Rock
Radio Scrapbook
FROM THE ARCHIVES
Talent: PERRY ALLEN
Station: WKBW Buffalo,
N.Y.
Date:
June 24, 1959
Time: 5:51
WKBW had only a handful of morning men during its nearly 30 years as a live-assist music station. Dan Neaverth had the longest stay, from 1970 until the switch to a satellite oldies format in 1988. He was preceded by Stan Roberts from 1963 to 1970, and Jay Nelson appeared before him from the early '60s until leaving for CHUM in 1963. (Before Jay Nelson in mornings there was another Nelson, Gene.)
'KB's original morning man in the Top 40 format was Perry Allen, who did 6-10 a.m.. The Nebraska native got his start at KTLN Denver and by the early '50s had joined the Far East Network. By 1958, Allen was at WKBW, waking listeners up as that 50,000-watt giant introduced one of North America's first Top 40 formats. He left 'KB in late 1959 for KFWB Los Angeles, but not after making a permanent and lasting mark on Buffalo radio.
Allen died January 31, 2007 in Los Angeles after a broadcasting career that lasted more than half a century.
Enjoy Allen on WKBW here.
(Scrapbook archives)
Talent:
RUSS SYRACUSE
Station: WKBW Buffalo, N.Y.
Date:
June 24, 1959
Time: 4:00
While Russ Syracuse gained fame doing 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at 'KB in 1959, he is perhaps better known for what he did after 'KB. Syracuse, nicknamed "The Moose", was pilot of the "All Night Flight" on the legendary KYA in San Francisco in the 1960s. His show featured an imaginary crew and even some in-flight movies! What imagination! What creativity! We need more of this in radio today.
Syracuse, a native of Rochester, N.Y., loved little rhyming quotes like "a terse curse from your grandfather's hearse." As Ben Fong-Torres notes in his book "The Hits Just Keep on Comin", "when some radio people talk about the true beginnings of free-form radio, they talk about the Moose."
Russ Syracuse died April 18, 2000 of heart failure in Sacramento, Calif. He was 70.
Hear Russ "The Moose" Syracuse on WKBW here.
(Scrapbook archives)
Talent:
JOHNNY BARRETT
Station:
WKBW Buffalo, N.Y.
Date: June 24, 1959
Time: 6:37
Johnny Barrett hosted the 2-4 shift at WKBW in 1959. The complete schedule can be found here.
Rock Radio Scrapbook presents Johnny Barrett here.
(Scrapbook archives)
Talent:
ART ROBERTS
Station:
WKBW Buffalo, N.Y.
Date: June 24, 1959
Time: 1:53
The late Art Roberts is best known for his many years at WLS Chicago in the 1960s, but he was at WKBW in 1959. You can read more about him at www.artroberts.com.
Roberts did the 4-6 p.m. shift at 'KB in '59.
Art Roberts died March 6, 2002 in Reno, Nev., after suffering a stroke. He was 70.
Rock Radio Scrapbook presents Art Roberts here.
(Scrapbook archives)
Talent:
DICK BIONDI
Station:
WKBW Buffalo, N.Y.
Date: June 24, 1959
Time: 3:23
Longevity and deejay are two words not often seen in the same sentence. But Dick "The Screamer" Biondi has defied the odds by being on the air for some six decades since his start in 1951 at WCBA Corning, N.Y.
How long has Biondi been around? Well, he REPLACED George "Hound Dog" Lorenz at WKBW in 1958. Since then, literally thousands of deejays have come and gone but Biondi was still on the air five nights a week as the first decade of the 2000s came to an end.
It hasn't exactly been a stable career. By his count, Biondi was fired 21 times over a 32-year period. A self-admitted rebel who wasn't afraid to defy management, Biondi got the axe in places as diverse as Buffalo, Chicago, Los Angeles and York, Pa. But he bounced back every time and has gone on to become one of rock radio's most popular and recognizable deejays.
Biondi puts it all into perspective in the book "The Pied Pipers of Rock 'N' Roll" by Wes Smith. Says Biondi "I just wish that everyone could have a tenth of what I have. I've got enough memories to keep me happy for as long as I live. No matter how you stack it, I'm a lucky guy."
In 1959, Biondi was at WKBW in the 6 p.m. to midnight shift. Rock Radio Scrapbook presents Dick Biondi here.
(Scrapbook archives)
More 1959 airchecks here!
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