Rock Radio Scrapbook

AIRCHECK OF THE WEEK
For week of October 11, 2009
Weekly issue #550

Talent: JIM NETTLETON
Station: WABC New York
Date: October 4, 1969
Time: 18:30

"You couldn't find a nicer guy in the business."
Jerry Wilkinson, Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia

He was a Philadelphia legend, but Jim Nettleton considered his radio nirvana to be about 80 miles to the east, at New York's WABC.

Nettleton originally turned down WABC when they approached him to do the all-night show with the departure of Charlie Greer in the summer of 1969. They came back to him to offer weekends and fill-in work and this time he took it, joining Musicradio in October, 1969. Nettleton spent 18 months at WABC and while there also wrote, produced and voiced "Retro-Rock" for ABC's Contemporary Network. He left WABC in May, 1971 in a breach-of-contract dispute over some voicetracking he'd been doing for WCAU-FM in Philadelphia.

Nettleton started in radio in the late '50s at WRSU, the campus station of Rutgers University in New Jersey. The native of Jamaica Plain, Mass., had been taking journalism, but the college radio experience gave him the radio bug and he left college after three months to look for a radio job. Before long Nettleton was doing mornings at WPAZ in Pottstown, Pa. It was 1958. After six months there he moved to WHTG in Eatontown, N.J., then to WATR Waterbury, Conn and then to WAVZ New Haven, Conn., in 1962. After six months at WAVZ, he started at WDRC Hartford in April, 1963 where he was known as "Diamond Jim." Nettleton left WDRC in August, 1966 for WFIL Philadelphia where he was one of the original Boss Jocks.

After the WABC gig ended, Nettleton worked briefly at WHN New York in mid-1971 then left to spend about a year at WPIX-FM. He then did weekends/swing for a short time at CHUM Toronto, and thus became the only deejay to do air shifts at both WABC and CHUM. He returned to WCAU-FM - now WOGL-FM in 1972. He was named Billboard Magazine's Program Director of the Year in 1974 for his work as director of programming/operations and afternoon-drive personality at WOGL-FM.

In 1976, Nettleton moved to Philadelphia's WUSL as director of operations and co-host of the morning show. From 1979 to 1982, he did afternoon drive on WPEN and produced and hosted a Saturday night Big Band show. He was vice-president of operations at WDAE Tampa, Fla., from 1984 to 1993. Nettleton came back to Philadelphia at WOGL from 1993 to 2000. He returned to WPEN but left when the station changed format from oldies to sports in 2005.

Nettleton also did shows for WARX-FM in Hagarstown, Md., and was heavily involved in commercial voice work over the years. In 2006, disappointed with the state of oldies programming, he started an online oldies station with a wide variety of music that featured him and several other well-known Philadelphia personalities.

In April, 2009, Nettleton started doiug mornings at WILW-FM (branded "Wibbage" after Philadelphia's WIBG) in Wildwood, N.J. Unfortunately, it would be his last gig. Nettleton died of lung cancer October 4, 1969 - the 40th anniversary of his first WABC show. An avid golfer who encouraged "playing by the rules", Nettleton was 69.

Enjoy Nettleton's first WABC show here.

More 1969 airchecks here!

Subject: NEW YORK'S 96.3 SWITCHES FROM WQXR TO WCAA
Station: WQXR/WCAA New York
Date: October 8, 2009
Time: 3:35

It was one of the more dramatic switchovers you'll ever hear.

On October 8, 2009, classical-formatted WQXR ended six decades at the 96.3 dial spot in New York. The new format at 96.3? Spanish Tropical.

WQXR became New York's first FM station on December 11, 1939 as W2XQR on a frequency of 41.2 MHz. After several changes in dial position and call signs, the station landed on 96.3 in 1947 and became WQXR in 1948. In 2009, the New York Times - which had owned WQXR since 1944 - transferred the 96.3 frequency to Univision. WQXR moved to 105.9 under the operation of WNYC.

On October 8, 2009 at 8 p.m., the classical sounds at 96.3 were replaced by the Spanish urban format of WCAA, formerly at 105.9. WCAA became "96.3 La Kalle (The Street)". If you weren't ready for it, the switch from classical to modern rock music would have been jarring to say the least.

Just for the record, the last song WQXR plays at 96.3 is "Mambo" from West Side Story. WCAA's first song at 96.3 is "Hotel Room Service" by Pitbull.

Hear the WQXR to WCAA transition at New York's 96.3 here.

(Scrapbook archives)

More great radio goodbyes here!

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