I first came to Boston in the early 70s. Here is how I remember things from back in the day...
590 - WEEI - Talk, then all news. They were owned by the Celtics at one point if my memory serves me correctly. The name Paul Benzaquin comes to mind.
Their sister station was WEEI-FM (103.3).
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680 - WRKO - Top 40, went talk around 1980. Boston's home for the Drake format. Home of Dale Dorman. Some of the early talkers included Jerry Williams (after leaving WBZ), Dick Syatt, and Gene Burns. (Originally owned by General Tire, before the FCC forced them out of the industry.)
Their sister station was WRKO-FM (98.5) which later became the original WROR.
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740 - WCAS - An eclectic mix of folk, rock and whatever else they wanted to play. Known for their quirky sign-offs, as they were daytime only. Went gospel (WLVG) in the 90s, then finally became WJIB. It's ironic that the original WCAS was once part of the same company that owned WJIB-FM (96.9) before it was sold off.
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850 - WHDH - Before it became WEEI, it was an MOR station, home of morning man Jess Cain and Bob Raleigh (who did either late evenings or overnights, and later went to WBZ (1030.) Some later talkers were David Brudnoy (also WRKO, WBZ) and Larry Glick (who left WBZ for WHDH.) Sister staton at the time was WHDH-FM (later WCOZ, WJMN) (94.5).
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950 - WROL - They were WORL before becoming WRYT and then WROL. A lot of Catholic programming, but on Saturdays it was the Irish Hit Parade with John Latchford. Also the Yankee Kitchen with Gus Saunders.
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1030 - WBZ - Known for covering 38 states. Before they went all news/talk they played music during the day. Carl DeSuze, Larry Justice, Dave Maynard, Bob Raleigh all worked there. Of course we can't forget Jerry Williams and Larry Glick overnights. Sister station was automated top-40 WBZ-FM (106.7)
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1060 - WGTR - Jokingly called "Garabedian's Toy Radio" it was an out of Natick and was a top-40 station, with many incarnations, call letters and formats. During the 80s it was WTTP "Touch Talk People." That was also the butt of a few jokes... then under the Langer group it was WMEX and later WBIX and sold to a catholic group in 2010. I worked at Langer for a number of years... a lot of stories that probably don't belong here... but I digress.
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1090 - WILD - For years, it was one of Boston's leading R&B stations.
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1150 - WCOP - Boston's country station until sometime in the late 70s they became WACQ (Oldies), WHUE (Beautiful Music) WSNY and many more formats and call changes. They finally ended up with the WWDJ call sign, which some of you may remember as a top-40 station in New York/New Jersey. Their sister station at the time was WCOP-FM (100.7).
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1260 - WEZE - Before adopting a Christian format sometime in the late 70s/early 80s, they were a music outlet with varying formats like MOR, easy listening and oldies. Their studio was once the famous fishbowl Boston's Statler building.
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1430 - WWEL - They were easy listening at the time. The station was owned by Arnie "Woo Woo" Ginsburg, so the running joke was that the call letters stood for "Woo Woo Easy Listening." Sister station was WWEL-FM (107.9) which of course became WXKS.
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1510 - WMEX - It was top-40 until about 1976 when it went talk (I seem to recall Avi Nelson here). Ron Robin, Jerry Williams, and (possibly) Larry Glick worked there before moving on. There was a rivalry between WMEX and WRKO in the mid 70s. Tom Allen, "King" Arthur Knight, Gary DeGraide. There are others that I can't think of right now.
590 - WEEI - Talk, then all news. They were owned by the Celtics at one point if my memory serves me correctly. The name Paul Benzaquin comes to mind.
Their sister station was WEEI-FM (103.3).
__________
680 - WRKO - Top 40, went talk around 1980. Boston's home for the Drake format. Home of Dale Dorman. Some of the early talkers included Jerry Williams (after leaving WBZ), Dick Syatt, and Gene Burns. (Originally owned by General Tire, before the FCC forced them out of the industry.)
Their sister station was WRKO-FM (98.5) which later became the original WROR.
__________
740 - WCAS - An eclectic mix of folk, rock and whatever else they wanted to play. Known for their quirky sign-offs, as they were daytime only. Went gospel (WLVG) in the 90s, then finally became WJIB. It's ironic that the original WCAS was once part of the same company that owned WJIB-FM (96.9) before it was sold off.
___________
850 - WHDH - Before it became WEEI, it was an MOR station, home of morning man Jess Cain and Bob Raleigh (who did either late evenings or overnights, and later went to WBZ (1030.) Some later talkers were David Brudnoy (also WRKO, WBZ) and Larry Glick (who left WBZ for WHDH.) Sister staton at the time was WHDH-FM (later WCOZ, WJMN) (94.5).
__________
950 - WROL - They were WORL before becoming WRYT and then WROL. A lot of Catholic programming, but on Saturdays it was the Irish Hit Parade with John Latchford. Also the Yankee Kitchen with Gus Saunders.
__________
1030 - WBZ - Known for covering 38 states. Before they went all news/talk they played music during the day. Carl DeSuze, Larry Justice, Dave Maynard, Bob Raleigh all worked there. Of course we can't forget Jerry Williams and Larry Glick overnights. Sister station was automated top-40 WBZ-FM (106.7)
__________
1060 - WGTR - Jokingly called "Garabedian's Toy Radio" it was an out of Natick and was a top-40 station, with many incarnations, call letters and formats. During the 80s it was WTTP "Touch Talk People." That was also the butt of a few jokes... then under the Langer group it was WMEX and later WBIX and sold to a catholic group in 2010. I worked at Langer for a number of years... a lot of stories that probably don't belong here... but I digress.
__________
1090 - WILD - For years, it was one of Boston's leading R&B stations.
__________
1150 - WCOP - Boston's country station until sometime in the late 70s they became WACQ (Oldies), WHUE (Beautiful Music) WSNY and many more formats and call changes. They finally ended up with the WWDJ call sign, which some of you may remember as a top-40 station in New York/New Jersey. Their sister station at the time was WCOP-FM (100.7).
__________
1260 - WEZE - Before adopting a Christian format sometime in the late 70s/early 80s, they were a music outlet with varying formats like MOR, easy listening and oldies. Their studio was once the famous fishbowl Boston's Statler building.
__________
1430 - WWEL - They were easy listening at the time. The station was owned by Arnie "Woo Woo" Ginsburg, so the running joke was that the call letters stood for "Woo Woo Easy Listening." Sister station was WWEL-FM (107.9) which of course became WXKS.
__________
1510 - WMEX - It was top-40 until about 1976 when it went talk (I seem to recall Avi Nelson here). Ron Robin, Jerry Williams, and (possibly) Larry Glick worked there before moving on. There was a rivalry between WMEX and WRKO in the mid 70s. Tom Allen, "King" Arthur Knight, Gary DeGraide. There are others that I can't think of right now.
