WBCN (FM)

This article is about the station on 104.1 in Boston until August 2009. For 104.1 afterwards, see WBMX (FM).

WBCN

City of license	Boston, Massachusetts
Broadcast area	Greater Boston
Branding	WBCN
Slogan	The Rock of Boston
Frequency	98.5 HD-2 (also on HD Radio) , 100.7 HD-3 (also on HD Radio)
First air date	March 15th, 1968 off air August 12, 2009
Format	Modern rock/FreeForm rock
ERP	9,000 watts
HAAT	349 meters
Class	B
Facility ID	1901
Callsign meaning	Boston Concert Network (original format)
Owner	CBS Radio
Sister stations	WBZ-AM, WBZ-FM, WBMX, WODS, WZLX, WBZ-TV, WSBK-TV
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	wbcn.com

WBCN is a digital-only radio station airing on WBZ-FM HD-2 and on WZLX-FM HD-3 in Boston, Massachusetts and owned by CBS Radio. Before switching to 98.5 HD-2 on 12 August 2009, WBCN ran its rock format for 41 years as an analog radio station on 104.1 MHz (now WBMX). WBCN became a legend in the rock music industry for breaking many bands, most notably U2. WBCN was an modern rock/active rock station that mixed music that has been popular in the modern rock, alternative rock and classic rock genres. Known as "The Rock Of Boston", its two main Boston-area competitors as of 2009 were Album Oriented Rock/active rock WAAF and alternative music stations WBOS and WFNX.

The station went off the FM airwaves on August 12, 2009, with two digital-only robotic streams, one continuing the modern rock format, the other Free Form BCN, airing an eclectic mix of rock and related genres. Free Form BCN began airing live freeform shows in 2010 on 100.7 HD-3 and was re-branded WBCN Free Form Rock in late September 2010. While still digital and largely robotic, the station is live 11am–2pm weekdays, with other occasional live segments.

History

Before the middle 1960s, the station played classical music exclusively. The call letters stood for the Boston Concert Network. One of the on-air personalities at that time was Ron Della Chiesa, who also served as music host and program director. Della Chiesa is still active in classical music broadcasting on WGBH (FM). In 1965, Nathaniel Johnson was appointed Music Director of WBCN by station program director Don Otto. Johnson remained with the station until 1967, just prior to the change-over from classical to easy-listening, and then to rock. Johnson then left WBCN to assume a new position at WGBH.

Golden age of WBCN

The station slowly began to change to an "underground" progressive rock format on the night of March 15, 1968. BCN's first Rock DJ, "Mississippi Harold Wilson" (Joe Rogers), used the station's first slogan, "The American Revolution" and played as the very first song "I Feel Free" by the rock group Cream. At first the new American Revolution format was only heard during the overnight hours, but in mid May 1968 they went full-time. In early June, the station's original air staff including Mississippi, Peter Wolf (who was just starting the J. Geils Band), Tommy Hadges, Jim Parry, Al Perry, and Sam Kopper was joined by Steven "The Seagull" Segal. Segal's arrival was critical to the station's early development since he came in from Los Angeles and San Francisco, where he had been mentored by the legendary west coast DJ Tom Donahue, who was credited with starting the very first underground rock FM station at KMPX the year before. Segal's west coast radical radio consciousness infused the early BCN. In he summer of '68 Kopper was made the station's first program director. That fall, Segal and Kopper hired J.J. Jackson as a disc jockey. Twelve years later JJ would become one of MTV's first VJs. In December 1968, Peter Wolf left to take the J. Geils Band full-time and, introduced to the station by Jim Parry, Charles Laquidara was hired to take over the 10pm to 2am air shift. WBCN began supporting non-mainstream investigative reporting and alternative news coverage, including reports from demonstrations and highly produced, montage news reports. The news department was initially headed by Norm Winer, who later became program director, and later Danny Schechter ("the News Disector"), Andy Kopkind, John Scagliotti, Bill Lichtenstein, and Marsha Steinberg. The station also introduced such novel concepts as a show oriented toward prison inmates, health warnings about the hazards of street drugs, a lost pet-finding service called the Cat and Dog Report, a travelers' aid service called the Travelers' Friend, live updates on the traffic problems at Woodstock, and by 1970, live-to-air concert broadcasts. WBCN's programming in 1971 - 72 bore little relationship to the Billboard top 100 or any other conventional programming. Classical music, jazz or anything else might be played, as long as the skillful DJ's could make it work. For the first time the owners of the station began to sell some time. But there was always tension between the artistic expression of the DJ's and management's need to run a business, resulting in the unionization of the station with the United Electrical Workers in 1971.

