WHN
Encyclopedia
WHN was a radio station in New York City
located at 1050 kHz. Its best known format was country music
, which the station played from 1972 to 1987. The station had a diversified format since the early days of radio, as did most radio stations at the time, until its change in callsign to WMGM in the 1950s, when television became the predominant medium for drama, comedy, and kids shows. The station played rock and roll as WMGM (AM)
from the mid-1950s to 1962 and then adult standards from 1962 to 1973.
WHN began as a small station in Ridgewood, Queens
, New York City
in February 1922. The ownership and location changed over time and by 1940 it was owned by movie studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
. It carried some programming from the Mutual Broadcasting System
in the late 1930s and early 1940s. These were programs originated by Mutual stations but not carried by WOR
, 710 KC New York, the flagship station in the Mutual network.
The most famous of these was a program originated by WOL
in Washington, D.C.
called the Top of the News featuring newspaper columnist Fulton Lewis Jr.
which began in 1936. After six months on the air its ratings were so high that WOR took over broadcasting it for the next 27 years before it reverted to WHN again after WOR was no longer a Mutual station. Another famous and long-running program was Major Edward Bowes
and his Original Amateur Hour
which premiered on WHN in 1934, and ran until 1952, long after Bowes' death.
In the 1930s and 1940s WHN carried a variety of music, drama, talks, and other features. As an MGM affiliate, it carried, transcribed, MGM radio dramas and comedies featuring MGM stars and produced transcribed in their Hollywood studio. This format lasted until around 1951. An example of WHN programming at the time was The Adventures of Maisie
starring Ann Sothern
.
The call letters were changed on September 15, 1948 to WMGM and station identification was done from transcribed discs recorded by MGM stars. An example: "This is Robert Taylor
. You are tuned to the call letters of the Stars, WMGM, 1050 on your dial, New York." The station had a diversified format that included pop standard hits, drama, talk, and sports, and briefly featured New York talk legend Barry Gray
.
After Loews Corporation
, parent company of MGM, divested itself of the station in the early 1960s, the station reverted to the old call letters of WHN.
and Country music
, in addition to popular instrumentals (Percy Faith
's 1960 "Theme from A Summer Place
" and Acker Bilk's 1962 "Stranger on the Shore
" hit the top of the charts during this era). They played Elvis Presley
, Fats Domino
, Carl Perkins
, Jerry Lee Lewis
, Frankie Lymon
, the Crystals
, the Tokens
, Ray Charles
, Ricky Nelson
, and Bill Haley
. Playlists were narrower and more predictable than mainstream MOR stations'. WMGM's deejay
lineup included morning man Ted Brown
and the Redhead (Ted's then-wife), Jerry Marshall, Peter Tripp
, Norm Stevens, Dick Shepherd, Bob Lewis, Ed Stokes and Bob Callen. Among its newsreaders were Bill Edmunds, Dick DeFrietas and Aime Govin.
WMGM had a theme song incorporating the names of many of its DJs in the 1960s. The words were:
He was a US Marshal and Jerry was his name.
So they called him Jerry Marshall and widespread was his fame.
He went to catch the outlaws, Bob Callen and Ted Brown
Who were roping old Dick Shephard's sheep and herding them to town.
Sing a song about Western hero men will never ride the range again.
They're on 1050 WMGM.
, 770 WABC
, and 570 WMCA
were also playing predominantly rock and roll music. At that point 1050 WMGM was sold to Storer Broadcasting
, which owned mostly TV stations. Storer immediately dropped Top 40 for Pop Standards. The station was renamed WHN again.
Through the 1960s, WHN, unlike WNEW and WOR
, played no rock music whatsoever, while playing some quasi-rock and roll artists that were equally known for standards. These included Ray Charles
, Bobby Darin
, Connie Francis
, Pat Boone
, and others. Its core artists were Nat King Cole
, Al Hirt
, Perry Como
, Frank Sinatra
, Henry Mancini
, Bing Crosby
, Peggy Lee
, Patti Page
, Johnny Mathis
, Percy Faith
, and Ray Conniff
. Ratings were decent. The station was about 75% vocal and 25% instrumental.
station. New York City had never been a big country music town and only had a country music station in the late 1960s on 970 WJRZ (which became Top 40 WWDJ in 1971 and Religious in 1974). Early on, WHN played strictly country music but by 1975, some non-country artists singing country-friendly songs were added.
