WBCN
Encyclopedia
WBCN is a digital-only radio station
airing on WBZ-FM
HD
-2 in Boston, Massachusetts and owned by CBS Radio
. Before switching to 98.5 HD-2 on 12 August 2009, WBCN ran its rock format for 41 years as an analog radio station on 104.1 MHz (now WBMX). WBCN became a legend in the rock music industry for breaking many bands, most notably U2
. WBCN was an modern rock
/active rock
station that mixed music that has been popular in the modern rock
, alternative rock
and classic rock
genres. Known as "The Rock Of Boston", its two main Boston-area competitors were Album Oriented Rock
/active rock
WAAF and alternative music stations WBOS
and WFNX
.
The station went off the FM airwaves on August 12, 2009, with two digital-only robotic streams, one continuing the modern rock
format, the other Free Form BCN, airing an eclectic mix of rock and related genres. Free Form BCN began airing live freeform
shows in 2010 and was re-branded WBCN Free Form Rock in late September 2010. While still digital and largely robotic, the station is live 11am–2pm weekdays, with other occasional live segments.
, who also served as music host and program director. Della Chiesa is still active in classical music broadcasting on WGBH (FM)
. In 1965, Nathaniel Johnson was appointed Music Director of WBCN by station program director Don Otto. Johnson remained with the station until 1967, just prior to the change-over from classical to easy-listening, and then to rock. Johnson then left WBCN to assume a new position at WGBH.
format on the night of March 15, 1968. BCN's first Rock DJ, "Mississippi Harold Wilson" (Joe Rogers), used the station's first slogan, "The American Revolution" and played as the very first song "I Feel Free
" by the rock group Cream
. At first the new American Revolution format was only heard during the overnight hours, but in mid May 1968 they went full-time. In early June, the station's original air staff including Mississippi, Peter Wolf
(who was just starting the J. Geils Band
), Tommy Hadges, Jim Parry, Al Perry, and Sam Kopper was joined by Steven "The Seagull" Segal. 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. Segal's west coast radical radio consciousness infused the early BCN. In he summer of '68 Kopper was made the station's first program director. That fall, Segal and Kopper hired J.J. Jackson as a disc jockey. Twelve years later JJ would become one of MTV's first VJs. In December 1968, Peter Wolf left to take the J. Geils Band full-time and, introduced to the station by Jim Parry, Charles Laquidara
was hired to take over the 10pm to 2am air shift. As a part of their new format, WBCN began supporting non-mainstream investigative reporting and such novel concepts as a show oriented toward prison inmates, health warnings about the hazards of street drugs, a lost pet-finding service called the Cat and Dog Report, a travelers' aid service called the Travelers' Friend, live updates on the traffic problems at Woodstock
, and by 1970, live-to-air concert broadcasts. WBCN's programming in 1971 - 72 bore little relationship to the Billboard top 100 or any other conventional programming. Classical music, jazz or anything else might be played, as long as the skillful DJ's could make it work. For the first time the owners of the station began to sell some time. But there was always tension between the artistic expression of the DJ's and management's need to run a business, resulting in the unionization of the station with the United Electrical Workers in 1971.
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. The "album" had been compiled out of material the Beatles recorded in London in January 1969, the same sessions that would be used to create the Beatles' Let It Be album
which was released in May 1970. While the existence of the promotional album is apocryphal, the truth behind the broadcast, though less dramatic, is equally as fascinating. 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. WBCN aired the tape on September 22, 1969. Although WBCN was not the only radio station, or even the first station, to air material from the Get Back sessions — WKBW
in Buffalo
was the first, and the tapes also aired on WEBN
in Cincinnati, WBAI
in New York City
, and KCOK in St. Louis — WBCN's broadcast of the tapes has been immortalized because it was preserved on a high-quality reel, which spawned several widely-circulated Beatles bootlegs.
By 1975 WBCN had gradually evolved from the underground/progressive format of the 1960s to the more mainstream album oriented rock format popular in the 1970s. Unlike most rock stations of the era, WBCN still allowed a degree of individual DJ control of the music. Their playlist in general was more varied than many of their competitors, there was some focus on local music (also see the WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble
), and the station was known nationwide for breaking acts (The Cars
, 'Til Tuesday
, U2
) and setting trends. 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 (1981), and helped to break the Ramones, the Clash
, the Police
, and countless punk and new wave bands out of Boston.
In the period around 1975, John Garabedian, now recognized for the nationally syndicated "Open House Party", was an afternoon DJ on the legendary WBCN-104FM radio station in Boston.
In 1979, the station was purchased by Hemisphire Broadcasting who let go several longtime employees who they determined "non-essential." This set off a local controversy in Boston that resulted in the entire airstaff walking off the air striking in protest. During the walkout, WBCN stayed on the air with substitute DJs imported from several out-of-town Hemisphire sister stations. The protest got local media coverage and the attention of several well-known Boston-based music acts, including The Cars, Aerosmith
, and Boston
, who got behind the protest. When several large advertisers pulled spots, and the union filed a challenge to Hemisphere's license, pointing out that by forcing the staff out on strike, Hemisphere had created a situation where it couldn't provide the public service it was required to, Hemisphire relented, the fired staffers were rehired and the DJs went back on the air. The protest was over. (It was also rumored that Hemisphere's FCC lawyers had vetoed the course of action advised by Hemisphere's labor lawyers.) Charles Laquidara played "Superman" by the Kinks
back to back for an entire show in celebration.
By the mid 1980s WBCN had successfully fended off a number of challengers (the hard rocking but tightly formatted WCOZ, Top 40
Hitradio WHTT
, Classic Rock WZLX
, among others) to become/remain the region's top rock station. Many of the DJs, particularly morning "Big Mattress" host Charles Laquidara
, were now local quasi-celebrities. Laquidara had Billy West
on the show on a daily basis, as well as Karlos, the first computer-generated (using Digital Equipment's DECtalk
) on-air personality in radio history. Legendary Boston stripper Princess Cheyenne hosted a Sunday night sex advice show that eventually led to one of her appearances in Playboy Magazine in April 1986. The station was more commercial and "programmed" by this point but still retained some of its progressive energy and edge.