Popular legend holds that WBCN was sent a promotional copy of The Beatles' unreleased Get Back album and played it on the air before the release of the album was cancelled. The "album" had been compiled out of material the Beatles recorded in London in January 1969, the same sessions that would be used to create the Beatles' Let It Be album which was released in May 1970. While the existence of the promotional album is apocryphal, the truth behind the broadcast, though less dramatic, is equally as fascinating. In late summer of 1969, WBCN somehow obtained a reel-to-reel tape of a reference acetate of a potential album song lineup prepared by Beatles' engineer Glyn Johns on March 10, 1969. WBCN aired the tape on September 22, 1969. Although WBCN was not the only radio station, or even the first station, to air material from the Get Back sessions — WKBW in Buffalo was the first, and the tapes also aired on WEBN in Cincinnati, WBAI in New York City, and KCOK in St. Louis — WBCN's broadcast of the tapes has been immortalized because it was preserved on a high-quality reel, which spawned several widely-circulated Beatles bootlegs.

By 1975 WBCN had gradually evolved from the underground/progressive format of the 1960s to the more mainstream album oriented rock format popular in the 1970s. Unlike most rock stations of the era, WBCN still allowed a degree of individual DJ control of the music. Their playlist in general was more varied than many of their competitors, there was some focus on local music (also see the WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble), and the station was known nationwide for breaking acts (The Cars, 'Til Tuesday, U2) and setting trends. Oedipus (who had the first punk rock show in the country while at MIT's college station, WTBS) was hired first as a DJ in 1977, and then installed as program director (1981), and helped to break the Ramones, the Clash, the Police, and countless punk and new wave bands out of Boston.

In the period around 1975, John Garabedian, now recognized for the nationally syndicated "Open House Party", was an afternoon DJ on the legendary WBCN-104FM radio station in Boston.

In 1979, the station was purchased by Hemisphire Broadcasting who let go several longtime employees who they determined "non-essential." This set off a local controversy in Boston that resulted in the entire airstaff walking off the air striking in protest. During the walkout, WBCN stayed on the air with substitute DJs imported from several out-of-town Hemisphire sister stations. The protest got local media coverage and the attention of several well-known Boston-based music acts, including The Cars, Aerosmith, and Boston, who got behind the protest. When several large advertisers pulled spots, and the union filed a challenge to Hemisphere's license, pointing out that by forcing the staff out on strike, Hemisphere had created a situation where it couldn't provide the public service it was required to, Hemisphire relented, the fired staffers were rehired and the DJs went back on the air. The protest was over. (It was also rumored that Hemisphere's FCC lawyers had vetoed the course of action advised by Hemisphere's labor lawyers.) Charles Laquidara played "Superman" by the Kinks back to back for an entire show in celebration.

By the mid 1980s WBCN had successfully fended off a number of challengers (the hard rocking but tightly formatted WCOZ, Top 40 Hitradio WHTT, Classic Rock WZLX, among others) to become/remain the region's top rock station. Many of the DJs, particularly morning "Big Mattress" host Charles Laquidara, were now local quasi-celebrities. Laquidara had Billy West on the show on a daily basis, as well as Karlos, the first computer-generated (using Digital Equipment's DECtalk) on-air personality in radio history. Legendary Boston stripper Princess Cheyenne hosted a Sunday night sex advice show that eventually led to one of her appearances in Playboy Magazine in April 1986. The station was more commercial and "programmed" by this point but still retained some of its progressive energy and edge.

