Rock Radio Scrapbook

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Talent: ARNIE GINSBURG
Station: WBOS Boston
Date: Spring, 1958
Time: 5:54

Nobody put the fun into Top 40 like Arnie "Woo Woo" Ginsburg.

The epitome of the frantic and funny '50s and '60s jock, Ginsburg was New England's leading Top 40 personality during his nine years (1958-67) at Boston's WMEX. Everything about him stood out - there was the non-traditional voice that led to Ginsburg calling himself "Old Leather Lungs" and "Old Aching Adenoids." There were sound effects - kazoos, whistles, cowbells, buzzers, oogah, car horns (the "Woo Woo" nickname came from the train whistle he used.) There were Ginsburg's memorable live reads for the drive-in fast food restaurant Adventure Car Hop, which featured the "Ginsburger" in honour of their most vocal advertiser. Even the name itself stood out - Ginsburg used his ethnic-sounding birth name when many jocks at the time opted for on-air monikers - a move that made him seem even more human to his listeners. Toss in Ginsburg's steady stream of corny jokes and you had a winner.

Ginsburg got his radio start in 1956 as an engineer, with occasional fill-in on-air duties, at Boston station WORL. He moved to WBOS later that year where he further developed his on-air skills. In 1958, Ginsburg began his stay at WMEX, appearing on the "Night Train" show seven nights a week (he taped his Saturday and Sunday night shows.) His Friday night sock hops at the Surf Ballroom at Nantasket Beach were the place to be for New England teens for a decade. After leaving WMEX in 1967, Ginsburg moved to WRKO and later jocked at or managed several other Boston stations.

In 1970, Ginsburg appeared on the Cruisin' 1961 album recreating a 1961 WMEX show, part of a series of recreations featuring leading '50s and '60s jocks. The album begins with Ginsburg's famous theme song by the 3Ds ("Gather 'round, everybody; 'cause you're about to hear/the show that's gonna make you/smile from ear to ear/It's Arnie Ginsburg, on the Night Train show.")

On this aircheck, we hear a rather subdued Arnie Ginsburg in his last year at WBOS. No bells or cowbells and only a couple of toots on the whistle here - they would soon be a major part of his act at WMEX - just Ginsburg with the "Older Records Hour."

Enjoy Arnie Ginsburg on WBOS here.

(The Sam Ward Collection)

More 1958 airchecks here!

Talent: YVONNE DANIELS and BOB SIRROTT
Station: WLS Chicago
Date: December 12, 1976
Time: 30:42

On a cold Chicago morning in December, 1976, we drop on on some hot Top 40 radio. And a pretty cool-sounding jock.

Yvonne Daniels - the “Queen of the Night” - was a mainstay on WLS on the all-night show for much of the '70s and early 80s.

Daniels - whose father was jazz singer Billy Daniels - got her start at an R&B station in Jacksonville, Ill. Later, she worked at Chicago stations WYNR, WCFL and WSDM.

Daniels became the first female deejay at WLS when she arrived at the 50,000-watt Chicago powerhouse in 1973. She stayed there nine years - all of it on the all-night show. After leaving WLS in 1982, Daniels had stints at Chicago stations WVON, WGCI and WNUA.

Yvonne Daniels died of cancer June 21, 1991. She was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1995.

Also on this aircheck, we have a few minutes of Bob Sirrott, filling in for Larry Lujack on the morning show. You'll also hear newscasts by Laurel Ornish and Lyle Dean.

Hear Yvonne Daniels and Bob Sirrott on WLS here.

(The Don Shuttleworth Collection)

More 1976 airchecks here!

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