Re: Did You Work at the old WCCM-FM, circa 1973-74?

["Glenn Spatola" <gspatola@tscnet.com>]

- -----Original Message-----
From: Joseph Gallant <notquite@hotmail.com>
To: gspatola@tscnet.com <gspatola@tscnet.com>
Date: Tuesday, November 03, 1998 12:24 PM
Subject: Did You Work at the old WCCM-FM, circa 1973-74?


>> November 3rd, 1998
>>
>> Dear Glenn:
>>
>> I saw your posting in the Boston Radio Interest newsgroup. The name
>> stuck since I seem to remember a Glenn Spatola at the old WCCM-FM
>> in Lawrence circa 1973-74 (before it became an automated stereo
>> rock format as WCGY in the summer of '74, which was right around
>> the time I graduated from Norwood, Mass. High School) who played
>> Top-40 rock music without the top-40 DJ "screeching" in glorious
>> FM mono at night after WCCM-AM's signoff. I would think you're the
>one.

Yes, you're right.

>> I seem to remember that WCCM-AM and FM simulcast from 6 A.M. to
>> either sunset (if sunset was 6 P.M. or earlier) or 6 P.M. (if
>> sunset was later than 6), then you would come on the FM weeknights
>> (and maybe Saturdays too?) from 6 P.M. to 12 Midnight (I suspect
>> that when sunset was after 6 P.M., WCCM-AM would continue with it's
>> own format, NOT simulcast on FM, until sunset.

I worked the 4 PM to 10 PM shift during that time.  "You've found the
sound; now tell a friend..."  (That was me.)  We simulcasted until sunset,
and I worked the FM until 10pm.  (For some silly reason they signed the FM
off at 10 in those pre-CGY days.)

EVERY NIGHT I got requests for Aerosmith's "Dream On" and Todd Rundgren's
"Hello It's Me."  Since WCCM was programming adult contemporary at that
time, they had VERY LITTLE rock music in their library.

>> In fact, I believe you also became the "voice" of "The Rock Garden"
>> when monoaural MOR-days/Top-40 nights WCCM-FM became automated
>> stereo rock WCGY-FM in mid-1974, voicing all the tapes at the time.

No, that WASN'T me.  I did the breaks for WCCM-FM from 1973 until the birth
of WCGY in 1974.  That "voice" was a much higher paid guy from TM
productions.

After the format change in April of '74, my job got a bit more mundane.  I
got to change those four 10-inch TM automation reels every couple of hours.
And I must have heard Neil Sedaka's "Laughter in the Rain" at least 93.7
BILLION times!

>> At least you'll be happy to know that back in 1973 and early 1974,
>> your FM signal DID travel as far south as Norwood (where I still
>> live) and you did have an occassional listener there.

Thanks for writing, Joe.  And thanks for the kind words.  BTW, your neighbor
Sonny Daye, who also lives in Norwood (and is a WMUA alum), had been known
to listen to WCCM's AM signal from Norwood, where the signal-to-static ratio
was pretty bad!
Lucky for his ears, he didn't try that very often.



Glenn Spatola
Clinical Audiologist and former radio guy
Port Orchard, Washington

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