By the 1990s, WBCN was at a crossroads. With its audience aging, it risked becoming a classic rock focused station and losing its currency as an outlet for new music. For a long time WBCN successfully balanced new and old music (featuring the slogan "classic to cutting edge"). In the early 1990s, the station began playing the nationally syndicated Howard Stern Show but aired it in the evenings on tape delay instead of during the morning drive. This allowed them to retain their "Big Mattress" audience.

Active rock era

In early 1994, WBCN made its first major format adjustment since 1968. The old DJs, station IDs, and classic rock were gutted, replaced by an alternative music format featuring new, younger jocks; on April 1, 1996, the Stern show was switched to the morning. The station lost some of its longtime listeners (who migrated to the now co-owned WZLX, where former WBCN DJs Laquidara and Carter Alan had gone) but quickly gained credibility among many younger people.

In the summer of 1999, WBCN moved its format away from alternative music and more toward a modern rock/active rock lean. The station by this time was playing some hard rock and Nu metal acts such as Godsmack, Korn, Limp Bizkit, and Linkin Park. By the autumn of 2002 certain classic artists, such as Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, and Ozzy Osbourne, were added back in the station's playlist rotation.

Much of the station's programming focused on syndicated talk shows (former WAAF personalities Opie & Anthony replacing David Lee Roth, who had previously replaced Howard Stern in morning Drive Time). During the autumn months, WBCN became more focused on sports as the station broadcast the games of the NFL's New England Patriots beginning in 1995.

In early 2006, with the Howard Stern morning drive time show gone, WBCN experienced a plummet in Arbitron Ratings that the station had not observed since the late 1970s and early 1980s when it fell behind then rock format competitor WCOZ. The station started to air the syndicated Opie & Anthony morning drive time show. WBCN also launched The Toucher and Rich Show, a new locally produced comedy-based afternoon drive time show starring Fred Toettcher and Rich Shertenlieb. The duo formerly worked together at Atlanta alternative music station WNNX.

In 2007, the station was nominated for the Top 25 Markets Alternative Station of the Year Award by Radio & Records magazine. Other nominees included KROQ-FM in Los Angeles, KTBZ-FM in Houston, KITS, in San Francisco, KNDD in Seattle and WWDC in Washington, DC.

In December 2008 the station stopped airing Opie & Anthony. The morning drive time slot was filled by moving The Toucher and Rich Show from the afternoon to morning. During the following months industry insiders, local media, and even WBCN's on air staff speculated that (in a matter of time) CBS Radio would replace WBCN with another format.

From 1995 through 2008, WBCN was the flagship station of the Patriots Rock Radio Network, which broadcast games of the New England Patriots. Gil Santos, former WBZ sports reporter, did play-by-play, while Gino Cappelletti, former Patriots star, provided color commentary. The broadcasts were produced by Marc D. Cappello. With WBCN's dissolution as an analog station, the Patriots flagship station became WBCN's sister station 98.5 WBZ-FM, "The Sports Hub" on August 13, 2009.

WBCN goes digital-only

On July 14, 2009, CBS Radio announced that WBCN would sign off the 104.1 MHz frequency.

WBCN's last four days on analog radio were celebration and retrospective shows highlighting WBCN's history. Bradley Jay was the last D.J. on the air. The last two songs played were Cream's "I Feel Free" and Pink Floyd's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", followed by a much-used collage of songs with the line "They're really Rockin' in Boston..." and station bits and ID spots used over the years, which then slowed to a halt. The final words were from the late Darrell Martinie, the Cosmic Muffin, saying his tag line, "Over and Out". At 12:05 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on August 12, 2009, the sound went to static and after a few moments a voice read the new station identification: "WBMX, WBMX-HD1, Boston" over the static. The static was broadcast on 104.1, until 2:00 AM. At that time Mix 104.1 began its broadcast, playing Use Somebody by Kings of Leon. Ironically, that song was in heavy rotation on WBCN during the months leading up to CBS Radio's announcement of the station's demise, and continued until the four day farewell began.