By the 1990s, WBCN was at a crossroads. With its audience aging, it risked becoming a classic rock focused station and losing its currency as an outlet for new music. For a long time WBCN successfully balanced new and old music (featuring the slogan "classic to cutting edge"). In the early 1990s, the station began playing the nationally syndicated Howard Stern Show but aired it in the evenings on tape delay instead of during the morning drive. This allowed them to retain their "Big Mattress" audience.
, where former WBCN DJs Laquidara and Carter Alan
had gone) but quickly gained credibility among many younger people.
In the summer of 1999, WBCN moved its format away from alternative music and more toward a modern rock
/active rock lean. The station by this time was playing some hard rock and Nu metal
acts such as Godsmack
, Korn
, Limp Bizkit
, and Linkin Park
. By the autumn of 2002 certain classic artists, such as Aerosmith
, Led Zeppelin
, and Ozzy Osbourne
, were added back in the station's playlist rotation.
Much of the station's programming focused on syndicated talk shows (former WAAF personalities Opie & Anthony replacing David Lee Roth
, who had previously replaced Howard Stern
in morning Drive Time
). During the autumn months, WBCN became more focused on sports as the station broadcast the games of the NFL's
New England Patriots
beginning in 1995.
In early 2006, with the Howard Stern morning drive time show gone, WBCN experienced a plummet in Arbitron Ratings
that the station had not observed since the late 1970s and early 1980s when it fell behind then rock format competitor WCOZ. The station started to air the syndicated Opie & Anthony morning drive time show. WBCN also launched The Toucher and Rich Show
, a new locally produced comedy-based afternoon drive time show starring Fred Toettcher and Rich Shertenlieb. The duo formerly worked together at Atlanta alternative music station WNNX
.
In 2007, the station was nominated for the Top 25 Markets Alternative Station of the Year Award by Radio & Records
magazine. Other nominees included KROQ-FM
in Los Angeles, KTBZ-FM
in Houston, KITS
, in San Francisco, KNDD
in Seattle and WWDC
in Washington, DC.
In December 2008 the station stopped airing Opie & Anthony. The morning drive time slot was filled by moving The Toucher and Rich Show from the afternoon to morning. During the following months industry insiders, local media, and even WBCN's on air staff speculated that (in a matter of time) CBS Radio would replace WBCN with another format.
From 1995 through 2008, WBCN was the flagship station of the Patriots Rock Radio Network
, which broadcast games of the New England Patriots. Gil Santos
, former WBZ
sports reporter, did play-by-play, while Gino Cappelletti
, former Patriots star, provided color commentary. The broadcasts were produced by Marc D. Cappello. With WBCN's dissolution as an analog station, the Patriots flagship station became WBCN's sister station 98.5 WBZ-FM
, "The Sports Hub" on August 13, 2009.
announced that WBCN would sign off the 104.1 MHz frequency.
WBCN's last four days on analog radio were celebration and retrospective shows highlighting WBCN's history. Bradley Jay was the last D.J. on the air. The last two songs played were Cream
's "I Feel Free
" and Pink Floyd
's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond
", followed by a much-used collage of songs with the line "They're really Rockin' in Boston..." and station bits and ID spots used over the years, which then slowed to a halt. The final words were from the late Darrell Martinie
, the Cosmic Muffin, saying his tag line, "Over and Out". At 12:05 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on August 12, 2009, the sound went to static and after a few moments a voice read the new station identification: "WBMX, WBMX-HD1, Boston" over the static. The static was broadcast on 104.1, until 2:00 AM. At that time Mix 104.1 began its broadcast, playing Use Somebody
by Kings of Leon
. Ironically, that song was in heavy rotation on WBCN during the months leading up to CBS Radio's announcement of the station's demise, and continued until the four day farewell began.
HD Radio
substations on the FM frequencies changed as well:
This was done to make room for an all-sports talk format at the 98.5 FM frequency, known as 98.5 The Sports Hub WBZ-FM
. WBCN's Toucher and Rich morning show began broadcasting on WBZ-FM, on August 14, 2009. WBCN's afternoon DJ, Rob Poole, known on air as "Hardy", announced on his final WBCN show that he will co-host a sports themed show on WBZ-FM Saturday mornings.
The current WBCN (in WBZ-FM
-HD2 form) transmits from the tower known locally as “FM-128” in Newton, MA. It shares a master antenna with WJMN
(94.5 Boston), WKLB-FM
(102.5 Waltham), along with backup transmitters for WBOS
, WTKK
, WROR-FM
, WMJX
, and WXKS-FM
. Google Maps
In order to keep the intellectual property of WBCN intact, without another station in Boston making claim to it, CBS Radio assigned the WBCN call letters to WFNA 1660 AM in Charlotte, North Carolina
. The Charlotte station was a simulcast of WFNZ
610 AM, known then as "The Franchise", an all sports talk station. On September 14, 2009, WBCN-AM split from WFNZ and became "America's Talk", a conservative-leaning talk station.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
airing on WBZ-FM
WBZ-FM
WBZ-FM is a sports radio station known as "98.5 The Sports Hub" and broadcasting on 98.5 MHz in Boston, Massachusetts. Owned by CBS Radio, the current WBZ-FM began on August 13, 2009 and competes with AM sports talk stations WEEI and competed with the ESPN Radio pair of WAMG and WLLH before their...
HD
HD Radio
HD Radio, which originally stood for "Hybrid Digital", is the trademark for iBiquity's in-band on-channel digital radio technology used by AM and FM radio stations to transmit audio and data via a digital signal in conjunction with their analog signals...
-2 in Boston, Massachusetts and owned by CBS Radio
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
. Before switching to 98.5 HD-2 on 12 August 2009, WBCN ran its rock format for 41 years as an analog radio station on 104.1 MHz (now WBMX). WBCN became a legend in the rock music industry for breaking many bands, most notably U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
. WBCN was an modern rock
Modern rock
Modern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre...
