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Post by Pete70s on Sept 19, 2005 22:16:19 GMT -5
www.wrko.org/WRKO was THE big Top 40 station in the Boston market in the 60's and 70's. (Ed is probably the only other person here who would have known them) I remember hearing them as a kid, and especially loving the 2 double albums of current hits they released in the late 60's. Of course, most of it I missed, as I was born about 10 years too late to appreciate them in their prime (I was born 10 years too late for just about EVERYTHING good, actually, but I digress...)  So, anyway, I was THRILLED to find a website dedicated to this legendary station, FULL of info about the jocks, formats, and charts (Check out the WRKO Top 40 surveys: Songs that didn't even chart top 40 in Billboard were HUGE hits in Boston (Such as "Playgirl" by Thee Prophets and "Hello It's Me" by Nazz). Fascinating stuff!). But what I REALLY like are the airchecks! THIS is what is missing from radio today: the repore the DJ's had with their audience. You actually FELT the connection they had with the people of Boston! The corporate radio of today can't even COMPARE! Another interesting feature are some of the original memos sent out by their program director. One in particular involves the advance release of the "Upcoming Beatles album, Let It Be", and the rules for playing cuts on it before the release date. Check out this site and look around a bit! I've spent HOURS there, myself!!!
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Post by H2IZCOOL on Sept 26, 2005 21:37:26 GMT -5
I really AM sorry that I missed this post last week, Pete. Actually I ran across that website maybe 2 - 3 years ago - and of course forgot about it. I remember WRKO well. Actually, I was out of Boston by the time they came on the air ('66 or '67, I think) but I used to pick the station up in Bangor, ME all the time. I have one of those double LPs, and it has pics of all the DJs. I have both "Playgirl" by Thee Prophets and "Hello It's Me" by Nazz in my No One Else Remembers series. --and I absolutely agree with you about the non-personality DJs of today. Sixty-eight, Double Yoo Arr Kay Ohhhhhhh! |
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Post by Dawn on Sept 27, 2005 8:47:32 GMT -5
Pete, I'm sorry to have not responded to this before now - as I wrote in my reply to your post on the Everybody's Talkin' board, I must have overlooked it somehow when I was catching up on posts. This looks like a great website. I'm not familiar with WRKO, but it looks like they were an excellent station back in the day. I can relate about being born too late to experience the great music of the '60s firsthand - wish I'd been born in 1958, instead of 1968...  The surveys are very cool! It's great to see songs on there like Nilsson's I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City and the Bee Gees' First of May on the lists. I wish songs like these would get oldies play now - great "lost" classics! |
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Post by Pete70s on Sept 27, 2005 15:52:40 GMT -5
I really AM sorry that I missed this post last week, Pete. Actually I ran across that website maybe 2 - 3 years ago - and of course forgot about it. I remember WRKO well. Actually, I was out of Boston by the time they came on the air ('66 or '67, I think) but I used to pick the station up in Bangor, ME all the time. I have one of those double LPs, and it has pics of all the DJs. I have both "Playgirl" by Thee Prophets and "Hello It's Me" by Nazz in my No One Else Remembers series. --and I absolutely agree with you about the non-personality DJs of today. Sixty-eight, Double Yoo Arr Kay Ohhhhhhh! It's OK, I didn't get offended. I just didn't want this post to get lost in the shuffle because there's some great discussion potential here! I have both the WRKO albums. The first one (with the animated couple in orange and pink on the cover) was one of the first albums I ever really got into as a kid and holds many fond memories for me. The second I found used as a teenager and was THRILLED to find out there was a vol. 2! Apparently, that Crystal Mansion song you sent me ("The Thought Of Loving You") was a pretty decent hit on RKO, so that must be where you know it from! It amazes me how different their surveys were from the Billboard charts, it's given me a whole different perspective on how the charts worked. |
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Post by Pete70s on Sept 27, 2005 15:55:36 GMT -5