As a country music station, it played artists like Johnny Cash
, Willie Nelson
, Waylon Jennings
, Tanya Tucker
, Lynn Anderson
, Kenny Rogers
, Mel Tillis
, Charley Pride
, Mickey Gilly, Ronnie Milsap
, and many more. Also they mixed in non-country artists that had country friendly songs such as The Eagles, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Anne Murray
, the Commodores, Olivia Newton John, Elton John
, Kenny Rogers
, Linda Ronstadt
, and others.
Usually it rated in the top 10 as New York's only country station. On-air announcers like Mike Fitzgerald
, Dan Taylor
, and many others moved in. In the late 1970s Mutual Radio bought WHN from Storer. In 1980 they got some competition when 106.7 WRVR
was sold to Viacom
and dropped jazz for country and became WKHK
. As a result, ratings went down for WHN, but they stuck it out. They added Mets
Baseball and other pro sports teams to their lineup in evenings.
playing a soft AC format which has evolved to a mainstream AC format today. WHN 1050 remained country with decent ratings. In 1985 Doubleday Broadcasting bought 1050 WHN. In 1986 Emmis Communications
bought WHN in a corporate deal. Emmis added sports talk in the evenings, but kept the country format the rest of the day until 1987.
announced that AC WYNY 97.1 would go country on July 1, the same day as WHN ended the format.
The airstaff said their goodbyes at the end of June. Dan Taylor signed off at 3 p.m. with "For The Good Times" by Ray Price
on July 1, 1987. At 3 p.m. WFAN made its debut on 1050.
and the WYNY intellectual country unit as well so Country 97 WYNY became Country 103.5 WYNY. Emmis kept 97.1 and moved their Dance/R & B format WQHT there.
Emmis moved WFAN from 1050 to 660 on October 7, 1988, replacing 66 WNBC
. Infinity
would later buy 660 WFAN in 1992. WFAN is still occupying 660 today with good ratings.
Spanish Broadcasting System
bought 1050. However, Spanish Broadcasting already owned AM 620 in Newark, New Jersey
. The Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) granted Spanish Broadcasting a waiver to run 1050 without commercials until it could be sold. In October 1988 when WFAN moved from 1050 to 660, 620 WSKQ flipped from Spanish Adult Contemporary to Spanish Oldies while 1050 became KQ 1050 WUKQ
playing Spanish Adult Contemporary music commercial-free to satisfy the FCC requirement.
Shortly thereafter, Jewish Forward swapped 97.9 WEVD
for 1050 WUKQ. Under the deal, the Spanish AC format on 620 moved to FM, and the station became FM-98 WSKQ-FM
. This happened early in 1989. Eventually FM-98 evolved into tropical-leaning KQ-97.9, then Mega 97.9 with a complete concentration on tropical Spanish music.
WEVD's format though moved to 1050 in early 1989. 1050 WEVD had a brokered format with Jewish programming, ethnic programs, talk shows, and a big band
show with Danny Stiles. Ratings were very very low but the station made a profit selling blocks of airtime.
with ABC
/Disney and began running ESPN Radio
24/7. The station was renamed WEPN
and eventually sold to ABC/Disney outright, which continues to run the station as 1050 ESPN Radio.
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...
located at 1050 kHz. Its best known format was country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, which the station played from 1972 to 1987. The station had a diversified format since the early days of radio, as did most radio stations at the time, until its change in callsign to WMGM in the 1950s, when television became the predominant medium for drama, comedy, and kids shows. The station played rock and roll as WMGM (AM)
WEPN
WEPN is a 24-hour sports talk formatted radio station in New York City featuring national and local sports talk programs and live broadcasts of sports matches. It is the New York affiliate for ESPN Radio...
from the mid-1950s to 1962 and then adult standards from 1962 to 1973.