/active rock
Active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:...
station that mixed music that has been popular in the modern rock
Modern rock
Modern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre...
, alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
and classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
genres. Known as "The Rock Of Boston", its two main Boston-area competitors were Album Oriented Rock
Album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock is an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock artists.-Music played:Most radio formats are based on a select, tight rotation of hit singles...
/active rock
Active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:...
WAAF and alternative music stations WBOS
WBOS
WBOS is a commercial radio station located in Brookline, Massachusetts, broadcasting to the Greater Boston area on 92.9 FM. The station airs a mainstream rock format branded as "Radio 92.9"...
and WFNX
WFNX
WFNX is a New England commercial alternative rock radio station. The station began broadcasting on Monday, April 11, 1983. It was one of the first American commercial stations to play alternative rock and has become a leading radio station for breaking new alternative music.WFNX broadcasts on 101.7...
.
The station went off the FM airwaves on August 12, 2009, with two digital-only robotic streams, one continuing the modern rock
Modern rock
Modern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre...
format, the other Free Form BCN, airing an eclectic mix of rock and related genres. Free Form BCN began airing live freeform
Freeform (radio format)
Freeform, or freeform radio, is a radio station programming format in which the disc jockey is given total control over what music to play, regardless of music genre or commercial interests. Freeform radio stands in contrast to most commercial radio stations, in which DJs have little or no...
shows in 2010 and was re-branded WBCN Free Form Rock in late September 2010. While still digital and largely robotic, the station is live 11am–2pm weekdays, with other occasional live segments.
History
Before the middle 1960s, the station played classical music exclusively. The call letters stood for the Boston Concert Network. One of the on-air personalities at that time was Ron Della ChiesaRon Della Chiesa
Ron Della Chiesa is a Boston area radio personality. Born in 1938 in Quincy, Massachusetts, he was taken by his father to jazz and Boston Symphony Orchestra concerts in the early 1950s, and developed an ear for both genres. His commentaries on WGBH-FM radio for the Boston Symphony are broadcast on...
, who also served as music host and program director. Della Chiesa is still active in classical music broadcasting on WGBH (FM)
WGBH (FM)
WGBH is a public radio station located in Boston, Massachusetts. WGBH is a member station of NPR and PRI. The license-holder is the WGBH Educational Foundation, which also owns WGBH-TV and WGBX-TV....
. In 1965, Nathaniel Johnson was appointed Music Director of WBCN by station program director Don Otto. Johnson remained with the station until 1967, just prior to the change-over from classical to easy-listening, and then to rock. Johnson then left WBCN to assume a new position at WGBH.
Golden age of WBCN
The station slowly began to change to an "underground" progressive rockProgressive rock (radio format)
Progressive rock is a radio station programming format that prospered in the late 1960s and 1970s, in which the disc jockeys are given wide latitude in what they may play, similar to the freeform format but with the proviso that some kind of rock music is almost always what is played...
format on the night of March 15, 1968. BCN's first Rock DJ, "Mississippi Harold Wilson" (Joe Rogers), used the station's first slogan, "The American Revolution" and played as the very first song "I Feel Free
I Feel Free
"I Feel Free" is a song first recorded by British rock group Cream. The song's lyrics were written by Pete Brown, its music by Jack Bruce. It was the first track on the US issue of their debut album, Fresh Cream , and the band's second hit single...
" by the rock group Cream
Cream (band)
Cream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker...
. At first the new American Revolution format was only heard during the overnight hours, but in mid May 1968 they went full-time. In early June, the station's original air staff including Mississippi, Peter Wolf
Peter Wolf
Peter Wolf is an American Rhythm and Blues, Soul and Rock and Roll musician, best known as the lead vocalist for the J. Geils Band from 1967 to 1983; and for a successful musical solo career to date with writing partner Will Jennings.- Life and career :Wolf was born in the Bronx, New York...
(who was just starting the J. Geils Band
J. Geils Band
The J. Geils Band is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Worcester, Massachusetts, best known for its 1981 single, "Centerfold" which charted #1 in the U.S. in early 1982. The band played R&B-influenced blues-rock in the 1970s before moving towards a more pop-influenced sound in the 1980s...
), Tommy Hadges, Jim Parry, Al Perry, and Sam Kopper was joined by Steven "The Seagull" Segal. 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
Tom Donahue
Tom "Big Daddy" Donahue , was a pioneering rock and roll radio disc jockey, record producer and concert promoter....
, who was credited with starting the very first underground rock FM station at KMPX
KMPX
KMPX, virtual channel 29, is a television station in Decatur, Texas, serving the Dallas/Fort Worth market as an Estrella TV affiliate broadcasting on UHF digital channel 30. KMPX is owned by José and Lenard Liberman's broadcasting firm, Liberman Broadcasting....
the year before. Segal's west coast radical radio consciousness infused the early BCN. In he summer of '68 Kopper was made the station's first program director. That fall, Segal and Kopper hired J.J. Jackson as a disc jockey. Twelve years later JJ would become one of MTV's first VJs. In December 1968, Peter Wolf left to take the J. Geils Band full-time and, introduced to the station by Jim Parry, Charles Laquidara
Charles Laquidara
Charles Laquidara is an American radio disc jockey whose show, The Big Mattress, was broadcast in the Boston, Massachusetts area for nearly 30 years on WBCN. He spent four years doing The Charles Laquidara Radio Hour on WZLX...
was hired to take over the 10pm to 2am air shift. As a part of their new format, WBCN began supporting non-mainstream investigative reporting and such novel concepts as a show oriented toward prison inmates, health warnings about the hazards of street drugs, a lost pet-finding service called the Cat and Dog Report, a travelers' aid service called the Travelers' Friend, live updates on the traffic problems at Woodstock
Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Music & Art Fair was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". It was held at Max Yasgur's 600-acre dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969...
, and by 1970, live-to-air concert broadcasts. WBCN's programming in 1971 - 72 bore little relationship to the Billboard top 100 or any other conventional programming. Classical music, jazz or anything else might be played, as long as the skillful DJ's could make it work. For the first time the owners of the station began to sell some time. But there was always tension between the artistic expression of the DJ's and management's need to run a business, resulting in the unionization of the station with the United Electrical Workers in 1971.