Pete, I'm sorry to have not responded to this before now - as I wrote in my reply to your post on the Everybody's Talkin' board, I must have overlooked it somehow when I was catching up on posts. This looks like a great website. I'm not familiar with WRKO, but it looks like they were an excellent station back in the day. I can relate about being born too late to experience the great music of the '60s firsthand - wish I'd been born in 1958, instead of 1968... The surveys are very cool! It's great to see songs on there like Nilsson's I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City and the Bee Gees' First of May on the lists. I wish songs like these would get oldies play now - great "lost" classics! Like I told Ed, I wasn't offended, I just didn't want to see this post get burried. I love the surveys, and I also LOVE listening to the airchecks! If you have the capabilities, check some of them out! |
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Post by Dawn on Sept 27, 2005 16:25:54 GMT -5
Pete, I'm sorry to have not responded to this before now - as I wrote in my reply to your post on the Everybody's Talkin' board, I must have overlooked it somehow when I was catching up on posts. This looks like a great website. I'm not familiar with WRKO, but it looks like they were an excellent station back in the day. I can relate about being born too late to experience the great music of the '60s firsthand - wish I'd been born in 1958, instead of 1968... The surveys are very cool! It's great to see songs on there like Nilsson's I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City and the Bee Gees' First of May on the lists. I wish songs like these would get oldies play now - great "lost" classics! Like I told Ed, I wasn't offended, I just didn't want to see this post get burried. I love the surveys, and I also LOVE listening to the airchecks! If you have the capabilities, check some of them out! I'm a fan of airchecks also - I used to listen to clips from the Reel Radio website a lot, and they had some great stuff there from the '70s. I kept getting error messages when I tried to click on the individual DJs' airchecks archive - there must be a compatibility issue with my player - but I listened to some of the Montage and the music and jingles through the player on the home page. Very cool! |
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Post by 55dodger on Sept 28, 2005 0:03:13 GMT -5
I really didn't get a chance to explore the website until this morning. What I liked was the links to the top 40 surveys from around the country. Found one survey from Aug 1973 for KFXM radio in San Bernardino, CA. KFXM was one of the great AM radio stations in Southern California, one I remember listening to way back in the early sixties. The Aug '73 chart was the only one from KFXM they had. Too bad, I'd love to relive some of those old charts. They also listed the DJs from 1973, brought back some good memories as well. One of the DJs, Bruce Chandler, is still working radio, at K-RTH radio, a long time FM oldies station in LA.
The WKRO site also linked to charts at KHJ radio in Los Angeles. Although I didn't listen to that station as often as the ones in San Bernardino, KHJ was another of the great Southern California AM radio stations. I believe they have still got a website (not sure what it is) that has all their old top 40 surveys, & end of year surveys.
Anyway, wkro.org was a cool site that I'll visit again, just to check the surveys. I'm kinda of a chart & music list geek. Thanks for sharing the link Pete.
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Post by smittykins--70s pop RULES! on Jan 28, 2006 10:41:09 GMT -5
Hope nobody minds me resurrecting this thread from the dead( ;D), but I just wanted to say that there's a similar tribuite site to the station I loved as a kid in Syracuse, NY( www.wolf1490.net). It may not have as many surveys online as some others(though it does have a few), but it has some neat airchecks, sound files, and pictures. When I first discovered this site a couple years ago, I e-mailed the creator, Bob Mitchell(a well-respected voice in Syracuse radio history and also the host of the late "Saturday Night Oldies Show" on WYYY-FM), and he actually sent me a nice replay within a couple of hours. I could(and have)literally spend hours there every day. I miss classic Top-40 radio...*sigh* |
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Post by SAT-I need more room!! on Mar 2, 2006 11:55:05 GMT -5
I never had a chance to look at this til now-a neat little site!
But I discovered an interesting song-Bertha Butt Boogie! LOL!!
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Post by H2IZCOOL on Mar 2, 2006 12:08:17 GMT -5
I never had a chance to look at this til now-a neat little site! But I discovered an interesting song-Bertha Butt Boogie! LOL!! Did you know the song before? It's The Jimmy Castor Bunch's sequel to Troglodytes. |
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Post by SAT-I need more room!! on Mar 2, 2006 12:17:47 GMT -5
I never had a chance to look at this til now-a neat little site! But I discovered an interesting song-Bertha Butt Boogie! LOL!! Did you know the song before? It's The Jimmy Castor Bunch's sequel to Troglodytes. Never heard of it! Surprised the word Butt was in it! |
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