History
1050 has a long history, beginning as WHN radio. It had a diversified format like most radio stations did back then. In the early 1950s, as TV became the medium for drama, comedy and kids shows, WHN began playing pop records.WHN began as a small station in Ridgewood, Queens
Ridgewood, Queens
Ridgewood is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It borders the neighborhoods of Maspeth, Middle Village and Glendale, as well as the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bushwick. Historically, the neighborhood straddled the Queens-Brooklyn boundary. The neighborhood is part of Queens...
, 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...
in February 1922. The ownership and location changed over time and by 1940 it was owned by movie studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
. It carried some programming from the Mutual Broadcasting System
Mutual Broadcasting System
The Mutual Broadcasting System was an American radio network, in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the golden age of U.S. radio drama, MBS was best known as the original network home of The Lone Ranger and The Adventures of Superman and as the long-time radio residence of The Shadow...
in the late 1930s and early 1940s. These were programs originated by Mutual stations but not carried by WOR
WOR (AM)
WOR is a class A , AM radio station located in New York, New York, U.S., operating on 710 kHz. The station has a talk format and has been owned by Buckley Broadcasting since 1987, after the station was sold by RKO. The station has conservative, or right-of-center hosts.Its call letters have no...
, 710 KC New York, the flagship station in the Mutual network.
The most famous of these was a program originated by WOL
WOL (AM)
WOL is an Urban Talk radio station in Washington, DC. Broadcasting on 1450 AM, this is the flagship radio station of Radio One.The station was Washington's top rated rhythm and blues music station through the 1960s and 1970s...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
called the Top of the News featuring newspaper columnist Fulton Lewis Jr.
Fulton Lewis
Fulton Lewis, Jr. was a prominent conservative American radio broadcaster from the 1930s to the 1960s.-Early life and career:...
which began in 1936. After six months on the air its ratings were so high that WOR took over broadcasting it for the next 27 years before it reverted to WHN again after WOR was no longer a Mutual station. Another famous and long-running program was Major Edward Bowes
Edward Bowes
Edward Bowes was an American radio personality of the 1930s and 40s whose Major Bowes' Amateur Hour was the best-known amateur talent show in radio during its eighteen-year run on NBC Radio and CBS Radio.-Early life and radio career:Bowes made his first business success in real estate, until the...
and his Original Amateur Hour
Original Amateur Hour
The Original Amateur Hour is an American radio and television program. The show was a continuation of Major Bowes Amateur Hour which had been a radio staple from 1934 to 1945. Major Edward Bowes, the originator of the program and its master of ceremonies, left the show in 1945 and died the...
which premiered on WHN in 1934, and ran until 1952, long after Bowes' death.
In the 1930s and 1940s WHN carried a variety of music, drama, talks, and other features. As an MGM affiliate, it carried, transcribed, MGM radio dramas and comedies featuring MGM stars and produced transcribed in their Hollywood studio. This format lasted until around 1951. An example of WHN programming at the time was The Adventures of Maisie
The Adventures of Maisie
The Adventures of Maisie was a radio comedy series starring Ann Sothern as underemployed entertainer Maisie Ravier, a spin-off of Sothern's successful 1939-1947 Maisie movie series...
starring Ann Sothern
Ann Sothern
Ann Sothern was an American film and television actress whose career spanned six decades.-Early life and career:...
.
The call letters were changed on September 15, 1948 to WMGM and station identification was done from transcribed discs recorded by MGM stars. An example: "This is Robert Taylor
Robert Taylor (actor)
Robert Taylor was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born Spangler Arlington Brugh in Filley, Nebraska, he was the son of Ruth Adaline and Spangler Andrew Brugh, who was a farmer turned doctor...
. You are tuned to the call letters of the Stars, WMGM, 1050 on your dial, New York." The station had a diversified format that included pop standard hits, drama, talk, and sports, and briefly featured New York talk legend Barry Gray
Barry Gray (radio)
Barry Gray was an influential American radio personality, often labeled as "The father of Talk Radio"....
.