Popular legend holds that WBCN was sent a promotional copy of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' unreleased Get Back album and played it on the air before the release of the album was cancelled. The "album" had been compiled out of material the Beatles recorded in London in January 1969, the same sessions that would be used to create the Beatles' Let It Be album
Let It Be (album)
Let It Be is the 12th and final studio album released by the English rock band The Beatles. It was released on 8 May 1970 by the band's Apple Records label shortly after the group announced their break-up....
which was released in May 1970. While the existence of the promotional album is apocryphal, the truth behind the broadcast, though less dramatic, is equally as fascinating. 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. WBCN aired the tape on September 22, 1969. Although WBCN was not the only radio station, or even the first station, to air material from the Get Back sessions — WKBW
WWKB
WWKB is an AM radio station in Buffalo, New York that operates on a frequency of 1520 kHz. It is owned and operated by Entercom Communications. The station carries a progressive talk radio format. Declaring itself as A New Voice, A New Choice, The Voice of the New Majority; WWKB carries a number...
in Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
was the first, and the tapes also aired on WEBN
WEBN
WEBN is a commercial radio station serving Greater Cincinnati, airing an album-oriented rock format. The station pioneered the concept of album-oriented rock, and is in fact the longest running AOR-formatted station in the United States, first airing this format in 1967. The station is owned...
in Cincinnati, WBAI
WBAI
WBAI, a part of the Pacifica Radio Network, is a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station, broadcasting at 99.5 FM in New York City.Its programming is leftist/progressive, and a mixture of political news and opinion from a leftist perspective, tinged with aspects of its complex and varied...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and KCOK in St. Louis — WBCN's broadcast of the tapes has been immortalized because it was preserved on a high-quality reel, which spawned several widely-circulated Beatles bootlegs.
By 1975 WBCN had gradually evolved from the underground/progressive format of the 1960s to the more mainstream album oriented rock format popular in the 1970s. Unlike most rock stations of the era, WBCN still allowed a degree of individual DJ control of the music. Their playlist in general was more varied than many of their competitors, there was some focus on local music (also see the WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble
WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble
The WBCN Rock 'n' Roll Rumble, begun in 1979, is a Greater Boston "battle of the bands" competition co-sponsored by WBCN-FM and its local music show Boston Emissions....
), and the station was known nationwide for breaking acts (The Cars
The Cars
The Cars are an American rock band that emerged from the early New Wave music scene in the late 1970s. The band consisted of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Ric Ocasek, lead singer and bassist Benjamin Orr, guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson...
, 'Til Tuesday
'Til Tuesday
Til Tuesday was an American New Wave band formed in Boston in 1982. Its original lineup was bassist/vocalist Aimee Mann, guitarist/vocalist Robert Holmes, keyboardist Joey Pesce, and drummer Michael Hausman.-History:...
, U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
) and setting trends. Oedipus
Oedipus (DJ)
Oedipus is an American radio personality. Oedipus’s radio career began in 1975 as a D.J. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s college station WTBS...
(who had the first punk rock show in the country while at MIT's college station, WTBS
WMBR
WMBR is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology student-run college radio station, licensed to Cambridge, Massachusetts, and broadcasting on 88.1 FM. It is all-volunteer and funded by listener donations and MIT funds...
) was hired first as a DJ in 1977, and then installed as program director (1981), and helped to break the Ramones, the Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
, the Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
, and countless punk and new wave bands out of Boston.
In the period around 1975, John Garabedian, now recognized for the nationally syndicated "Open House Party", was an afternoon DJ on the legendary WBCN-104FM radio station in Boston.
In 1979, the station was purchased by Hemisphire Broadcasting who let go several longtime employees who they determined "non-essential." This set off a local controversy in Boston that resulted in the entire airstaff walking off the air striking in protest. During the walkout, WBCN stayed on the air with substitute DJs imported from several out-of-town Hemisphire sister stations. The protest got local media coverage and the attention of several well-known Boston-based music acts, including The Cars, Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
, and Boston
Boston (band)
Boston is an American rock band from Boston, Massachusetts that achieved its most notable successes during the 1970s and 1980s. Centered on guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, and producer Tom Scholz, the band is a staple of classic rock radio playlists...
, who got behind the protest. When several large advertisers pulled spots, and the union filed a challenge to Hemisphere's license, pointing out that by forcing the staff out on strike, Hemisphere had created a situation where it couldn't provide the public service it was required to, Hemisphire relented, the fired staffers were rehired and the DJs went back on the air. The protest was over. (It was also rumored that Hemisphere's FCC lawyers had vetoed the course of action advised by Hemisphere's labor lawyers.) Charles Laquidara played "Superman" by the Kinks
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
back to back for an entire show in celebration.
By the mid 1980s WBCN had successfully fended off a number of challengers (the hard rocking but tightly formatted WCOZ, Top 40
Contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...
Hitradio WHTT
WODS
- External links :****...
, Classic Rock WZLX
WZLX
WZLX is a prominent classic rock radio station in the Boston, Massachusetts market. WZLX was one of the first classic rock FM stations in America...
, among others) to become/remain the region's top rock station. Many of the DJs, particularly morning "Big Mattress" host Charles Laquidara
Charles Laquidara
Charles Laquidara is an American radio disc jockey whose show, The Big Mattress, was broadcast in the Boston, Massachusetts area for nearly 30 years on WBCN. He spent four years doing The Charles Laquidara Radio Hour on WZLX...
, were now local quasi-celebrities. Laquidara had Billy West
Billy West
William Richard "Billy" West is an American voice actor. Born in Detroit but raised in the Roslindale neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, Billy launched his career in the early 1980s performing daily comedic routines on Boston's WBCN. He left the radio station to work on the short-lived revival...
on the show on a daily basis, as well as Karlos, the first computer-generated (using Digital Equipment's DECtalk
DECtalk
DECtalk was a speech synthesizer and text-to-speech technology developed by Digital Equipment Corporation in the early 1980s, based largely on the work of Dennis Klatt at MIT, whose source-filter algorithm was variously known as KlattTalk or MITalk....
