WHLI
Encyclopedia
WHLI is a radio station located at 1100 AM broadcasting a standards
format. Licensed to Hempstead, New York
, the station has its studios in Farmingdale, New York
and is owned by the Long Island Radio Group, itself a subsidiary of Barnstable Broadcasting.
/New York from 1942 to 1944. WHLI began broadcasting local radio just as the nearby potato fields of Island Trees, Long Island were being replaced by houses in Levittown
. Long Island
was becoming one of America's most lucrative markets. It was one of the first AM/FM pairs. Its FM sister at 98.3FM actually first went on air a short while before WHLI as WHNY. (98.3FM would assume the WHLI-FM calls on January 1, 1948, later becoming WIOK and today is known as "K-JOY" WKJY
).
WHLI began as a 250w non-directional AM station at 1100 and was given permission to raise its power to the current 10 kW two-tower directional signal by the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) in 1960. It is a "daytimer" and must either reduce power or sign-off at local sunset as it broadcasts on the same frequency as WTAM in Cleveland. The WHLI towers are located next to the Southern State Parkway in Hempstead near the Baldwin Road/Grand Avenue exit. They are a popular landmark as signage touting the WHLI call letters and dial position (1100) have been mounted on the main tower for decades for passing motorists to see.
According to the book The Airwaves Of New York, programming on WHLI in 1947 included dinner music from the syndicated program "Candlelight and Silver" and that the station "looked to the local audience for talent and encouraged amateurs and professionals to audition, welcoming everyone from classical musicians to pop singers and comedians."
From the first day, WHLI aimed to an upscale audience. As "The Voice Of Long Island", the station became the dominant local station in Nassau County
with a decent signal into Suffolk and Queens counties. By the early 1950s, WHLI's "Commuter's Time" was the top-rated morning show. The rest of the broadcast day was filled with "familiar good music and local news". The station aired concerts from The Long Island Pops and hours of "Music From The Country Club".
In the 1970s, WHLI played popular music as a Top 40 station, but on Saturday January 21, 1979 it changed to Al Ham's then-new "Music Of Your Life
" format. WHLI continues as a locally programmed, top-rated station today playing adult standards
with news from CNN and their own news staff.
, NY. They stayed there until 1957 when they moved to 384 Clinton Street in Hempstead. (The small street on the north side of the station building was renamed WHLI Way and is still on the map today.) They moved to the third floor of 1055 Franklin Avenue in neighboring Garden City
in 1991 and remained there until 2001, when Barnstable consolidated operations for WHLI, WKJY
, WBZO
& WMJC into a newly designed and constructed- management, sales, promotions and technical operations center at 234 Airport Plaza, Farmingdale, NY. This consolidation makes it the largest, privately owned, radio broadcast facility in New York.
- Alan Stuart
- Eddy Brown (original Music Director, formerly of WQXR & WLIB
)
- Ken Martin
- Mike Salvatorelli
- Chuck Johnson
- Doug McQuillan
- Kathy Cunningham
- Sal Giangrasso (now at FoxNews Radio)
- Fred Darwin (news director 1982-1986)
- Bob Ieraci (reporter-editor)
- Kevin Curran (reporter-editor)
- Ted David
- Bill Crowley
- Wes Richards
- Chuck Camlic (1979–1994)
- Dean Anthony (Midday Host/PD from 1981 until his death on October 24, 2003 at the age of 68). He was the program director who was responsible for making WHLI the most successful daytimer in the United States.
Dean Anthony was born in Brooklyn, and he had been one of New York's most listened to personalities since 1964 when he came "back home" after honing his skills in Virginia and Washington DC.
Joining the WMCA "good guys", he quickly gathered a large audience where none existed…. in the middle of the night…playing the hits of The Beatles, The Stones and The Four Seasons and interacting with the audience" one on one" with his "Actors and Actresses" and "Group Therapy"
When the "good guys" run ended in 1970, he switched to "Country Music on WJRZ", then "97/WWDJ Rock & Roll" until 1971 when he joined "beautiful music WTFM"…a nice job, but Dean says it was like being in semi-retirement. In 1977 WTFM switched formats to become New York's first "soft rock" station. Dean did the mid-day, then overnight show until 1981 when a labor dispute resulted in a strike.