HD Radio substations on the FM frequencies changed as well:

• WBCN's 104.1 analog and HD-1 moved to 98.5 (WBZ-FM) HD-2.
• WBCN's Free Form 104, moved from 104.1 HD-2 to 100.7 (WZLX) HD-3 and was renamed Free Form BCN. It is programmed by Sam Kopper, WBCN's first rock program director, and also features past events from the WBCN archives.
• Indie 104.1 on 104.1 HD-3 signed off completely.
• WBMX moved all of its subchannels with it from 98.5 to 104.1: Mix on analog and HD-1, and the 80's channel on HD-2.

This was done to make room for an all-sports talk format at the 98.5 FM frequency, known as 98.5 The Sports Hub WBZ-FM. WBCN's Toucher and Rich morning show began broadcasting on WBZ-FM, on August 14, 2009. WBCN's afternoon DJ, Rob Poole, known on air as "Hardy", announced on his final WBCN show that he will co-host a sports themed show on WBZ-FM Saturday mornings.

The current WBCN (in WBZ-FM-HD2 form) transmits from the tower known locally as “FM-128” in Newton, MA. It shares a master antenna with WJMN (94.5 Boston), WKLB-FM (102.5 Waltham), along with backup transmitters for WBOS, WTKK, WROR-FM, WMJX, and WXKS-FM. Google Maps

In order to keep the intellectual property of WBCN intact, without another station in Boston making claim to it, CBS Radio assigned the WBCN call letters to WFNA 1660 AM in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Charlotte station was a simulcast of WFNZ 610 AM, known then as "The Franchise", an all sports talk station. On September 14, 2009, WBCN-AM split from WFNZ and became "America's Talk", a conservative-leaning talk station.

WBCN Free Form Rock on WZLX HD-3

WBCN Free Form Rock (originally Free Form BCN) is a digital-only radio station broadcasting on the Internet and in the Boston radio market on HD Radio WZLX 100.7 HD-3. The station began airing in 2008, as WBCN Free Form 104, airing, until the demise of the original WBCN, on 104.1 HD-2. Since WBCN's change to digital-only, the station was known as "Free Form BCN" and then "WBCN Free Form Rock" by late September 2010. The station was formatted differently from WBCN's 104.1-FM and HD-1 incarnation, and continues to be different from the current 98.5 HD-2 version. Since its beginning, WBCN Free Form Rock has been formatted to play multiple music genres (including rock, jazz, the blues, and country). From its inception, WBCN Free Form Rock has been advertised to be a replica of the original WBCN format circa 1968 to the early 1990s, playing any song it wants including rock and relative genres. In late 2009, the station begun to increase its DJ'd programming. While it is "robotic" most of the time, it is live from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays, and hinting about the potential for more programming as listenership increases. The DJs have the freedom to play any music they choose.

2011: Attempting a Comeback

In January 2011, WBCN began a slow and thought out campaign to attempt to return to an analog and HD1 digital station. The station's website was redirected to a WBCN themed webpage on the website of sister station WZLX. For the first time in a year and a half, WBCN reached out to its audience asking for listeners/supporters to join their Facebook page in order to gain attention from CBS Radio. Called 11,000 in '11, WBCN announced its goal of gaining 11,000 suporters to its facebook page by the end of 2011. The station said that it was to be the first action in a series. The webpage also teased a big announcement that would come on the January 2, 2011 edition of Boston Emissions on WZLX. That announcement was the return of the WBCN Rock N' Roll Rumble. In March 2011, the webpage and the two WBCN digital stations were once again updated slightly. The webpage saw a slight change in layout, still encouraging people to listen as often as possible, stating "Remember, when you listen to WBCN, you're voting for a full WBCN return! VOTE OFTEN!" The 98.5-HD2 Frequency announced one of its first DJ involved programing since the move from 104.1. Boston Emissions is now re-played on WBCN The Rock of Boston 98.5-HD2 on Mondays at 7:00 pm, and on Thursdays at 8:00 pm on WBCN Free Form Rock 100.7-HD3. The station also boasted about reaching its 43rd year broadcasting Rock music.