) on-air personality in radio history. Legendary Boston stripper Princess Cheyenne hosted a Sunday night sex advice show that eventually led to one of her appearances in Playboy Magazine in April 1986. The station was more commercial and "programmed" by this point but still retained some of its progressive energy and edge.
By the 1990s, WBCN was at a crossroads. With its audience aging, it risked becoming a classic rock focused station and losing its currency as an outlet for new music. For a long time WBCN successfully balanced new and old music (featuring the slogan "classic to cutting edge"). In the early 1990s, the station began playing the nationally syndicated Howard Stern Show but aired it in the evenings on tape delay instead of during the morning drive. This allowed them to retain their "Big Mattress" audience.
Active rock era
In early 1994, WBCN made its first major format adjustment since 1968. The old DJs, station IDs, and classic rock were gutted, replaced by an alternative music format featuring new, younger jocks; on April 1, 1996, the Stern show was switched to the morning. The station lost some of its longtime listeners (who migrated to the now co-owned WZLXWZLX
WZLX is a prominent classic rock radio station in the Boston, Massachusetts market. WZLX was one of the first classic rock FM stations in America...
, where former WBCN DJs Laquidara and Carter Alan
Carter Alan
Carter Alan is a disc jockey and radio announcer who has been working professionally in Boston since 1979. His work began at the student radio station at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, followed by 19 years at Boston radio station WBCN. Alan is perhaps most famous for playing U2 before...
had gone) but quickly gained credibility among many younger people.
In the summer of 1999, WBCN moved its format away from alternative music and more toward a modern rock
Modern rock
Modern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre...
/active rock lean. The station by this time was playing some hard rock and Nu metal
Nu metal
Nu metal is a subgenre of heavy metal. It is a fusion genre which combines elements of heavy metal with other genres, including grunge and hip hop...
acts such as Godsmack
Godsmack
Godsmack is an American heavy metal band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is composed of founder, frontman and songwriter Sully Erna, guitarist Tony Rombola, bassist Robbie Merrill, and drummer Shannon Larkin...
, Korn
Korn
Korn is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The current band line up includes four members: Jonathan Davis, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, and Ray Luzier. The band was formed as an expansion of L.A.P.D.The band released their first demo album,...
, Limp Bizkit
Limp Bizkit
Limp Bizkit is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Formed in 1995, the group's lineup consists of Fred Durst , Wes Borland , Sam Rivers , John Otto and DJ Lethal . The band achieved mainstream success with their second studio album Significant Other, released in 1999...
, and Linkin Park
Linkin Park
Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries...
. By the autumn of 2002 certain classic artists, such as Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
, Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, and Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
, were added back in the station's playlist rotation.
Much of the station's programming focused on syndicated talk shows (former WAAF personalities Opie & Anthony replacing David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth is an American rock vocalist, songwriter, actor, author, and former radio personality. Roth was ranked nineteenth by Hit Parader on their list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Singers of All Time....
, who had previously replaced Howard Stern
Howard Stern
Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...
in morning Drive Time
Drive time
Drive time is the daypart analog to prime time for radio broadcasting. It consists of the morning hours when listeners wake up, get ready, and/or head to work or school, and the afternoon hours when they are heading home and before their evening meal. These are the periods where the number of...
). During the autumn months, WBCN became more focused on sports as the station broadcast the games of the NFL's
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
beginning in 1995.
In early 2006, with the Howard Stern morning drive time show gone, WBCN experienced a plummet in Arbitron Ratings
Arbitron
Arbitron is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio audiences. It was founded as American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with L.A. based Coffin, Cooper and Clay in the early 1950s...
that the station had not observed since the late 1970s and early 1980s when it fell behind then rock format competitor WCOZ. The station started to air the syndicated Opie & Anthony morning drive time show. WBCN also launched The Toucher and Rich Show
The Toucher and Rich Show
The Toucher and Rich Show is a morning radio show from 6 to 10 AM on The Sports Hub 98.5 WBZ-FM, based Boston, Massachusetts. The show first aired on June 5, 2006...
, a new locally produced comedy-based afternoon drive time show starring Fred Toettcher and Rich Shertenlieb. The duo formerly worked together at Atlanta alternative music station WNNX
WNNX (99X)
W255CJ FM 98.9 is a radio station in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, airing a modern rock radio format branded as 99X, which originally began on full-power station WNNX FM 99.7 in 1992. Its city of license was previously Tallapoosa , which is now far beyond its current broadcast range, nearly in Alabama...
.
In 2007, the station was nominated for the Top 25 Markets Alternative Station of the Year Award by Radio & Records
Radio & Records
Radio & Records was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It originally started out as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006, up until its final issue in 2009.-History:The company was founded in 1973 and...
magazine. Other nominees included KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM — branded 106.7 KROQ — is a commercial modern rock radio station licensed to Pasadena, California serving the Greater Los Angeles. The call sign is pronounced "kay rock." It is the flagship station of Loveline hosted by Dr...
in Los Angeles, KTBZ-FM
KTBZ-FM
KTBZ-FM, also known as 94.5 The Buzz, is an alternative rock radio station licensed to Houston, Texas with studios located in Houston at 2000 West Loop South, Suite 300, and with transmitter facilities located in Missouri City, Texas.- History :...
in Houston, KITS
KITS
KITS is a San Francisco, California, USA-based radio station broadcasting at 105.3 MHz. The station is owned by CBS Radio and programs a modern rock format. The station also broadcasts on HD channel L2, locally on Comcast cable channel 986, and is streaming online.-Hot Hits:The station's...
, in San Francisco, KNDD
KNDD
KNDD , also known as "107.7 The End", is an alternative rock radio station in Seattle, Washington. It is operated by Entercom Communications Its studios are located in the Metropolitan Park West tower between Downtown and South Lake Union in Seattle...
in Seattle and WWDC
WWDC (FM)
WWDC is a commercial radio station in Washington, D.C., broadcasting to the Washington, DC-Baltimore, Maryland area. WWDC airs an alternative rock format on 101.1 FM branded as DC101.-History:WWDC-FM signed on in 1947 as a beautiful music station...
in Washington, DC.
