WOR-FM, THE FIRST COMMERCIAL FM ROCK STATION PT.6

[Mike Pell]

Alright, with this chapter, Murray the K goes off, after playing a song you will know, that WOR-FM was the first in the country to play, and for a good while it was the only station to play it.
Rosko comes on, doing some scat singing to an instrumental I cannot identify, and he is doing his show live from a club called The Cheetah- I don't know precisely how long that continued.
Now he was the one we didn't know from other stations, and he was the biggest surprise,
His real name was William Mercer, often talked about how he had been a men's room attendant in New Jersey, and went by the name Rosko on air.
He had a very interesting delivery, and did unusual things on his show, some of which I will get to.
For instance, that scat singing to open his very first show here in NYC, and then there was a Lee Michaels song he loved.
He frequently would sing along with it, sometimes in the background other times in the foreground.
I'll play that song, and I expressed my regret that I didn't have an actual tape of him singing with it.
So naturally today I found one...ah life, lol!
If you are interested, in this episode I will play THE song that changed my life!
It was Rosko who played it, and I was completely drawn into it.
I don't know if that has ever happened to you, but it did to me in 1967- and it was when I still didn't have an FM Radio, still listening to someone else's, but now...now it was imperative that I get my own!
So after serious thought, I can confirm what I always suspected and play for you the song that changed everything for me.
And was responsible for my deep and abiding love for our Music that continues to this day.
I just hope YOU like it, lol!
It is almost as if I am trapped in this series, I keep getting new ideas and memories and finding more airchecks
I'd like to do just ONE more hour after this one, but to relate the history of the fascinating WOR-FM properly I may need two more.

 

Here's the link that contains a very personal experience for me, at WLSO.FM:

 

http://wlso.fm/wordpress/archives/2072

 

 

Mike

[Scott]

Hey Mike!!  Love this series, I gotta go back and listen, but I'll first pick up at the end.

 

Though I've never heard of this station, the history is rich and I get that!

 

Procol Harem, love this track!  So out of curiosity, what was the resistance to playing them on other stations? (Assuming it was AM that was afraid of them)

 

Wanna take a mind trip baby?  Hahahahaha, so 60's.  The scat bits are cool too, maybe... just maybe, George Benson was listening at the time?  Things that make you go hmmm.

 

Thanks for the mind excursion Mike!  Now I have to return to reality ...