Re: WHIL

["Kevin Vahey" <kvahey@mediaone.net>]

Suffolk Downs back in those days would run from Patriots Day until just
before the 4th of July, at which point Rockingham would take over....... the
2 Rhode Island tracks would fill out the calendar. WHIL covered both
Rockingham and Suffolk.

When you think back, this kind of programming still existed on the major
stations in town into the mid 1960's.... a great example is WHDH used to
carry services from the Mission Church in Roxbury every Wednesday night for
years.

In the late 50's and the 60's when AM was still the only game in town
stations carved out their niche.

WEEI being owned by CBS would be heavily news and then talk, with Music till
Dawn overnight.

WNAC always seem to flounder, and even having the TV station never cashed
in.

WHDH was the classic MOR station and with the Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics
always was a player.

WBZ had the signal, and the TV tie in as well.

WCOP was never a serious player, and it speaks volumes that WMEX drove them
to change formats.

WEZE  struck gold with easy listening, and did well until WJIB came along.
They tried oldies for awhile in the early 70's, even hiring some former WRKO
jocks and then found gold in brokered religion.

WMEX Rock n Roll and Williams and Glick. People still remember them.

WBOS (WUNR) First to embrace ethnic programming, and would hit gold on late
Sunday nights with Ken Mayer. I shudder to think how many people would
listen to him on Sunday nights, but to this day people remember W09 - 8989.

The daytimers for the most part were afterthoughts. WTAO ( then WXHR- WCAS)
never did anything special, WORL had a loyal audience for the rosary, WILD
went after the Negro population,

It is amazing how much we remember.




----- Original Message -----
From: "Howard Glazer" <hmglaz@webtv.net>
To: <boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org>
Sent: Thursday, August 31, 2000 2:33 AM
Subject: Re: WHIL


> I recall listening to "Racing from Suffolk Downs" on WHIL in the early
> '70s, when Jim Hannon, whose voice was even more gravelly than Babe
> Rubenstein's. was calling the races in East Boston.
>
> Suffolk was indeed racing in the dead of winter then -- as it does to
> this day -- and during those months the show would be the last thing
> aired before signoff, often with the result of the last race
> unavailable.
>
> WHIL also aired "Racing from Rockingham Park," with Chic Anderson, in
> the summer. Same format -- results from the undercard, then the call of
> the feature race.
>
> And in 1972, if I recall correctly, WSMW, Channel 27, aired a replay
> show several times a week, hosted by Mike Norton. I remember the entries
> in each race being run down by slowly scanning the appropriate page of
> the program.
>
> At 16, I'd imagine I may have been the youngest listener/viewer these
> shows had.
>
> Howard
>