In December 2008 the station stopped airing Opie & Anthony. The morning drive time slot was filled by moving The Toucher and Rich Show from the afternoon to morning. During the following months industry insiders, local media, and even WBCN's on air staff speculated that (in a matter of time) CBS Radio would replace WBCN with another format.
From 1995 through 2008, WBCN was the flagship station of the Patriots Rock Radio Network
Patriots Rock Radio Network
The New England Patriots Radio Network is a CBS Radio network which carries live game broadcasts of the New England Patriots. The network's flagship station is WBZ-FM 98.5 FM, located in Boston, Massachusetts...
, which broadcast games of the New England Patriots. Gil Santos
Gil Santos
Gil Santos is the longtime radio play-by-play announcer for the New England Patriots of the National Football League, and morning sports reporter for WBZ radio in Boston. He retired from WBZ on January 30, 2009. Santos was inducted into the WBZ Radio Hall of Fame on July 9, 2009...
, former WBZ
WBZ (AM)
WBZ is the call sign for an AM radio station in Boston, Massachusetts owned by CBS Radio, itself owned by the CBS Corporation. Originally based in and broadcast from Springfield, Massachusetts, WBZ was the first commercial radio station in the United States...
sports reporter, did play-by-play, while Gino Cappelletti
Gino Cappelletti
Gino Cappelletti is a former American collegiate and Professional Football player. He played at the University of Minnesota, and was a star in the American Football League for the Boston Patriots...
, former Patriots star, provided color commentary. The broadcasts were produced by Marc D. Cappello. With WBCN's dissolution as an analog station, the Patriots flagship station became WBCN's sister station 98.5 WBZ-FM
WBZ-FM
WBZ-FM is a sports radio station known as "98.5 The Sports Hub" and broadcasting on 98.5 MHz in Boston, Massachusetts. Owned by CBS Radio, the current WBZ-FM began on August 13, 2009 and competes with AM sports talk stations WEEI and competed with the ESPN Radio pair of WAMG and WLLH before their...
, "The Sports Hub" on August 13, 2009.
WBCN goes digital-only
On July 14, 2009, CBS RadioCBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
announced that WBCN would sign off the 104.1 MHz frequency.
WBCN's last four days on analog radio were celebration and retrospective shows highlighting WBCN's history. Bradley Jay was the last D.J. on the air. The last two songs played were Cream
Cream (band)
Cream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker...
's "I Feel Free
I Feel Free
"I Feel Free" is a song first recorded by British rock group Cream. The song's lyrics were written by Pete Brown, its music by Jack Bruce. It was the first track on the US issue of their debut album, Fresh Cream , and the band's second hit single...
" and Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond
Shine On You Crazy Diamond
"Shine On You Crazy Diamond" is a nine-part Pink Floyd composition written by Roger Waters, Richard Wright, and David Gilmour. The song is a tribute to former band member Syd Barrett, although it was not originally explicitly written with him in mind. It was first performed on their 1974 French...
", followed by a much-used collage of songs with the line "They're really Rockin' in Boston..." and station bits and ID spots used over the years, which then slowed to a halt. The final words were from the late Darrell Martinie
Darrell Martinie
Darrell Martinie , aka The Cosmic Muffin, was a Boston, Massachusetts-based AFA certified professional astrologer and radio personality....
, the Cosmic Muffin, saying his tag line, "Over and Out". At 12:05 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on August 12, 2009, the sound went to static and after a few moments a voice read the new station identification: "WBMX, WBMX-HD1, Boston" over the static. The static was broadcast on 104.1, until 2:00 AM. At that time Mix 104.1 began its broadcast, playing Use Somebody
Use Somebody
"Use Somebody" is a song by the American alternative rock group Kings of Leon. It was the second single from the band's fourth studio album Only by the Night , released on December 8, 2008....
by Kings of Leon
Kings of Leon
Kings of Leon is an American rock band that originated in Albion, Oklahoma but formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Anthony Caleb Followill , Ivan Nathan Followill and Michael Jared Followill Kings of Leon is an American rock band that originated in Albion,...
. Ironically, that song was in heavy rotation on WBCN during the months leading up to CBS Radio's announcement of the station's demise, and continued until the four day farewell began.
HD Radio
HD Radio
HD Radio, which originally stood for "Hybrid Digital", is the trademark for iBiquity's in-band on-channel digital radio technology used by AM and FM radio stations to transmit audio and data via a digital signal in conjunction with their analog signals...
substations on the FM frequencies changed as well:
- WBCN's 104.1 analog and HD-1 moved to 98.5 (WBZ-FMWBZ-FMWBZ-FM is a sports radio station known as "98.5 The Sports Hub" and broadcasting on 98.5 MHz in Boston, Massachusetts. Owned by CBS Radio, the current WBZ-FM began on August 13, 2009 and competes with AM sports talk stations WEEI and competed with the ESPN Radio pair of WAMG and WLLH before their...
) HD-2. - WBCN's Free Form 104, moved from 104.1 HD-2 to 100.7 (WZLXWZLXWZLX is a prominent classic rock radio station in the Boston, Massachusetts market. WZLX was one of the first classic rock FM stations in America...
) HD-3 and was renamed Free Form BCN. It is programmed by Sam Kopper, WBCN's first rock program director, and also features past events from the WBCN archives. - Indie 104.1 on 104.1 HD-3 signed off completely.
- WBMX moved all of its subchannels with it from 98.5 to 104.1: Mix on analog and HD-1, and the 80's channel on HD-2.
This was done to make room for an all-sports talk format at the 98.5 FM frequency, known as 98.5 The Sports Hub WBZ-FM
WBZ-FM
WBZ-FM is a sports radio station known as "98.5 The Sports Hub" and broadcasting on 98.5 MHz in Boston, Massachusetts. Owned by CBS Radio, the current WBZ-FM began on August 13, 2009 and competes with AM sports talk stations WEEI and competed with the ESPN Radio pair of WAMG and WLLH before their...
