Re: Globe on John Garabedian

["Roger Kirk" <rogerkirk@ttlc.net>]

"SteveOrdinetz" wrote:
> The one book you're talking about was either the spring or summer '71
> one.  John H. had been appointed PD just before that book began.  I
don't
> think WMEX actually beat WRKO, but they came much closer than they
usually > did...perhaps even tying them in some demographics.  I know it
was in the
> early fall of '71 when WRKO made some major format adjustments in
reaction
> to that book.

Oh, Yes! I remember the time well.  WRKO started playing a few LP cuts.
They were accused later in one of the Boston Papers of doing so as a
reaction to WMEX, but Mel Phillips vehemently denied it saying that they
had "always" played LP cuts...

Most of the DJ's brought in their LP's (there was three-foot high stack
at one time) and the production staff spent many hours putting the best
of the best on cartridge.  It was about that time I created a 9:40 edit
of In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida for airplay on the Big 68.  We had Moody Blues,
Emerson Lake & Palmer, Yes, J. Geils & a bunch of other AOR staples.
The format also changed somewhere around then.  Instead of song, spot,
song, spot, etc. - they actually started doing 2 songs in a row around
the format clock.  At one point, Mel Phillips was so paranoid about
WMEX, he actually changed the news rotation to a two-day clock.  Rumour
had it that WMEX was listening to WRKO and if news aired, WMEX mades
sure to have music on for dial-twiddlers.  Also, WMEX reportedly told
their DJ's to never use the number 68 on the air.  So, the temperature
was either 67 or 69, but never 68.