Jim Sands Has Passed

[Bill O'Neill]

My condolences to Jim’s family. I have fond memories listening to Jim on Saturday nights on WHDH.

The first time I got to work with Jim WHDH I remember marveling at his set up for the program in master control. It was the same control room that was used for the morning an the talk programming. It had turntables that were usually under cover until Jim brought the place to life—speakers blaring, incoming calls onto reel decks, played back over talkups in real-time. Exhausting to watch.

I was on duty til midnight and on a few occasions Jim would invite me to join him downstairs and around the corner from the New England Life Hall studios at the Lenox for a refreshing beverage. A dopey kid in his 20s, hanging with a radio legend like Jim Sands was a master class.

I recall watching Jim in the production studio as he cut station promos, spots, etc. What a pro. And I just recalled that you’d know when he was refueling when he would fire-up the popcorn popper.

It was a sad day when management decided to replace Jim Sands with The Sounds of Sinatra with Sid Marks. I had the unenviable duty of teching the board for that show and voicing the live-read spots as booth. The phones were not happy for many weeks.

Again, my deepest condolences to Jim’s friends and family at this time.

Bill O’Neill

________________________________
From: Boston-Radio-Interest <boston-radio-interest-bounces@lists.BostonRadio.org> on behalf of Mark Watson <markwats@comcast.net>
Sent: Saturday, June 20, 2020 5:37:46 PM
To: 'Boston Radio Group' <boston-radio-interest@lists.bostonradio.org>
Subject: Jim Sands Has Passed

Larry Justice posted on Facebook this afternoon that Jim Sands passed away
yesterday at the age of 87. Jim hosted a Saturday night all request oldies
show on WHDH, with an added Sunday edition later before the station went
more in a news/talk direction. He later did afternoons on the 1150
incarnation of WMEX and his last Boston radio gig was at Oldies 103. In the
1960's he was on WLOB in Portland. A great talent, may he Rest In Peace.

Mark Watson