After Loews Corporation
Loews Corporation
Loews Corporation is a holding company run by the Tisch Family whose subsidiaries are engaged in the following lines of business:*property and casualty insurance...
, parent company of MGM, divested itself of the station in the early 1960s, the station reverted to the old call letters of WHN.
1950s
Later in the 1950s, WMGM adopted a Top 40 format. It played rock and roll records and were more up-tempo than the competition. The '50s brand of Top 40 played by WMGM and its competitors included what might today be considered Rhythm and bluesRhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
and Country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, in addition to popular instrumentals (Percy Faith
Percy Faith
Percy Faith was a Canadian-born American bandleader, orchestrator, composer and conductor, known for his lush arrangements of pop and Christmas standards. He is often credited with creating the "easy listening" or "mood music" format which became staples of American popular music in the 1950s and...
's 1960 "Theme from A Summer Place
Theme from A Summer Place
The "Theme from A Summer Place" is a song with lyrics by Mack Discant and music by Max Steiner, written for the 1959 film, A Summer Place, which starred Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue. It was recorded for the film by Hugo Winterhalter...
" and Acker Bilk's 1962 "Stranger on the Shore
Stranger on the Shore
"Stranger on the Shore" is a piece for clarinet written by Acker Bilk for his young daughter and originally named Jenny after her. It was subsequently used as the theme tune of a BBC TV drama serial for young people that was also called Stranger on the Shore.The track, performed by Bilk "Stranger...
" hit the top of the charts during this era). They played Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, Fats Domino
Fats Domino
Antoine Dominique "Fats" Domino, Jr. is an American R&B and rock and roll pianist and singer-songwriter. He was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Creole was his first language....
, Carl Perkins
Carl Perkins
Carl Lee Perkins was an American rockabilly musician who recorded most notably at Sun Records Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, beginning during 1954...
, Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
, Frankie Lymon
Frankie Lymon
Franklin Joseph "Frankie" Lymon was an American rock and roll/rhythm and blues singer and songwriter, best known as the boy soprano lead singer of a New York City-based early rock and roll group, The Teenagers. The group was composed of five boys, all in their early to mid teens...
, the Crystals
The Crystals
The Crystals are an American vocal group based in New York, considered one of the defining acts of the girl group era of the first half of the 1960s. Their 1961–1964 chart hits, including "Uptown", "He's a Rebel", "Da Doo Ron Ron " and "Then He Kissed Me", featured three successive female lead...
, the Tokens
The Tokens
The Tokens are an American male doo-wop-style vocal group from Brooklyn, New York. They are known best for their chart-scoring 1961 single, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" .-Career:...
, Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
, Ricky Nelson
Ricky Nelson
Eric Hilliard Nelson , better known as Ricky Nelson or Rick Nelson, was an American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and actor...
, and Bill Haley
Bill Haley
Bill Haley was one of the first American rock and roll musicians. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and their hit song "Rock Around the Clock".-Early life and career:...
. Playlists were narrower and more predictable than mainstream MOR stations'. WMGM's deejay
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
lineup included morning man Ted Brown
Ted Brown (radio)
Ted Brown , was a charismatic radio personality who worked at several stations in New York City including WMGM, WNEW and WNBC during the 1950s and 1960s, the golden age of AM radio.-Biography:...
and the Redhead (Ted's then-wife), Jerry Marshall, Peter Tripp
Peter Tripp
Peter Tripp was a Top-40 countdown radio personality from the mid-1950s, whose career peaked with his 1959 record breaking 201 hour wakeathon . For much of the stunt, he sat in a glass booth in Times Square...
, Norm Stevens, Dick Shepherd, Bob Lewis, Ed Stokes and Bob Callen. Among its newsreaders were Bill Edmunds, Dick DeFrietas and Aime Govin.
WMGM had a theme song incorporating the names of many of its DJs in the 1960s. The words were:
He was a US Marshal and Jerry was his name.
So they called him Jerry Marshall and widespread was his fame.
He went to catch the outlaws, Bob Callen and Ted Brown
Who were roping old Dick Shephard's sheep and herding them to town.
