses down quite a bit. It was a blast for me. 2. While it was automated most of the time, it was increasing its live weekdays, and hinting about the potential for more programming as listenership increased. We could talk about all aspects of life along with the music. If anyone had anything to say, it went on the intercom. This is noise! As program director, I made sure we always had at least one local band in rotation. Suddenly, you can own multiple stations in one market. Many of the DJs, particularly morning "Big Mattress" host Charles Laquidara, were now local quasi-celebrities. [3] PAUL TANK SFERRUZZAAt WBCN:Listener Line operator, van driver, producer, sports reporter, 197895. WBCN's celebrated local music specialty show, Boston Emissionsalong with The Rumblemoved to former sister station WZLX, now owned by iHeartMedia, in 2009. People really related to that. MATT SIEGELAt WBCN:DJ, 197779.Since then:Host ofMatty in the Morning on Kiss 108. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. A native of Detroit, Toettcher graduated from Rollins College in 1997. He later returned to KLOS, and hosted the afternoon shift at smooth jazz station KTWV ("The Wave") for one year. Unknown names like Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith, the Cars, U2 and the Clash were made household words while the station actively supported local music through its annual Rock n Roll Rumble and the burgeoning comedy scene with the Comedy Riot competition. It happened! It was harder to do, but also a tremendous amount of fun to be the rose among the thorns. Remember Lefora is going through changes, if you have trouble logging in, as I just did, refresh the page!!! The Listener Line had positioned itself almost as the Google of its time. The Hopeless Romantics Guide to Dating in Boston. Soon the station moved across town to Stuart Street with JJ Jackson and Charles Laquidara joining the circle. [13][14] However, the combined company would have to shed some of its Boston stations in order to satisfy Federal Communications Commission and Department of Justice requirements. Memorable radio personalities from Cleveland's past. Now its just the play list, and you play it when its time. The station was an overnight sensation with listeners. So we said, How about the car we give away, its suspended from a crane tied into the Strawberries Records on Memorial Drive and hanging over the Charles River? In 2018, the Mayor of Boston, Marty Walsh, issued a proclamation declaring December 24, 2018, as Christmas Eve with Oedipus Day in the City of Boston in recognition of his annual Christmas Eve broadcast for over 30 years spreading peace, love and understanding throughout Boston and the world. Marc Miller 1978-83 MUSE,Brooklyn NY Patrick Murray 1991-Present News Director,Air Talent Harold "Mississippi Fats" Wilson 1968-77 Restaurant equip. Their reputation was extraordinary across the county. Radio Ink. Charles deserves every bit of respect he gets in the radio community. Im not a real fan of what he did or what he does. For a brief period during that transition, Charles Laquidara, who was acting program director hired Robert "Bo" Burlingham as news director. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Van Morrison would come by a lot. Boston, 104.1 MHz FM. The company let me take chances. There was just a belief that we could do it. by Mark Shneyder 432-42 Wed, 05 May 1993 14:18:42. It led us to all of the other decisions. They were just a bunch of crazy hippies. The station lost some of its longtime listeners (who migrated to the now co-owned WZLX, where former WBCN DJs Laquidara and Carter Alan had gone), but quickly gained credibility among many younger people. While San Francisco was celebrating a psychedelic Summer of Love in 1967, Boston stayed buttoned up and battened down. In late summer of 1969, WBCN somehow obtained a reel-to-reel tape of a reference acetate of a potential album song lineup prepared by Beatles' engineer Glyn Johns on March 10, 1969. Parenteau was working at the former XM satellite radio in Washington, D.C. when prosecutors alleged that he enticed teenage boys to come to his D.C. apartment to drink, smoke marijuana and have sex. We were fortunate that we were part of not only a Boston institution, but also a cultural mecca. After leaving BCN he did fill-in work on WRKO and WTKK in Boston and a stint at Q104 in New York. As part of the switch, the WBMX call letters were parked on 1660 AM in Charlotte from July 29, 2009, until WBCN signed off for the last time at 104.1 in Boston on August 12, 2009. If you're a human and see this, please ignore it. We all wish we could have been around in the 70s and 80s. Jimmy Mack 1977-81 deceased Kevin Malvey 1992 Air Talent,WBOS-FM Boston Phil Marlowe 1989 Air Talent,WCCC-FM Hartford Daryl "Cosmic Muffin" Martini 1977-82 1985-present Astrological Reporter Danny McCloskey 1977-82,1987 Student in S.F. I was the rare DJ from somewhere else. We were thinking how great it would be to have a radio station. (It was also rumored that Hemisphere's FCC lawyers had vetoed the course of action advised by Hemisphere's labor lawyers). Were all on a mattress together. Worcester personality and deejay LB Worm paid tribute on his . I wasnt allowed to run the radio station the way I wanted to. If you want good ratings, then you gotta have bad radio. He was 66. And you kept me! Anyway, he ended up firing Duane, but in less than three weeks he ended up bringing him back. Even college radio stations were not quite like WBCN. So was its sound: Now-famous megagroups, from Aerosmith and the Clash to the Ramones and U2, all found early support on 104.1. NAME Years of Service Current Status, Bill Abbate 1988-Present Air Talent,midnight - 6AM Katy Abel 1982-88 Education Reporter WHDH-TV7(CBS) Producer for The Learning Channel Carter Alan 1979-Present Music Director Lorraine Ballard 1978-80 Living in Philadelphia Andy Beaubien 1969-77 PD at DC-101,Washington Tony Berardini 1978-Present General Manager John Brodey 1969-1979 GM for Giant Records in LA Judy "Scooter" Carlough 1982-87 Senior Acct. The gala celebration will featu WBCN began supporting non-mainstream investigative reporting and alternative news coverage, including reports from demonstrations and highly produced montage news reports. [1], In 1972 he entered a Benedictine monastery with the intention of becoming a monk, but left after only nine months. Oedipus (who had the first punk rock show in the country while at MIT's college station, WTBS) was hired first as a DJ in 1977, and then installed as program director in 1981, and helped to break The Ramones, The Clash, The Police, and countless punk and new wave bands out of Boston. I like to think we made the city and the people listening to it, we enhanced their lives. WBCN's programming in 1971-72 bore little relationship to the Billboard Hot 100 or any other conventional programming. Popular legend holds that WBCN was sent a promotional copy of The Beatles' unreleased Get Back album and played it on the air before the release of the album was cancelled. 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