The 9-month strike was the proverbial blessing in disguise since that lead to a temporary job on WHLI Long Island, which lasted 22 years.
His schools were Lafayette in Brooklyn and Brooklyn College.
Dean died in October 2003. There is a scholarship at Hofstra University in his memory. There is a great picture of Dean when he was in Washington DC and the Beatles prominently displayed in the lobby of WHLI studios at Airport Plaza in Farmingdale, NY. (BR)
- Gil David (1987-Spring 1998 afternoons, mornings until Early 2006)
- John Williams (1995–1998)
- Jack Spector (1988–1994, Former king of the hops, WMCA Good Guy whom Dean Anthony hired in 1985. Spector died of a heart attack on March 8, 1994, while on the air at WHLI playing I'm in the Mood for Love by Louie Prima & Keely Smith) /his sign off "look out street, here I come" was given to him by Jackie Wilson! (BR)
- Margie Casale (May 1982- )
- Joe Marzano
- Al Fusco
- Paul Richards (current PD)
- Joe Satta
- Bill Houston
- Ted David
- Gil Fox
- Bob Perry (created the JACK-FM format in 2000, President of Big Sticks Broadcasting)
- Alan Boritz a/k/a Steve King
- Mike Charles (news)
- Don Beckwith (1997–1998)
- Joe Clines (News Director 1989)
- John Marino (news/DJ 1994-1996 returning 2007-)
- Steve Warren (1994-July 1995)
- John Von Soosten (Summer 2002-January 2005, currently program manager of XM Radio's "On Broadway" channel)
- Bobby Ryan (1993–1995)
- Frank Brinka (current News Director)
- Tom Zwier (news ?-1989)
- James Faherty (1993-December 1996)
- Janell Crispyn (news)
- Steve Dassa
- Rosemary Young
- Keith Marchesi
- Bob Rapelli (a.k.a. Bob Evans)
- Doug Miles Producer
- Sean Lynch (Production Manager)
- Michael R. Glaser (Engineering Manager / Chief Engineer)
Traditional pop music
Traditional pop or classic pop or standards music denotes, in general, Western popular music that either wholly predates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s, or to any popular music which exists concurrently to rock and roll but originated in a time before the appearance of rock and roll,...
format. Licensed to Hempstead, New York
Hempstead (village), New York
Hempstead is a village located in the town of Hempstead, Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 53,891 at the 2010 census.Hofstra University is located on the border between Hempstead and Uniondale.-Foundation:...
, the station has its studios in Farmingdale, New York
Farmingdale, New York
The Village of Farmingdale is an incorporated village on Long Island within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York in the United States...
and is owned by the Long Island Radio Group, itself a subsidiary of Barnstable Broadcasting.
History
WHLI was first licensed in 1947 to Paul and Elias Godofsky, the owners of WLIBWLIB
WLIB is an urban contemporary gospel AM radio station located in New York City. WLIB is owned by Inner City Broadcasting Corporation along with sister station WBLS...
/New York from 1942 to 1944. WHLI began broadcasting local radio just as the nearby potato fields of Island Trees, Long Island were being replaced by houses in Levittown
Levittown
Levittown is the name of four large suburban developments created in the United States of America by William Levitt and his company Levitt & Sons...
. Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
was becoming one of America's most lucrative markets. It was one of the first AM/FM pairs. Its FM sister at 98.3FM actually first went on air a short while before WHLI as WHNY. (98.3FM would assume the WHLI-FM calls on January 1, 1948, later becoming WIOK and today is known as "K-JOY" WKJY
WKJY
WKJY, known on-air as KJOY 98.3, is a U.S. radio station, based on Long Island, with an adult contemporary format. Located at 98.3 and 96.1 MHz FM, the station is licensed to Hempstead, New York. The station, whose studios are located in Farmingdale, New York, is owned by the Long Island Radio...
).
