WBCN FM Airchecks from 1971

My friend Rob "interned" there for several years in the 80's (I think he used to hang around the station and play gofer, basically). I visited Rob there one day and got a tour of the place, as well as having the somewhat dubious honor of being introduced to the late Mark Parenteau.

 

Thanks for the Little Walter aircheck. I was talking to Lisa Traxler a few weeks ago and she told me that when BCN went off the air, somehow all of the tapes of broadcasts, going back to the early '70s, got thrown into a dumpster and destroyed. ALL OF THEM! So now it's up to collectors who recorded them to get them into circulation. So if you've got any live stuff broadcast on BCN, PM me and we'll see what we can do.

 

WBCN lives at 98.5 HD2.

 

Have just uploaded another set of great music played on WBCN FM by Charles Laquedara from 1971 featuring Tom Rush, Fred Neil. The Byrds, ELP, The Beatles, The Stones and Simon and Garfunkel.

WBCN FM Charles Laquedara 1971

 

Just uploaded a new WBCN air check from Jan 1971. You will hear "It's a Beautiful Day and The Velvet Underground bookended by some Jazz and classical and an ad for country rock outfit Cowboy.

NEW WBCN FM

Also check out the recent tribute to some anniversaries for Toronto stations 1050 CHUM and Q 107 that includes a recent cell phone air check of Toronto radio legend David Marsden and a vintage WCBS FM Oldies air check from 1974 updated in the Radio Miscellany section of the site.

 

Whenever I think of WBCN I always remember The Cosmic Muffin and his horoscope readings. "It's a wise person who rules the stars, a fool who is ruled by them"

 

And the "no underwear day" declarations!

 

playing cosmic wimpout

 

Not mentioned so far is Jerry Goodwin - The Duke Of Madness!

 

Jerry is one of the greatest broadcasters EVER! I got to watch him work every morning when I was producing The Big Mattress. I think there are some early Top-40 airchecks online of him at WQAM,Miami and WKNR-AM, Detroit and maybe KBOX, Dallas. He also worked at WKNR-FM and WABX, Detroit which were Progressive stations. I saw him last year for the 1st time in many years. A very sweet man (but DO NOT cross him!!!).

 

Has been a while since I uploaded any WBCN FM but have done so today.

The DJ is Charles Laquidara with help from Captain Squid and station PD Norm Winer. Fantastic and genre bending music by way of Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa, Tom Rush and more. Does anyone know who Captain Squid was ?

WBCN FM April 1971

 

When I think of BCN, I think of Kathryn Lauren doing Name that Riff - with Billy West as Biff Riff.

 

I used to leave the radio on all night and wake up to the mattress, and the "matinee" and get to high school.

Christmas was so great on BCN. Everyone came over and they played rare tapes. Randy Newman live material would have been played.

They ran the National Lampoon show, after saxophone joe and before minnesota fats.

I wonder if anyone has air checks of WCOZ. They became the competition and it was a hell of a decade.

I have a 40 minute history of WRKO. If someone tells me the best way to get it hosted I'll do it.

 

That was a great listen. Thanks!!

 

I miss WBCN.

 

I do as well. WBCN was a great FM channel back in the day. After WBCN's format changed I moved on to WZLX but they went south after awhile. I haven't listened to FM radio in years. As far as I know nothing but garbage out there.

 

Thanks much for posting these. I was a little young to enjoy this era as it was happening.

Good times for sure.

 

I just listened to WBCN files part 1. It was fantastic. Charles is so high. It was like hearing this Michael Fremer ad parodying it. I had no idea it was so spot on. It was more than perfect. The throat stuff, the feints, the dizzy notes, the fey slight pronounce fails, the self correction...We need more and more of these rock airchecks. They are a unique record.

Charles is a footnote in the led zep rolling stone feud. He wrote them that they were full of **** about zep and it got printed in the Paperback anthology of reviews.

 

All is still well at the left of the dial.

 

One of my favorite boots was "Posters, Incense, & Strobe Candles" which was an aircheck of WBCN doing an exclusive preview of Let It Be. Complete with DJ patter, screwups, and commercials!

 

I have it. It is very cool indeed!

 

That was fun! It's a little before my time in Boston, and it's very interesting to hear BCN in earlier, rawer, stonier days.

 

I agree, and I'm in the Boston market. It's still all crap over here.

 

I listened to the Big Matress daily. My favorite part was mishagoss at 9:45 -game show segment that was very funny.