. WBCN's Toucher and Rich morning show began broadcasting on WBZ-FM, on August 14, 2009. WBCN's afternoon DJ, Rob Poole, known on air as "Hardy", announced on his final WBCN show that he will co-host a sports themed show on WBZ-FM Saturday mornings.
The current WBCN (in WBZ-FM
WBZ-FM
WBZ-FM is a sports radio station known as "98.5 The Sports Hub" and broadcasting on 98.5 MHz in Boston, Massachusetts. Owned by CBS Radio, the current WBZ-FM began on August 13, 2009 and competes with AM sports talk stations WEEI and competed with the ESPN Radio pair of WAMG and WLLH before their...
-HD2 form) transmits from the tower known locally as “FM-128” in Newton, MA. It shares a master antenna with WJMN
WJMN (FM)
WJMN is a successful Rhythmic Top 40 radio station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts, USA, under the ownership of Clear Channel Communications. Its current slogan is "Hip Hop and Today's Hit Music!" and can be heard as far north as the White Mountains under good conditions, and in portions of...
(94.5 Boston), WKLB-FM
WKLB-FM
WKLB-FM is a radio station licensed to Waltham, Massachusetts. WKLB was formerly broadcast on 99.5 MHz. It currently has a country music radio format. Its transmitter is located in Newton, Massachusetts...
(102.5 Waltham), along with backup transmitters for WBOS
WBOS
WBOS is a commercial radio station located in Brookline, Massachusetts, broadcasting to the Greater Boston area on 92.9 FM. The station airs a mainstream rock format branded as "Radio 92.9"...
, WTKK
WTKK
WTKK is a New England commercial talk radio station, first broadcast out of Boston on 96.9 FM beginning in 1999. It can be heard in eastern Massachusetts, the northernmost area of Rhode Island, southern New Hampshire, and southern Maine...
, WROR-FM
WROR-FM
WROR-FM is a radio station licensed to Framingham, Massachusetts. It broadcasts on 105.7 MHz and serves the Boston market. The station offers a classic hits format, with a timespan of the '60s, '70s and '80s...
, WMJX
WMJX
WMJX is a radio station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts. It has an Adult Contemporary format. The station's transmitter is located atop the Prudential Tower in Downtown Boston...
, and WXKS-FM
WXKS-FM
WXKS-FM, better known as Kiss 108, is a radio station in Boston, Massachusetts, licensed to nearby Medford broadcasting a Top 40 format...
. Google Maps
In order to keep the intellectual property of WBCN intact, without another station in Boston making claim to it, CBS Radio assigned the WBCN call letters to WFNA 1660 AM in Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
. The Charlotte station was a simulcast of WFNZ
WFNZ
WFNZ "610 AM The Fan" is a Sports Talk format radio station in Charlotte, North Carolina.-History:WFNZ signed on in 1941 as WAYS . For much of the 1960s through early 1980s, it was Charlotte's top-rated Top 40 station under the moniker "61 Big Ways." The morning show was aired on both WAYS and...
610 AM, known then as "The Franchise", an all sports talk station. On September 14, 2009, WBCN-AM split from WFNZ and became "America's Talk", a conservative-leaning talk station.
WBCN Free Form Rock on WZLX HD-3
WBCN Free Form Rock (originally Free Form BCN) is a digital-only radio station broadcasting on the Internet and in the Boston radio market on HD Radio WZLX 100.7 HD-3. The station began airing in 2008, as WBCN Free Form 104, airing, until the demise of the original WBCN, on 104.1 HD-2. Since WBCN's change to digital-only, the station was known as "Free Form BCN" and then "WBCN Free Form Rock" by late September 2010. The station was formatted differently from WBCN's 104.1-FM and HD-1 incarnation, and continues to be different from the current 98.5 HD-2 version. Since its beginning, WBCN Free Form Rock has been formatted to play multiple music genres (including rock, jazz, the blues, and country). From its inception, WBCN Free Form Rock has been advertised to be a replica of the original WBCN format circa 1968 to the early 1990s, playing any song it wants including rock and relative genres. In late 2009, the station begun to increase its DJ'd programming. While it is "robotic" most of the time, it is live from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays, and hinting about the potential for more programming as listenership increases. The DJs have the freedom to play any music they choose.2011: Attempting a Comeback
In January 2011, WBCN began a slow and thought out campaign to attempt to return to an analog and HD1 digital station. The station's website was redirected to a WBCN themed webpage on the website of sister station WZLX. For the first time in a year and a half, WBCN reached out to its audience asking for listeners/supporters to join their Facebook page in order to gain attention from CBS Radio. Called 11,000 in '11, WBCN announced its goal of gaining 11,000 suporters to its facebook page by the end of 2011. The station said that it was to be the first action in a series. The webpage also teased a big announcement that would come on the January 2, 2011 edition of Boston Emissions on WZLX. That announcement was the return of the WBCN Rock N' Roll Rumble. In March 2011, the webpage and the two WBCN digital stations were once again updated slightly. The webpage saw a slight change in layout, still encouraging people to listen as often as possible, stating "Remember, when you listen to WBCN, you're voting for a full WBCN return! VOTE OFTEN!" The 98.5-HD2 Frequency announced one of its first DJ involved programing since the move from 104.1. Boston Emissions is now re-played on WBCN The Rock of Boston 98.5-HD2 on Mondays at 7:00 pm, and on Thursdays at 8:00 pm on WBCN Free Form Rock 100.7-HD3. The station also boasted about reaching its 43rd year broadcasting Rock music.Media coverage
"The American Revolution", a documentary film about the cultural, social and political impact of WBCN from 1968 through 1975, is currently in production. The film is gathering historical material and accounts from station members, listeners and others, and is sharing the material online while the film is being produced to facilitate the archival research. The open research and production process that the film is utilizing has led to it being called the "first open source documentary."Notable station alumni
- Carter AlanCarter AlanCarter Alan is a disc jockey and radio announcer who has been working professionally in Boston since 1979. His work began at the student radio station at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, followed by 19 years at Boston radio station WBCN. Alan is perhaps most famous for playing U2 before...
