The Rock Garden (WCGY)

["PETER GEORGE, N1GGP" <PGEORGE@WELLESLEY.EDU>]

     Man, what a station it was.  Formerly the old WCCM-FM, this station
used to operate from the old Franklin Street site using a 5,000 watt signal
that barely covered the Merrimack River Valley.  It went to 50,000 watts
in 1973 from the Andover site still in glorious mono rebroadcasting WCCM
(800) until sunset and stayed on the air until 10:00 pm.  That was the
minimum broadcast schedule mandated by the FCC at the time.  Fortunately
in April 1974, WCCM-FM switched to WCGY and went stereo with the TM
Stereo Rock format as "The Rock Garden".  I was a big fan of the original
'CGY.  The format was very simple..... two currents and two recurrents
in a fifteen to twenty minute block.  Sure, it was automated but it really 
sounded great.  The nice thing I liked about 'CGY was that I could listen
to it at my home in Randolph (15 miles south of Boston) and go to my 
folks cottage in Ossipee, NH (roughly 130 miles north of home) and never
lose it.  It had a fine signal.  Boston FM stations simply did not do
so well up there.

     I can hear it now........

(canned announcer) "Don't Go Breaking My Heart"....Elton John and Kiki Dee..
      and before that..."If You Leave Me Now"...Chicago....."

(jingle)   "Ninety-Four.....(bling, bling, bling !!!)....W-C-G-Y......"

(oldie)    "Elusive Butterfly" -Bob Lind
(oldie)    "My Belle Amie"- Tee-Set

(canned announcer) "You're with the Rock Garden...24 hours a day..WCGY !"


It was funny hearing the same format on WGFM (99.5) in Schenectady and
on a station in "K-land" on e-skip that year (1976).  I good friend of
mine used to run the reels at WKFM (104.7) in Fulton (Syracuse) using
the same TM format.  Obviously there were a few of these TM stations
around.

- -Pete-

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Peter Q. George, N1GGP                  *  "Scanning the bands since 1967 !" 
P.O. Box 1183                           *                  +
Randolph, Massachusetts 02368-1183      *                  |
USA                                     *      73         +|+    de N1GGP
PGEORGE@wellesley.edu                   *                +\|/+
XERB@bigfoot.com                        *               + \|/ +
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