Rock Radio Scrapbook

AIRCHECK OF THE WEEK
For week of April 3, 2011
Weekly issue #624

ALL-NIGHT LEGENDS, PT. #8

Talent: JAY REYNOLDS
Station: WABC New York
Date: December 26, 1970
Time: 19:00

He was far from the best-known of the WABC jocks, but Jay Reynolds does own his special part of Musicradio history.

Reynolds' six consecutive years on the all-night show (1970-1976) is the longest non-broken tenure of anyone who worked the midnight shift at WABC in the Top 40 era. He's also the all-time leader for total time spent on the all-night show. Reynolds spent nine more total months on the all-night show at WABC than Charlie Greer, who had two separate stints doing midnights at Musicradio 77.

Prior to WABC, Reynolds was a highly-rated afternoon drive announcer at WIFE-AM - he was part of the original air team at the Indianapolis station in December, 1963. He returned to WIFE after leaving WABC in 1976 and bounced around the Indianapolis market before passing away in March, 1996.

On this aircheck, you'll notice Reynolds doing live reads for Dennison, a men's clothier located in Union, N.J. These iconic ads - which were written in iambic pentameter like Shakespeare - started in 1966 during Greer's tenure on the all-night show and continued until the early '70s with Reynolds. The tag line "where money talks, nobody walks" is one of the most well-known signatures in New York radio history.

Enjoy Jay Reynolds on WABC here.

(The Don Shuttleworth Collection)

More from the Best of Don Shuttleworth here!

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