My Old Radio Station Pulls The Plug - WBCN Boston

By Bruce Kettelle

I am losing an old friend this month. After 40 years WBCN-FM in Boston is going off the air.

We’ve all got our favorite radio stations but how many of them have been around this long.

My relationship with WBCN begins in New Hampshire in the spring of 1974. I had taken a semester off before starting college to “ski bum” in Vermont. Now it was time to crack the books again. In high school we could pick up WMMR in Philly. It helped us study, drive, and keep up on the newest ‘underground music.’

One of my dorm mates was playing 104.1 on his radio and it caught my attention, music I was used to in my Philadelphia suburb. The more I listened the more I realized there was something special. The DJ’s connected, with music that fit the mood of the moment and personalities we could really relate to. It was pertinent, informative and addictive because you didn’t want to miss any snippet since they were rarely repeated.

I soon found there was a campus radio station and, sometimes to the detriment of my studies, I signed up and in a month I found myself ‘on the air’. Fast forward to 1978 I landed in Boston right up the street from the Paradise Theater known for hosting the newest up and coming bands.

My three Boston roommates had all worked at the old college station and longed to make it at BCN. I volunteered and eventually landed the producer job with Matt Siegel’s midday show. Picking most of his music I tried to remember what I liked as a listener and helped him keep it fresh. There was a lot of music to pick from back then, not the narrowly programmed lists of today.

Being in the studio during the famous crossovers between the Big Mattress morning man Charles Laquidera and Matt was always unpredictable. And like their memorable closing line it really was “all in the t-t-t-timing.”

I’ll never forget the Tom Couch and Eddie Gorodetzky lunch song productions. Every day at noon they would overdub a popular song with lyrics usually about Matt and BCN. They even let me sing a couple and wish I could find my copy of “It’s Matty That I Love” sung to Randy Newman’s “It’s Money that I Love.”

When Matt left for greener pastures at KISS-FM I was promoted to music assistant under music director Kate Ingram. I was not to be an on air personality myself but enjoyed finding those new musicians to try on the air and hopefully find the next big thing before anyone else dared to add it to their station.

Those days of innovation have been replaced by corporate formulas to maximize revenue and have finally led to BCN’s fall in the competitive ratings war. Admittedly I haven’t listened to them since leaving Boston in 1985 but have kept in touch with one of my roommates. (Carter became their music director in the late 80’s and is now working at another station in Boston.)

If you were born in the 50’s like me I’ll bet you still remember a progressive radio station that somehow changed your life whether it was WMMX in Cleveland, KSAN in San Francisco, or even WVUD here in Dayton. That trusted friend you could rely on was always there whether you were happy, sad, sleepy, or distracted ready to include you and help you through your day. And the best part is they were everyone’s friend, becoming part of the daily conversation.

On August 13th 2009 the last song will be played and my best friend of many years will change their name and become all sports talk radio. Hopefully the spirit of the station will somehow live on with their planned Internet only broadcasts.

BCN may be gone but will never be forgotten.

Note: On September 25th 2009 there was a reunion for all past employees at the Paradise Club in Boston. We took a few pictures you might enjoy - http://wbcnrocked.blogspot.com/