Sing a song about Western hero men will never ride the range again.
They're on 1050 WMGM.
1960s
By 1962, 1010 WINSWINS (AM)
WINS , known on-air as "Ten-Ten Wins", is a radio station in New York City, owned by CBS Radio. WINS's studios are in the combined CBS Radio facility at 345 Hudson Street in the TriBeCa section of Manhattan, and transmitting towers in Lyndhurst, New Jersey.WINS is one of the nation's oldest...
, 770 WABC
WABC (AM)
WABC , known as "NewsTalkRadio 77 WABC" is a radio station in New York City. Owned by the broadcasting division of Cumulus Media, the station broadcasts on a clear channel and is the flagship station of Cumulus Media Networks...
, and 570 WMCA
WMCA
WMCA, 570 AM, is a radio station in New York City, most known for its "Good Guys" Top 40 era in the 1960s. It is currently owned by Salem Communications and plays a Christian radio format...
were also playing predominantly rock and roll music. At that point 1050 WMGM was sold to Storer Broadcasting
Storer Broadcasting
Storer Broadcasting, Inc. was an American company which owned several television and radio stations in the northeast United States. It was incorporated in Ohio in 1927, and sold its broadcasting properties in 1983.-1920s—1940s:...
, which owned mostly TV stations. Storer immediately dropped Top 40 for Pop Standards. The station was renamed WHN again.
Through the 1960s, WHN, unlike WNEW and WOR
WOR (AM)
WOR is a class A , AM radio station located in New York, New York, U.S., operating on 710 kHz. The station has a talk format and has been owned by Buckley Broadcasting since 1987, after the station was sold by RKO. The station has conservative, or right-of-center hosts.Its call letters have no...
, played no rock music whatsoever, while playing some quasi-rock and roll artists that were equally known for standards. These included Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
, Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin , born Walden Robert Cassotto, was an American singer, actor and musician.Darin performed in a range of music genres, including pop, rock, jazz, folk and country...
, Connie Francis
Connie Francis
Connie Francis is an American pop singer of Italian heritage and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1950s and 1960s. Although her chart success waned in the second half of the 1960s, Francis remained a top concert draw...
, Pat Boone
Pat Boone
Charles Eugene "Pat" Boone is an American singer, actor and writer who has been a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He covered black artists' songs and sold more copies than his black counterparts...
, and others. Its core artists were Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
, Al Hirt
Al Hirt
Al Hirt was an American trumpeter and bandleader. He is best remembered for his million selling recordings of "Java", and the accompanying album, Honey in the Horn . His nicknames included 'Jumbo' and 'The Round Mound of Sound'...
, Perry Como
Perry Como
Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with them in 1943. "Mr...
, Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...
, Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...
, Patti Page
Patti Page
Clara Ann Fowler , known by her professional name Patti Page, is an American singer, one of the best-known female artists in traditional pop music. She was the best-selling female artist of the 1950s, and has sold over 100 million records...
, Johnny Mathis
Johnny Mathis
John Royce "Johnny" Mathis is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standards, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum status, and 73 making the Billboard charts...
, Percy Faith
Percy Faith
Percy Faith was a Canadian-born American bandleader, orchestrator, composer and conductor, known for his lush arrangements of pop and Christmas standards. He is often credited with creating the "easy listening" or "mood music" format which became staples of American popular music in the 1950s and...
, and Ray Conniff
Ray Conniff
Joseph Raymond Conniff was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s.-Biography:...
. Ratings were decent. The station was about 75% vocal and 25% instrumental.
1970s
In the 1970s it added some soft rock to the mix. By then it had announcers like Lee Arnold, Jack Spector, Del Demontreaux, Dan Daniel, and others. By that time, the ratings were low so in 1973 WHN became a country musicCountry music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
station. New York City had never been a big country music town and only had a country music station in the late 1960s on 970 WJRZ (which became Top 40 WWDJ in 1971 and Religious in 1974). Early on, WHN played strictly country music but by 1975, some non-country artists singing country-friendly songs were added.
As a country music station, it played artists like Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
, Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
, Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...
