Long gone, and replaced first by news talk-radio (with a frequency shift from 1130 to 1560) and then Radio Disney at 1560 AM :tears: . WNEW AM 1130 was a great radio station. I especially enjoyed the many hours listening to Jonathan Schwartz and his "Sinatra Saturday" program...especially his pre-season baseball show each year. I have such fond memories of JS's shows and miss them very much. I spent countless hours in our backyard shed stripping and refinishing windows for our house listening to WNEW...eeeleven...threeee...ohhhhh. :music:

There's a great Stan Getz recording of the old WNEW Theme music on Verve...I think it's the Getz/Evans Sessions.

I agree WNEW was a nice station. FM is just about completely polluted. However, Jonathan Schwartz is still on the air every Sat. and Sun. from 12:00 to 4:00. On 93.9 FM.

Was it really only twenty years ago that NYC was the home of some of the greatest radio stations in the country? 1130AM WNEW for Standards, 102.7FM WNEW for true free-form radio, WPLJ-FM or WAPP-FM if you wanted something more current, WHN AM if you wanted country, 66AM WNBC and 77AM WABC for AM pop, WQXR for classical (still here) and WBGO for jazz (also still here), if you were into R&B or Hip-Hop, there were WBLS & WKTU. Now we've been jacked aand clearchannelled to infinity by stations that seem to play the same twenty songs in the same order :drool: :no: :nono: :tears:

Looks like I got out just in time (1987)! I still can't believe WNEW-FM is gone. That was my whole adolescence.

Ray

Looks like I got out just in time (1987)! I still can't believe WNEW-FM is gone. That was my whole adolescence.

Ray
Yeah you did. In 1987, Scott Muni, Allison Steel and New York Radio were all alive and well. :(

Don't forget WNCN for classical. Listening with Watson was a late night staple.

I know Scott is gone (RIP).Anyone know what happened to Alison Steel, Vin Scelsa etc.

Ray

I know Scott is gone (RIP).Anyone know what happened to Alison Steel, Vin Scelsa etc.

Ray
Alison Steele (http://www.shemadeit.org/meet/summary.aspx?m=53) (January 26, 1937-September 27, 1995) Passed away from cancer after WNEW-FM
bit the big one. She and Scott Muni both went to WXRK to carry on. When Alison passed away, they had a 24 hour tribute with all of the surviving WMCA, WABC, WABC & WNEW jocks. Muni didn't get quite as big a sendoff, but a moving one nonetheless. Vin Scelsa and Dennis Elsas are still going strong on WFUV. which can be heard on the web. Jimm Kerr is on WXAQ.
Dave Herman Pete Fornatale Jonathan Schwartz Bill (Rosko) Mercer, Dennis Elsas, Richard Neer, Dan Neer, Pam Merly and John Zacherle. I'm checking on, and I'll post later with their whereabouts if I can find them.

I remember listening to WNEW-AM and WPAT-AM as a kid when my mom or dad turned on the radio in the morning while I was getting ready for school. Milkman's Matinee comes to mind as well as DJs like Klavin & Finch who always made me laugh in the mornings.

I remember as a kid in HS listening to WNEW-FM and WBAI-FM to hear the latest songs and artists. I remember working in my darkroom many a night and listening to the Nightbird - Alison Steele and to Zachary and a bunch of others including Vince Scelsa, Johnathon Schwartz (and his great commentaries), Scott Muni and his great interviews (especially on Fridays when Brit Rock was the feature).

I have many live performances on cassette that I recorded off the air from WNEW and let's not forget WLIR.

WLIR was another great radio station playing more progressive music than WNEW in the 70s and 80s. I have a ton of live recordings from WLIR like early U-2.

King Bisquit Flower Hour on Sundays was also great.

Speaking of wlir remember when they used to do "party in the park" aw bands like the good rats Todd Rundgren, cdb, jorma etc. I loved those concerts. I also remember when wlir stabbed me in the heart by being the first radio station in the world to play madonna. But the party(s) in the park remain some of my greatest concert memories

http://www.wlir.fm/Party_in_the_Park1.jpg

I lived in Manhattan so I never attended any of the LIR concerts, but I did attend the WNEW concerts in Central Park.

Larry the Duck

Bogframe,
Thanks for the update. Shame about Alison- I think the "Nightbird" will always live in out hearts!

Ray

I use to watch the Submarine races sponsered by WINS

I have a lot of cassette tapes of WNEW. These are treasures. This was only station that I recorded and one of the reason for me doing so was the fact that it was the only station that played BILLY EKSTINE. Now I buttress by tapes by creating a billy Ekstine station on www.pandora.com

WNEW FM was a dominant force in the music landscape throughout the 1970s. I listened to it from it's inception in the late '60s (when Scott Muni jumped from WABC AM to WNEW FM) through the time I moved out of town. I missed it dearly when I moved from Brooklyn to LA in 1978. LA radio was nowhere near as diverse and eclectic as NEW.

Did anyone notice that any kind of print ad during that time frame that showed a radio, it was almost always tuned to 102.7? Madison avenue was a strong force in advertising at that time and it sure looked like they were all listening to WNEW during photo shoots.

- Pete