Welcome to our 23nd edition of What A Long Strange Trip Its Been, a feature where I look back on and share some of my most memorable concert experiences and music memories. This month, we bring you a look at WNEW-FM 102.7 New York, the rock station of my youth, a long time supporter of Hungerthon, and the place which helped me learn to love live music by broadcasting countless shows in the New York/New Jersey area.
Perhaps no rock station was as influential and important as WNEW-FM, 102.7 on your dial, from the 1960s to the 1990s. The station's slogan "Where Rock Lives" was more than just words as WNEW was truly the place to find the latest releases, interviews with stars ranging from John Lennon to Elton John to Pete Townshend, to live broadcasts of concerts with almost no commercial interruption. In its earliest days, the station was almost free form, with DJs playing whatever they wanted based on their tastes and mood. And those DJs were far more than just voices introducing songs. Each had their own personality and musical tastes, and a way of making you feel as if you were part of their extended family. You could tell what time of the day it was just by hearing a voice and the music being played. If it was a shot of "Bruce Juice" (a Springsteen song) from Dave Herman, the it must have been sometime between 6 am and 10 am. If it was a more folksy tune from the soft spoken Pete Fornatale, then it had to be between 10 am and 2 pm. If it was the gravel voice of Scott Muni playing the Beatles or other British invasion bands, the it was drive time from 2 pm to 6 pm. If you were hearing an amazing interview with the biggest names on rock, you were listening to Denis Elsas from 6 pm to 10 pm. And if the sound of Led Zeppelin came roaring through the radio, introduced by a silky yet powerful voice, the it was the overnight with Carol Miller.
These DJs knew the artists, were friends with them and often had them in the studio, guest DJing, just chatting and simply enjoying the tunes. And those relationships help WNEW secure the rights to broadcast countless live shows. The first full Grateful Dead show I ever heard live was broadcast on WNEW on April 25, 1977, a show that was included as part of the band's 50th anniversary box set, While I was at Englishtown, NJ for my first Dead concert on September 3, 1977, WNEW was broadcasting it live. The same was true while I was a the Capitol Theatre in 1978 and 1980 to see Jerry Garcia - WNEW-FM was bringing that show live to every one who couldn't get a ticket. Every December 31, the station would broadcast the Dead's annual New Year's show from San Francisco. And when the Dead came to the NY/NJ area in April 1987 for the first tour after Jerry had recovered from a near fatal diabetic coma, WNEW-FM was there to broadcast those shows.
Of course, WNEW's live broadcasts went far beyond the Grateful Dead. When Bruce Springsteen played the Bottom Line in 1975, legendary shows that helped put him on the covers of Time and Newsweek in the same week, it was WNEW that carried those shows live. When Van Morrion released the Wavelength album in 1978, his first disc in 4 years, and then went out on tour, his 2 shows from the Bottom Line in New York could be hear live on WNEW. Couldn't get a ticket to the Capitol Theatre's 10th anniversary show in 1981 headlined by the Allman Brothers? No problem - you could listen to every note on WNEW! Just go through this blog, look for FM Broadcasts for New York venues and most likely the station involved was WNEW. Moreover, WNEW's reach extended far beyond it local area. In 1985, Live Aid from London and Philadelphia could be heard on WNEW. In 1990, the Knebworth show featurng Eric Clapton, Robert Plant & Jimmy Page, Pink Floyd and Paul McCartney was broadcast on WNEW. Rock didn't just LIVE at WNEW, it was LIVE!
Above all, WNEW had a heart. This whole month at So Many Roads has been about ending world hunger and WNEW was at the fore front of that cause. In 1975, the late Harry Chapin and Bill Ayres founded Why Hunger, an organization whose goal was to put an end to the hunger suffered by 49 million Americans and nearly 1 billion people worldwide. That same year, they came up with an idea to reach out for donations using the power of the music and the radio. In conjunction with WNEW-FM, they launched Hungerthon, a 24 hour radio broadcast designed to raise awareness about the issue of hunger in the United States. Over the years, the annual Hungerthon concerts became a staple of WNEW's programming. In addition, the station used its connections with rock artists to secure dozens of items each year - guitars, signed posters and CDs, other memorabilia - for charity auctions to raise money for that cause. Not only did rock live at WNEW, but so did the spirit of using the power of music to effect social change.
WNEW-FM is long gone, a symbol of a different time and age in the music business Yet, the station's influence on rock and roll was so far reaching that even 20 years after WNEW ceased playing rock and roll, its spirit lives on. New York's current classic rock station, Q104.3 plays a block of Beatle's music every day at 12 noon, "keeping alive Scott Muni's promise to New York", as the late WNEW DJ, in the wake of John Lennon's tragic death, always would play a John Lennon of Beatles's tune to start his show. Denis Elsas still DJs, now at WFUV- FM, a public radio station that plays an eclectic mix of new and old tunes, evoking the format of WNEW"s earliest days. Carol Miller continues to DJ at Q104, the classic rock station in New York. Meg Griffin, another WNEW alum, now DJs on Sirius satellite radio, And folks like me will always remember the station fondly, as an essential part of our rock and roll education. In some ways its not surprising. After all, what else would you expect from a station whose slogan was "where rock lives'!