, Tanya Tucker
Tanya Tucker
Tanya Denise Tucker is a female American country music artist who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13...
, Lynn Anderson
Lynn Anderson
Lynn Rene Anderson is an American country music singer and equestrian known for a string of hits throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, most notably her Grammy Award-winning, worldwide mega-hit, " Rose Garden." Helped by her regular exposure on national television, Anderson was one of the most...
, Kenny Rogers
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers is an American singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur...
, Mel Tillis
Mel Tillis
Lonnie Melvin Tillis , known professionally as Mel Tillis, is an American country music singer. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s, with a long list of Top 10 hits....
, Charley Pride
Charley Pride
Charley Frank Pride is an American country music singer. His smooth baritone voice was featured on thirty-nine number-one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. His greatest success came in the early- to mid-1970s, when he became the best-selling performer for RCA Records since Elvis...
, Mickey Gilly, Ronnie Milsap
Ronnie Milsap
Ronnie Lee Milsap is an American country music singer and pianist. He was one of country’s most popular and influential performers of the 1970s and 1980s...
, and many more. Also they mixed in non-country artists that had country friendly songs such as The Eagles, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Anne Murray
Anne Murray
Morna Anne Murray CC, ONS is a Canadian singer in pop, country and adult contemporary styles whose albums have sold over 54 million copies....
, the Commodores, Olivia Newton John, Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
, Kenny Rogers
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers is an American singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur...
, Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
, and others.
Usually it rated in the top 10 as New York's only country station. On-air announcers like Mike Fitzgerald
Mike Fitzgerald
Michael Roy Fitzgerald , is a former professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from to for the New York Mets, the Montreal Expos and the California Angels....
, Dan Taylor
Dan Taylor
Daniel Taylor is an American shot putter. He is currently sponsored by Nike. He is currently competing around the world in track and field.-High school:...
, and many others moved in. In the late 1970s Mutual Radio bought WHN from Storer. In 1980 they got some competition when 106.7 WRVR
WRVR
WRVR is an Adult Contemporary radio station broadcasting in Memphis, Tennessee. It has broadcast this format for over 20 years as of 2007.The station plays pop and soft rock music from the 1970s to present...
was sold to Viacom
Viacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
and dropped jazz for country and became WKHK
WKHK
WKHK is a Country formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Colonial Heights, Virginia, serving the Richmond/Petersburg area. WKHK is owned and operated by Cox Radio, Inc.-Power Increase:...
. As a result, ratings went down for WHN, but they stuck it out. They added Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
Baseball and other pro sports teams to their lineup in evenings.
1980s
In 1984, WKHK 106.7 became Lite FM 106.7 WLTWWLTW
WLTW is a radio station with an Adult Contemporary format in New York City.The station is often number one or close to it in Arbitron ratings for New York City. From 2002 to 2004, the station generated more revenue than any other radio station in the New York market...
playing a soft AC format which has evolved to a mainstream AC format today. WHN 1050 remained country with decent ratings. In 1985 Doubleday Broadcasting bought 1050 WHN. In 1986 Emmis Communications
Emmis Communications
Emmis Communications is a media conglomerate based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company owns radio stations and magazines in the United States, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria.-History:...
bought WHN in a corporate deal. Emmis added sports talk in the evenings, but kept the country format the rest of the day until 1987.
The end
In late April 1987, Emmis announced that on July 1, 1987 WHN would drop country for sports talk and professional sports play-by-play. It dropped the WHN calls and become WFAN. In May, NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
announced that AC WYNY 97.1 would go country on July 1, the same day as WHN ended the format.
The airstaff said their goodbyes at the end of June. Dan Taylor signed off at 3 p.m. with "For The Good Times" by Ray Price
Ray Price (musician)
Ray Price is an American country music singer, songwriter and guitarist. His wide-ranging baritone has often been praised as among the best male voices of country music...
on July 1, 1987. At 3 p.m. WFAN made its debut on 1050.