WHLI began as a 250w non-directional AM station at 1100 and was given permission to raise its power to the current 10 kW two-tower directional signal by the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) in 1960. It is a "daytimer" and must either reduce power or sign-off at local sunset as it broadcasts on the same frequency as WTAM in Cleveland. The WHLI towers are located next to the Southern State Parkway in Hempstead near the Baldwin Road/Grand Avenue exit. They are a popular landmark as signage touting the WHLI call letters and dial position (1100) have been mounted on the main tower for decades for passing motorists to see.
According to the book The Airwaves Of New York, programming on WHLI in 1947 included dinner music from the syndicated program "Candlelight and Silver" and that the station "looked to the local audience for talent and encouraged amateurs and professionals to audition, welcoming everyone from classical musicians to pop singers and comedians."
From the first day, WHLI aimed to an upscale audience. As "The Voice Of Long Island", the station became the dominant local station in Nassau County
Nassau County, New York
Nassau County is a suburban county on Long Island, east of New York City in the U.S. state of New York, within the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,339,532...
with a decent signal into Suffolk and Queens counties. By the early 1950s, WHLI's "Commuter's Time" was the top-rated morning show. The rest of the broadcast day was filled with "familiar good music and local news". The station aired concerts from The Long Island Pops and hours of "Music From The Country Club".
In the 1970s, WHLI played popular music as a Top 40 station, but on Saturday January 21, 1979 it changed to Al Ham's then-new "Music Of Your Life
Music of Your Life
Music of Your Life is a satellite-delivered radio network featuring the Adult Standards music format. Created by record executive and jingle writer Al Ham, and now under the direction of Marc Angell, Music of Your Life has more than 50 AM, FM and HD-2 radio station affiliates, and has been in...
" format. WHLI continues as a locally programmed, top-rated station today playing adult standards
Adult standards
Adult standards is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations.Adult standards is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly those persons over 50 years of age, but it is mostly targeted for senior citizens...
with news from CNN and their own news staff.
Studios
WHLI's first offices and studios were in a frame house at 245 Baldwin Road, HempsteadHempstead
Hempstead may refer to:PlacesIn England:*Hempstead, Essex*Hempstead, Kent*Hempstead, near Holt, Norfolk*Hempstead, near Stalham, Norfolk*Hemel Hempstead, HertfordshireIn the United States:*Hempstead County, Arkansas...
, NY. They stayed there until 1957 when they moved to 384 Clinton Street in Hempstead. (The small street on the north side of the station building was renamed WHLI Way and is still on the map today.) They moved to the third floor of 1055 Franklin Avenue in neighboring Garden City
Garden City, New York
Garden City is a village in the town of Hempstead in central Nassau County, New York, in the United States. It was founded by multi-millionaire Alexander Turney Stewart in 1869, and is located on Long Island, to the east of New York City, from mid-town Manhattan, and just south of the town of...
in 1991 and remained there until 2001, when Barnstable consolidated operations for WHLI, WKJY
WKJY
WKJY, known on-air as KJOY 98.3, is a U.S. radio station, based on Long Island, with an adult contemporary format. Located at 98.3 and 96.1 MHz FM, the station is licensed to Hempstead, New York. The station, whose studios are located in Farmingdale, New York, is owned by the Long Island Radio...
, WBZO
WBZO
WBZO, known on-air as "B-103" is an oldies radio station in Bay Shore, New York.- History :B-103 first signed on the air in February 1993 as WBSI, broadcasting from the Bay Shore location on Sunrise Highway and playing oldies from the 50's, 60's, and 70's....
& WMJC into a newly designed and constructed- management, sales, promotions and technical operations center at 234 Airport Plaza, Farmingdale, NY. This consolidation makes it the largest, privately owned, radio broadcast facility in New York.
Ownership
WHLI and its FM were run by the Godofskys until February 1979, when they were sold to Williams Broadcasting Corporation for $1.5 million. They were sold again in 1984 to Barnstable Broadcasting, this time for $5.0 million.Personalities
- Jerry Carr (original Program Director)- Alan Stuart
- Eddy Brown (original Music Director, formerly of WQXR & WLIB
WLIB
WLIB is an urban contemporary gospel AM radio station located in New York City. WLIB is owned by Inner City Broadcasting Corporation along with sister station WBLS...
