RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN

[A Joseph Ross]

College students never listened to classical?  I often did.  I also did 
classical music programs at WMUA when I was at UMass.  Around that time 
a radio station in Springfield or Hartford became a WCRB affiliate under 
the callsign WCRX.  And it was someone else on my corridor in the dorm 
who told me about it, so that I started listening.

I'm not sure, but I think WCRX may have formerly been WHCN, the Hartford 
affiliate of the Concert Network.

I've thought for a long time that WBCN and WXHR as classical music 
stations had a major problem in that they depended on advertising 
revenue, but with only an FM signal, they didn't have an audience for ad 
revenue.  WCRB had an AM signal, which gave them a big edge in the 
classical music market, including a  regular drive-time audience.  At 
some point very late in the 1960s Harvey Labs blew up WTAO and made it 
an AM signal for WXHR, but it was too late, and with a daytime only 
signal, didn't have an afternoon drivetime audience year round.

On 11/24/2021 1:13 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote:
> WBCN was struggling in 1968. Not having any affiliation with the BSO
> crippled them and they had overhead paying rent for studio and
> transmitter in the Back Bay while WCRB and WGBH had less overhead.
>
> WBCN as a rock station was spawned by the success a year earlier of
> WTBS-FM ( now WMBR)
>
> FM was entering the mainstream as WJIB became a rating powerhouse
> almost overnight, WKOX-FM flipped from easy listening to Top 40 and
> would become WVBF and WRKO-FM became WROR.
>
> WBCN did upgrade to stereo in 1967 but most classical recordings were
> in mono but flipping to rock opened the door to college students who
> had bought FM tuners for their dorm rooms.
>
> FM was still facing an uphill climb as most car radios only had AM and
> that continued into the late '70s.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Wed, Nov 24, 2021 at 12:16 AM A Joseph Ross<joe@attorneyross.com>  wrote:
>> I wonder if anyone is left who ran the original WBCN and the Concert
>> Network.  I wonder how many people are left, besides me,  who were
>> listeners in those days.
>>
>> On 11/23/2021 12:01 PM, Scott Fybush wrote:
>>> I had a fairly lengthy obit in my column this week.
>>>
>>> On Tue, Nov 23, 2021, 11:52 AM Donna Halper<dlh@donnahalper.com>   wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 11/23/2021 11:01 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote:
>>>>> Al Perry passed away on November 5th
>>>>>
>>>>> https://devitofuneralhomes.com/obituaries/alfred-r-perry/
>>>> I read this in the Boston Globe this morning, and I was surprised-- I
>>>> don't recall anyone mentioning it before.  As a music director, and
>>>> later as a radio consultant, I spent many years working with him and the
>>>> late great Jerry Brenner.
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Donna L. Halper, PhD
>>>> Associate Professor of Communication & Media Studies
>>>> Lesley University, Cambridge MA
>>>>
>>>>
>> --
>> A. Joseph Ross, J.D. · 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 · Newton, MA 02459
>> 617.367.0468 ·http://www.attorneyross.com

-- 
A. Joseph Ross, J.D. · 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 · Newton, MA 02459
617.367.0468 · http://www.attorneyross.com