1979–1998 (Music Director 1986–1998; Air Talent, Weekends 1979–1982; Overnights June 1982–January 1983; Evenings 1983–1986) - Adam Chapman ("Adam12") 2003-2009 (Middays, 9-3), last air talent hired by Oedipus. Currently on WFNXWFNXWFNX is a New England commercial alternative rock radio station. The station began broadcasting on Monday, April 11, 1983. It was one of the first American commercial stations to play alternative rock and has become a leading radio station for breaking new alternative music.WFNX broadcasts on 101.7...
Weekdays 2-7pm - Tami HeideTami HeideTami Heide, "The girl with two first names," is an American radio personality. Heide started out as a disc jockey on WBCN-FM in Boston, Massachusetts in 1977. She was a popular afternoon disc jockey on KROQ-FM in Los Angeles, California from 1991 to 2004...
1977–1979 1984–1991 Air Talent (Evenings) - J.J. Jackson 1968–1971 (later one of the first five MTVMTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
"VJ's" 1981–1986) (d. 2004) - Bradley Jay 1984-2009 (weekends/overnights, hosted final FM show)
- Janet Egan King ("Juanita") 1997-2006 (Weekends and Part Time), 2006-2009 (Overnights)
- Sam Kopper 1968-1973 (mornings). 1973-77 (part-time), 1987-1991 (part-time), WBCN's first program director (1968–1970).
- Charles LaquidaraCharles LaquidaraCharles Laquidara is an American radio disc jockey whose show, The Big Mattress, was broadcast in the Boston, Massachusetts area for nearly 30 years on WBCN. He spent four years doing The Charles Laquidara Radio Hour on WZLX...
1969–1976, 1978–1996 (host of long-running morning drive time show "The Big Mattress") - Bill LichtensteinBill LichtensteinBill Lichtenstein is a print and broadcast journalist and documentary producer. Lichtenstein is president of the independent media production company, Lichtenstein Creative Media....
("Little Bill") 1970–1979 Air Talent - Darrell MartinieDarrell MartinieDarrell Martinie , aka The Cosmic Muffin, was a Boston, Massachusetts-based AFA certified professional astrologer and radio personality....
("the Cosmic Muffin") 1977–1982 1985–1996 Astrological Reporter (d. 2006) - Lance NorrisLance NorrisLance Norris is an American actor/writer/director/stand-up comic/critic/mentalist.-Life and career: Norris was born in Des Moines, Iowa and attended Whitman College where he was a wrestler and rugby player...
1986–1996 Air Talent (Ask a Bitter Man) - OedipusOedipus (DJ)Oedipus is an American radio personality. Oedipus’s radio career began in 1975 as a D.J. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s college station WTBS...
1976–2004 Air Talent, host of "Nocturnal Emissions" and Program Director from 1981–2004 - Mark "Cali" Calandrello 1998-2005, Promotion Director, Weekends, Event Host
- Princess Cheyenne 1984-1986 host "Ask Princess Cheyenne"
- Rob Poole ("Hardy") 2005-2006 (afternoon drive) 2006-2008 (evenings), 2008-2009 (afternoon drive)
- Mark Parenteau 1978–1997 (Overnight and Later Evenings 1978–1980, Most known for drive time 3:00-7:00 PM shift 1980–1997) became XM Satellite RadioSatellite radioSatellite radio is an analogue or digital radio signal that is relayed through one or more satellites and thus can be received in a much wider geographical area than terrestrial FM radio stations...
comedy program director - Ken Shelton 1980–1993 Mid-day air talent, 10:00 AM–3:00 PM
- Billy WestBilly WestWilliam Richard "Billy" West is an American voice actor. Born in Detroit but raised in the Roslindale neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, Billy launched his career in the early 1980s performing daily comedic routines on Boston's WBCN. He left the radio station to work on the short-lived revival...
1983–1990 Production and Voice Talent (later, Voice Talent for NickelodeonNickelodeon (TV channel)Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
cartoon Ren and Stimpy). - Harold Wilson ("Mississippi Fats") 1968–1977 First WBCN rock DJ.
- Peter WolfPeter WolfPeter Wolf is an American Rhythm and Blues, Soul and Rock and Roll musician, best known as the lead vocalist for the J. Geils Band from 1967 to 1983; and for a successful musical solo career to date with writing partner Will Jennings.- Life and career :Wolf was born in the Bronx, New York...
1968 Air Talent (Lead singer of the J. Geils Band 1967–1983) - Marc D. Cappello 1992-2009 WBCN New England Patriots Radio Producer
- Duane Bruce 1993-1994
- Don Harrison (Harrison) 1993-1999 WBCN air talent, assistant production director, and New England Patriots Radio Producer (1995–1999)
- John Reilly was the "voice" of WBCN, voicing station IDs and announcements as well as being production director http://www.linkedin.com/pub/john-reilly/8/863/b10http://getreilly.com/.
Syndicated shows
- David Lee RothDavid Lee RothDavid Lee Roth is an American rock vocalist, songwriter, actor, author, and former radio personality. Roth was ranked nineteenth by Hit Parader on their list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Singers of All Time....
January 3, 2006–April 21, 2006 (Nationally syndicated morning drive time show) - Opie and AnthonyOpie and AnthonyOpie and Anthony are the hosts of The Opie & Anthony Show, a talk radio program airing in the United States and Canada on XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. Since the merger of the two satellite companies, this is now called Sirius/XM...
2001-2002 (Nationally syndicated afternoon show), 2006-2008 (Nationally syndicated morning drive show) - Howard SternHoward SternHoward Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...
1993–2005 Nationally syndicated morning show (aired evenings March 1993–March 1996, morning drive time April 1, 1996–Dec. 16, 2005) A fan of Charles Laquaidara from his college years in Boston, Stern allowed the station to broadcast his show at night so as not to displace the Big Mattress.