)
- Ken Martin
- Mike Salvatorelli
- Chuck Johnson
- Doug McQuillan
- Kathy Cunningham
- Sal Giangrasso (now at FoxNews Radio)
- Fred Darwin (news director 1982-1986)
- Bob Ieraci (reporter-editor)
- Kevin Curran (reporter-editor)
- Ted David
- Bill Crowley
- Wes Richards
- Chuck Camlic (1979–1994)
- Dean Anthony (Midday Host/PD from 1981 until his death on October 24, 2003 at the age of 68). He was the program director who was responsible for making WHLI the most successful daytimer in the United States.
Dean Anthony was born in Brooklyn, and he had been one of New York's most listened to personalities since 1964 when he came "back home" after honing his skills in Virginia and Washington DC.
Joining the WMCA "good guys", he quickly gathered a large audience where none existed…. in the middle of the night…playing the hits of The Beatles, The Stones and The Four Seasons and interacting with the audience" one on one" with his "Actors and Actresses" and "Group Therapy"
When the "good guys" run ended in 1970, he switched to "Country Music on WJRZ", then "97/WWDJ Rock & Roll" until 1971 when he joined "beautiful music WTFM"…a nice job, but Dean says it was like being in semi-retirement. In 1977 WTFM switched formats to become New York's first "soft rock" station. Dean did the mid-day, then overnight show until 1981 when a labor dispute resulted in a strike.
The 9-month strike was the proverbial blessing in disguise since that lead to a temporary job on WHLI Long Island, which lasted 22 years.
His schools were Lafayette in Brooklyn and Brooklyn College.
Dean died in October 2003. There is a scholarship at Hofstra University in his memory. There is a great picture of Dean when he was in Washington DC and the Beatles prominently displayed in the lobby of WHLI studios at Airport Plaza in Farmingdale, NY. (BR)
- Gil David (1987-Spring 1998 afternoons, mornings until Early 2006)
- John Williams (1995–1998)
- Jack Spector (1988–1994, Former king of the hops, WMCA Good Guy whom Dean Anthony hired in 1985. Spector died of a heart attack on March 8, 1994, while on the air at WHLI playing I'm in the Mood for Love by Louie Prima & Keely Smith) /his sign off "look out street, here I come" was given to him by Jackie Wilson! (BR)
- Margie Casale (May 1982- )
- Joe Marzano
- Al Fusco
- Paul Richards (current PD)
- Joe Satta
- Bill Houston
- Ted David
Ted David
Ted David, an American financial journalist, recently has been heard as a free-lance anchor on New York's all news station 1010 WINS. He continues to be seen as a freelance anchor on Cablevision's News12 Long Island...
- Gil Fox
- Bob Perry (created the JACK-FM format in 2000, President of Big Sticks Broadcasting)
- Alan Boritz a/k/a Steve King
- Mike Charles (news)
- Don Beckwith (1997–1998)
- Joe Clines (News Director 1989)
- John Marino (news/DJ 1994-1996 returning 2007-)
- Steve Warren (1994-July 1995)
- John Von Soosten (Summer 2002-January 2005, currently program manager of XM Radio's "On Broadway" channel)
- Bobby Ryan (1993–1995)
- Frank Brinka (current News Director)
- Tom Zwier (news ?-1989)
- James Faherty (1993-December 1996)
- Janell Crispyn (news)
- Steve Dassa
- Rosemary Young
- Keith Marchesi
- Bob Rapelli (a.k.a. Bob Evans)
- Doug Miles Producer
- Sean Lynch (Production Manager)
- Michael R. Glaser (Engineering Manager / Chief Engineer)
Slogans
- "The Voice Of Long Island"
- "Music Of Your Life"
- "Where It's Cool To Listen, Baby!"
- "Standards Of Yesterday & Today"
- "Home Of Your All-Time Favorites"
- "The AM Difference"
- "Playing The Hits Of A Lifetime"