I had no idea at the time how lucky I was to grow up in the 60s and 70s in the NYC radio market... while most of my friends were listening to WPLJ (album rock, basically, Stairway to Heaven about once every 2 hours), I was listening to WNEW-FM. The jocks were given a degree of programming freedom unimaginable in today's media world... comparable to but more grown up than a lot of what I used to hear on college radio in the early 80s... Yes, ELP, King Crimson, Kate Bush, Roxy Music, Cocteau Twins, Steely Dan, just as likely to be heard as Dave Edmunds, the Be Stiff artists, and their contemporaries as I mentioned last week. The Wikipedia page does a good not great job of summarizing the station's history.
It really was a remarkable time. Tom Petty was certainly of that time and part of the WNEW rotation.
What do we have now? a bunch of pop/rap which is all mixed for earbuds rather than what we used to play at home and in our cars (with no AC!) good and loud. Always more fun to listen together with others.
I got to New York a little later and didn't listen to the radio as much. But later on discovered WFUV from Fordham U. A lot of indie artists along with folk and blues. I found Susan Tedeschi early from them along with many other new/old artists.
I had no idea at the time how lucky I was to grow up in the 60s and 70s in the NYC radio market... while most of my friends were listening to WPLJ (album rock, basically, Stairway to Heaven about once every 2 hours), I was listening to WNEW-FM. The jocks were given a degree of programming freedom unimaginable in today's media world... comparable to but more grown up than a lot of what I used to hear on college radio in the early 80s... Yes, ELP, King Crimson, Kate Bush, Roxy Music, Cocteau Twins, Steely Dan, just as likely to be heard as Dave Edmunds, the Be Stiff artists, and their contemporaries as I mentioned last week. The Wikipedia page does a good not great job of summarizing the station's history.
It really was a remarkable time. Tom Petty was certainly of that time and part of the WNEW rotation.
What do we have now? a bunch of pop/rap which is all mixed for earbuds rather than what we used to play at home and in our cars (with no AC!) good and loud. Always more fun to listen together with others.
I got to New York a little later and didn't listen to the radio as much. But later on discovered WFUV from Fordham U. A lot of indie artists along with folk and blues. I found Susan Tedeschi early from them along with many other new/old artists.