Rock Radio Scrapbook

AIRCHECK OF THE WEEK
For week of December 2, 2007
Weekly issue #456

Talent: JIM HARLAN
Station: WNEW-AM New York
Date: December 10, 1992
Time: 12:36

"There'll never be another station like WNEW", said the station promo near the end. And there hasn't.

 WNEW-AM - "The Station of the Stars" - was born in 1934 from the merger of pioneering New Jersey-based stations WAAM and WODA. For the next 56 years, WNEW-AM provided high quality, full-service personality music radio first at 1280 then at 1130 on the New York AM dial. Gracing the WNEW-AM mike over the years were top program hosts like Martin Block, William B. Williams, Gene Klaven, Dee Finch, Jim Lowe, Mark Simone and Jonathan Schwartz. They were complemented by a superb news staff and what may have been the largest radio station music library in the world.

The rich history of WNEW-AM included a number of broadcasting milestones. WNEW-AM had one of radio's first disc jockey shows, Martin Block's Make Believe Ballroom which debuted in February, 1935. They were the first station to regularly remain the air for 24-hours-a-day, starting with Stan Shaw's Milkman's Matinee in August '35. In 1942, WNEW-AM what is believed to be the first station to break for hourly newscasts. And with the pairing of Gene Rayburn and Jack Lescoulie in 1946, the era of zany morning teams began.

For years New York's most profitable and most listened radio station, WNEW-AM eventually fell on hard times. In 1992, it was announced that WNEW-AM's famous eleven-three-oh spot on the AM dial would be taken by a new all-business station, WBBR. The announcers got to say goodbye and the final day of regular programming was set for December 11, 1992.

The honour of hosting the final Make Believe Ballroom went to midday host Jim Harlan. We have an aircheck of Harlan's second-last show on December 10, during which he played many of the famous WNEW jingles.

Enjoy Jim Harlan here.

(The Bill Dulmage Collection)

This aircheck is archived here.

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