Rock Radio Scrapbook
AIRCHECK OF THE WEEK
For week of
May 13, 2012
Edition #680
Talent:
PETE FORNATALE
Station:
WNEW-FM
Date: January 2, 1997
Time:
9:56
Pete Fornatale was a pioneer and a survivor.
In 1964, while a sophomore at Fordham University, Fornatale convinced the school to let him do a free-form rock show on the university's educational station WFUV-FM. He got the nod, and became the first jock to play rock music on FM in New York with his program "Campus Caravan." It was the beginning of a 48-year radio career for the native of The Bronx.
In 1966 - two years after Fornatale got the ball rolling - WOR-FM became the first commercial New York station to adopt the progressive rock format. WOR-FM abandoned the free-form format in late 1967 but WNEW-FM quickly picked up the torch. Fornatale began his professional career at WNEW-FM in the summer of 1969 while continuing at WFUV for a while.
Fornatale began his long-running Sunday morning show "Mixed Bag" in 1982 at WNEW-FM. He moved that show to WXRK after leaving WNEW-FM in 1989. Fornatale returned to WNEW-FM in 1997 and then completed a full career circle in 2001 when he returned to WFUV and started doing his theme-driven "Mixed Bag" show on Saturdays.
Fornatale interviewed hundreds of artists, including Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Carly Simon, Elton John and James Taylor. He co-hosted the 1991 HBO telecast of Paul Simon Live in Central Park and was an expert guest commentator on numerous PBS rock music specials. He wrote or co-wrote six books, the last of which was the 2009 release Back to the Garden: The Story of Woodstock.
Fornatale died April 26, 2012 after suffering a stroke. He did his final WFUV show - a 100th anniversary tribute to the Titanic - just days before. Fornatale was 66.
Enjoy Fornatale's first show on his return to WNEW-FM in 1997 here.
(The Don Shuttleworth Collection)
More 1997 airchecks here!
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