Perhaps no rock station was as influential and important as WNEW-FM, 102.7 on your dial, from the 1960s to the 1990s. The station's slogan "Where Rock Lives" was more than just words as WNEW was truly the place to find the latest releases, interviews with stars ranging from John Lennon to Elton John to Pete Townshend, to live broadcasts of concerts with almost no commercial interruption. In its earliest days, the station was almost free form, with DJs playing whatever they wanted based on their tastes and mood. And those DJs were far more than just voices introducing songs. Each had their own personality and musical tastes, and a way of making you feel as if you were part of their extended family. You could tell what time of the day it was just by hearing a voice and the music being played. If it was a shot of "Bruce Juice" (a Springsteen song) from Dave Herman, the it must have been sometime between 6 am and 10 am. If it was a more folksy tune from the soft spoken Pete Fornatale, then it had to be between 10 am and 2 pm. If it was the gravel voice of Scott Muni playing the Beatles or other British invasion bands, the it was drive time from 2 pm to 6 pm. If you were hearing an amazing interview with the biggest names on rock, you were listening to Denis Elsas from 6 pm to 10 pm. And if the sound of Led Zeppelin came roaring through the radio, introduced by a silky yet powerful voice, the it was the overnight with Carol Miller.
These DJs knew the artists, were friends with them and often had them in the studio, guest DJing, just chatting and simply enjoying the tunes. And those relationships help WNEW secure the rights to broadcast countless live shows. The first full Grateful Dead show I ever heard live was broadcast on WNEW on April 25, 1977, a show that was included as part of the band's 50th anniversary box set, While I was at Englishtown, NJ for my first Dead concert on September 3, 1977, WNEW was broadcasting it live. The same was true while I was a the Capitol Theatre in 1978 and 1980 to see Jerry Garcia - WNEW-FM was bringing that show live to every one who couldn't get a ticket. Every December 31, the station would broadcast the Dead's annual New Year's show from San Francisco. And when the Dead came to the NY/NJ area in April 1987 for the first tour after Jerry had recovered from a near fatal diabetic coma, WNEW-FM was there to broadcast those shows.
Of course, WNEW's live broadcasts went far beyond the Grateful Dead. When Bruce Springsteen played the Bottom Line in 1975, legendary shows that helped put him on the covers of Time and Newsweek in the same week, it was WNEW that carried those shows live. When Van Morrion released the Wavelength album in 1978, his first disc in 4 years, and then went out on tour, his 2 shows from the Bottom Line in New York could be hear live on WNEW. Couldn't get a ticket to the Capitol Theatre's 10th anniversary show in 1981 headlined by the Allman Brothers? No problem - you could listen to every note on WNEW! Just go through this blog, look for FM Broadcasts for New York venues and most likely the station involved was WNEW. Moreover, WNEW's reach extended far beyond it local area. In 1985, Live Aid from London and Philadelphia could be heard on WNEW. In 1990, the Knebworth show featurng Eric Clapton, Robert Plant & Jimmy Page, Pink Floyd and Paul McCartney was broadcast on WNEW. Rock didn't just LIVE at WNEW, it was LIVE!
Above all, WNEW had a heart. This whole month at So Many Roads has been about ending world hunger and WNEW was at the fore front of that cause. In 1975, the late Harry Chapin and Bill Ayres founded Why Hunger, an organization whose goal was to put an end to the hunger suffered by 49 million Americans and nearly 1 billion people worldwide. That same year, they came up with an idea to reach out for donations using the power of the music and the radio. In conjunction with WNEW-FM, they launched Hungerthon, a 24 hour radio broadcast designed to raise awareness about the issue of hunger in the United States. Over the years, the annual Hungerthon concerts became a staple of WNEW's programming. In addition, the station used its connections with rock artists to secure dozens of items each year - guitars, signed posters and CDs, other memorabilia - for charity auctions to raise money for that cause. Not only did rock live at WNEW, but so did the spirit of using the power of music to effect social change.
WNEW-FM is long gone, a symbol of a different time and age in the music business Yet, the station's influence on rock and roll was so far reaching that even 20 years after WNEW ceased playing rock and roll, its spirit lives on. New York's current classic rock station, Q104.3 plays a block of Beatle's music every day at 12 noon, "keeping alive Scott Muni's promise to New York", as the late WNEW DJ, in the wake of John Lennon's tragic death, always would play a John Lennon of Beatles's tune to start his show. Denis Elsas still DJs, now at WFUV- FM, a public radio station that plays an eclectic mix of new and old tunes, evoking the format of WNEW"s earliest days. Carol Miller continues to DJ at Q104, the classic rock station in New York. Meg Griffin, another WNEW alum, now DJs on Sirius satellite radio, And folks like me will always remember the station fondly, as an essential part of our rock and roll education. In some ways its not surprising. After all, what else would you expect from a station whose slogan was "where rock lives'!
