Rock Out Radio

The WNCN saga is one of the great stories in broadcasting. Grab a cup of coffee and relive the almost forty-year long saga of America's greatest classical music station. WNCN first signed on in 1956 as part of the Concert Network which originated at WBCN in Boston owned by Mitch Hastings. Other stations in the network included WHCN, Hartford, CT, WRCN, Riverhead, NY, WXCN, Providence, and of course, WNCN. Because New York was effectively the country's cultural capital WNCN soon stopped relaying music programs from Boston (continuing with newscasts, however), and started originating its own programs. Gordon Spencer, whose announcing/hosting career at WNCN spanned several decades has written about his experiences at the very onset of WNCN in the fifties. One of the early Music Directors was Albert Fuller the renowned harpsichordist, followed by Brit Maurice Essam, and then David Dubal who guided the music playlist for over two decades. Some of the music presenters during the fifties and sixties included Harry Fleetwood, Gordon Spencer, Bernie Alan, Bill Watson, Matt Edwards, Bob Adams, Max Cole, Chris Borgen, Frank Waldecker, Lucien Ricard, Dana Bate, and many others. The station went through several ownership changes, but the on-air "sound" was surprisingly consistent, largely because the core group remained the same. There was no effort to appeal to a larger...