Post WHN
Ratings were low initially but slowly climbing. In 1988 NBC was leaving radio, so it sold their stations to Emmis; Emmis then had control of 97.1 and 103.5 FM and 660 and 1050 AM. Emmis opted to sell 103.5 to Westwood OneWestwood One
Westwood One was an American radio network and was based in New York City. At one time, it was managed by CBS Radio, the radio arm of CBS Corporation, and Viacom and was later purchased by the private equity firm The Gores Group...
and the WYNY intellectual country unit as well so Country 97 WYNY became Country 103.5 WYNY. Emmis kept 97.1 and moved their Dance/R & B format WQHT there.
Emmis moved WFAN from 1050 to 660 on October 7, 1988, replacing 66 WNBC
WNBC (AM)
WNBC was a radio station that operated in New York City from 1922 to 1988. For most of its history, it was the flagship station of the NBC Radio Network...
. Infinity
Infinity Broadcasting Corporation
Infinity Broadcasting Corporation was a radio company that existed from 1972 until 2005. It was founded by Michael A. Wiener and Gerald Carrus. It became associated with popular radio personalities like Howard Stern, Don Imus and Mike Francesa. Infinity merged with CBS Corporation in 1997 and later...
would later buy 660 WFAN in 1992. WFAN is still occupying 660 today with good ratings.
Spanish Broadcasting System
Spanish Broadcasting System
Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States. SBS is also invested in television and internet properties, deriving the majority of its income from advertising through its media products.SBS owns the internet portal LaMusica.com...
bought 1050. However, Spanish Broadcasting already owned AM 620 in Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
. 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) granted Spanish Broadcasting a waiver to run 1050 without commercials until it could be sold. In October 1988 when WFAN moved from 1050 to 660, 620 WSKQ flipped from Spanish Adult Contemporary to Spanish Oldies while 1050 became KQ 1050 WUKQ
WEPN
WEPN is a 24-hour sports talk formatted radio station in New York City featuring national and local sports talk programs and live broadcasts of sports matches. It is the New York affiliate for ESPN Radio...
playing Spanish Adult Contemporary music commercial-free to satisfy the FCC requirement.
Shortly thereafter, Jewish Forward swapped 97.9 WEVD
WEVD
The call letters WEVD are associated with the following:* WWRV AM 1330 in New York City, which held the WEVD call sign until 1981* WSKQ-FM 97.9 in New York City, which held the WEVD-FM call sign from 1952 to 1989...
for 1050 WUKQ. Under the deal, the Spanish AC format on 620 moved to FM, and the station became FM-98 WSKQ-FM
WSKQ-FM
WSKQ-FM, known on-air as Mega 97.9, is a radio station in New York City owned by Spanish Broadcasting System . Currently located at 97.9 FM, the station has a tropical format, which consists of such musical styles as Bachata, salsa, merengue, and Reggaeton.-History:The 97.9 FM facility's heritage...
. This happened early in 1989. Eventually FM-98 evolved into tropical-leaning KQ-97.9, then Mega 97.9 with a complete concentration on tropical Spanish music.
WEVD's format though moved to 1050 in early 1989. 1050 WEVD had a brokered format with Jewish programming, ethnic programs, talk shows, and a big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
show with Danny Stiles. Ratings were very very low but the station made a profit selling blocks of airtime.
1990s
By the mid-1990s WEVD had a talk format on weekdays but ethnic programming nights and weekends.2000s
In 2001, WEVD entered into a local marketing agreementLocal marketing agreement
In U.S. and Canadian broadcasting, a local marketing agreement is an agreement in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another licensee...
with ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
/Disney and began running ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio is an American sports radio network. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN." ESPN Radio is located at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut...
24/7. The station was renamed WEPN
WEPN
WEPN is a 24-hour sports talk formatted radio station in New York City featuring national and local sports talk programs and live broadcasts of sports matches. It is the New York affiliate for ESPN Radio...
and eventually sold to ABC/Disney outright, which continues to run the station as 1050 ESPN Radio.
External links
- AIRWAVES RADIO Journal V9 #89 - "Re: 1050 NYC (was: Relate These Phrases For Me)" explains the complex callsign changes related to WHN.