Media coverage

"The American Revolution", a documentary film about the cultural, social and political impact of WBCN from 1968 through 1975, is currently in production. The film is gathering historical material and accounts from station members, listeners and others, and is sharing the material online while the film is being produced to facilitate the archival research. The open research and production process that the film is utilizing has led to it being called the "first open source documentary."

Notable station alumni

• Carter Alan 1979–1998 (Music Director 1986–1998; Air Talent, Weekends 1979–1982; Overnights June 1982–January 1983; Evenings 1983–1986)
• Adam Chapman ("Adam12") 2003-2009 (Middays, 9-3), last air talent hired by Oedipus. Currently on WFNX Weekdays 2-7pm
• Tami Heide 1977–1979 1984–1991 Air Talent (Evenings)
• J.J. Jackson 1968–1971 (later one of the first five MTV "VJ's" 1981–1986) (d. 2004)
• Bradley Jay 1984-2009 (weekends/overnights, hosted final FM show)
• Janet Egan King ("Juanita") 1997-2006 (Weekends and Part Time), 2006-2009 (Overnights)
• Sam Kopper 1968-1973 (mornings). 1973-77 (part-time), 1987-1991 (part-time), WBCN's first program director (1968–1970).
• Charles Laquidara 1969–1976, 1978–1996 (host of long-running morning drive time show "The Big Mattress")
• Bill Lichtenstein ("Little Bill") 1970–1979 Air Talent
• Darrell Martinie ("the Cosmic Muffin") 1977–1982 1985–1996 Astrological Reporter (d. 2006)
• Lance Norris 1986–1996 Air Talent (Ask a Bitter Man)
• Oedipus 1976–2004 Air Talent, host of "Nocturnal Emissions" and Program Director from 1981–2004
• Mark "Cali" Calandrello 1998-2005, Promotion Director, Weekends, Event Host
• Princess Cheyenne 1984-1986 host "Ask Princess Cheyenne"
• Rob Poole ("Hardy") 2005-2006 (afternoon drive) 2006-2008 (evenings), 2008-2009 (afternoon drive)
• Mark Parenteau 1978–1997 (Overnight and Later Evenings 1978–1980, Most known for drive time 3:00-7:00 PM shift 1980–1997) became XM Satellite Radio comedy program director
• Ken Shelton 1980–1993 Mid-day air talent, 10:00 AM–3:00 PM
• Billy West 1983–1990 Production and Voice Talent (later, Voice Talent for Nickelodeon cartoon Ren and Stimpy).
• Harold Wilson ("Mississippi Fats") 1968–1977 First WBCN rock DJ.
• Peter Wolf 1968 Air Talent (Lead singer of the J. Geils Band 1967–1983)
• Marc D. Cappello 1992-2009 WBCN New England Patriots Radio Producer
• Duane Bruce 1993-1994
• Don Harrison (Harrison) 1993-1999 WBCN air talent, assistant production director, and New England Patriots Radio Producer (1995–1999)
• John Reilly was the "voice" of WBCN, voicing station IDs and announcements as well as being production director [1][2].

Syndicated shows

• David Lee Roth January 3, 2006–April 21, 2006 (Nationally syndicated morning drive time show)
• Opie and Anthony 2001-2002 (Nationally syndicated afternoon show), 2006-2008 (Nationally syndicated morning drive show)
• Howard Stern 1993–2005 Nationally syndicated morning show (aired evenings March 1993–March 1996, morning drive time April 1, 1996–Dec. 16, 2005) A fan of Charles Laquaidara from his college years in Boston, Stern allowed the station to broadcast his show at night so as not to displace the Big Mattress.

External links

• WBCN website
• Query the FCC's FM station database for WBCN
• Radio-Locator information on WBCN
• Query Arbitron's FM station database for WBCN
• "The American Revolution" documentary film
• Audio of WBCN's last four days
• Boston Emissions, WBCN's local/independent music show (now on WZLX)

Preceded by 1030 WBZ

Radio home of the New England Patriots 1995–2008

Succeeded by 98.5 WBZ-FM