before relocating to Connecticut. PRIOR:
had the distinction of working one day at WDRC - in the news
the air since 2004. afternoon at 3:30. was the longtime afternoon driver (2-8PM) at WPLR before Connoisseur
PRIOR:
On January 9, 2000, he
Ken
after Christmas, 1966. He has appeared on, or done voice work for, television
LEGENDARY RADIO PERSONALITY HOWARD STERN TALKS ABOUT RON ON HIS RADIO SHOW! MO; KADI St. Louis, MO; KMOX St. Louis, MO. in Roanoke that he hosted an evening TV show that featured
Renee DiNino, currently an on-air radio/TV personality who works at The River 105.9, wrote "Rip Mike Stevens what a class act all the way. Boston. Be the first to know latest important news & events directly to your inbox. 84 pages. His wild reputation was legendaryhe left WKBW
he did baseball play-by-play for the Kingston (NC) Blue Jays
MA (Malden High School Class of 1956) he had an interest in
Like many personalities, he cut
In the winter of 2007, WDRC-FM slowly phased out most of the 1980s music, cutting that back to about one every couple hours. WWRC-AM
JOEY
Erie, PA, AFTER:
When Marc Sommers arrived at Musicradio77 WABC in the late spring of 1979 for an on-air audition he had prepared "a ton of material" in hopes of impressing ABC Radio Vice President Rick Sklar and WABC Operations Manager Glenn Morgan. in March, 1999. He replaced the short-lived
Ron was a master of character voices and his
PRIOR:
Locally born and raised in Newington, I have been a part of my community from day 1 - starting in radio as Full time radio personality at the old 106.9 WCCC, host of the TV show, "Connecticut Conversations" and Connecticut Lottery presenter on FOX 61. WKOL Amsterdam, NY; Sound Concepts, Woodbridge, CT. TODAY:
in for other announcers on both AM and FM. is known about this announcer except that he was the overnight
Some of the. years in Bristol he was involved in broadcasting many different
director and head of the music department at WLS. a familiar name and voice when he started at WDRC the night
one of the cuts played on WDRC. GLENN
was hired for 3-8PM, after which he returned to college, graduating
respective audiences to check back and forth between stations
Children's Hour on WDRC early in the 1930s when he
He finished his military service as a Sergeant
in early 2011. Glenn
Janet Dean, a 66-year-old former Hartford resident, remembers the 1960s rock 'n' roll battle playing out between WDRC and WPOP radio. WWUH FM West Hartford, CT; WHCN FM Hartford, CT, AFTER:
shows. December 18, 1971 - October 21, 1972, July-fall
spent many years teaching on the west coast but today lives
Mike
Dick
WARE Ware, MA; WPRO Providence, RI; WREB Holyoke, MA;
His enthusiasm got him a job doing the real deal
R. Jacobson died May 5, 2011 at the age of 62. WDRC on-air personalities such as Grahame Winters, Mike Stevens, Floyd Wright and Rockin' Ron Sedaille were removed from their jobs and the tag line of the station was changed to Classic Hits of . The launch came after a brief loop of the Brass Bonanza theme song of the NHL's defunct Hartford Whalers. to local programming by several months. He and his wife
as women's commentator Claire Gibson. WDRC on-air personalities, from left, Grahame Winters, Mike Stevens and Floyd Wright were dismissed from their jobs Monday with the sale of the radio station. Paul
Read more about
in August, 1960. The format continued throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s virtually unchanged. JOHNSON
Its music playlist once again focused on the 1960s from 1964 on, while also emphasizing 1970s hits and including a few 1980s songs. In April 2010, Joey's nationally syndicated all-night
KDKA AM/TV and WWSW, both Pittsburgh, PA; WAVE AM/TV Louisville,
WJTN
magazine for an opening at WDRC, replacing Bacon
PRIOR:
Cardinal. February 9, 2008 - June 2009. William Jensen passed away on June 24, 2012 while living in
Jack created the the radio-related Hollywood
TODAY:
effort on WICC Bridgeport. Bob
Brad Davis spent more than 40 years as morning host for WDRC-AM in Hartford. get to work on time. June 2003 - December 23, 2013. In the 1950's and 60's most radios were tuned to WIBG Radio 99 in Philadelphia. in Boston that same year at the now defunct Cambridge School/Graham
TODAY:
In October 1956 he hosted Leif Jensen
He earned
After Radio
Personalities. State after earning a Bachelor's Degree in Liberal Arts and
When Haase needed someone to host his early morning program,
as editor for George
A
In between club dates they hosted a morning show
The station also began adding about a dozen or so songs from the 1980s by oldies artists, playing about one every couple of hours. ESPN
a 15 year-old in Norwich, the radio bug bit Paul Ciliano. Thomas Paul Pagnotti died at Maine Medical Center in Portland
CT; American Comedy Network, Bridgeport, CT; WELI New Haven,
(e-mail), ALLAN
Through the Years." click
the Doug Taylor Show. Its willingness to creatively adapt to changing market conditions has only helped ensure the continuity of this pioneering AM and FM commercial radio broadcaster. program weekday mornings from 7-8 o'clock. Leif
singer before going into radio. He returned briefly to WDRC in
He also produced Dan
WCCC Hartford, CT; WHCN FM Hartford, CT; WBCN Boston;
at the age of 13 as an actor! Before retiring, Leif was the booth
AFTER:
Doolittle sold the FM station in 1956 to General Broadcasting Corporation and the AM station in 1959 to Buckley Broadcasting. MA; WCZX Poughkeepsie, NY; WVVE Stonington, CT, TODAY: Chris left WDRC
died on June 6, 2010 at the age of 85. Rabbett
He also wrote a weekly television and
WSPR Springfield, MA; WCCC Hartford, CT, TODAY:
in a coma; read a note
Like
Radio New York, NY; WMEX Boston, MA. Jerry Kristafer still is helping listeners start their days at WJMJ-FM88.9. in the music industry, serving as an executive for Twentieth
A: I was influenced by a lot of great radio personalities. He
"WDRC was a breakout station," said . PRIOR:
moved into an all-night show amidst considerable promotion,
PRIOR:
WINF Manchester, CT; WIBG Philadelphia, PA; WHLW Lakewood,
Jack's
; KPRI San Diego, CA; KGB A/F San Diego,
He hosted the "live and lively" morning drive
PRIOR:
PRIOR:
In August 2000, WDRC-FM stopped using the "Big D 103" name and became known as "Oldies 102.9 DRC-FM." charter member of The Friendly Five, Art's employment
WDRC FM after Mike
Jerry worked
LORSON
PRIOR:
In
A pilot since 1982, he reported traffic for
all-night show based in New York. he hosted "Scene 18" every Friday night at
He was the afternoon
for three months in 1969. Klonk is the station's marketing and promotions director. budget constraints. His wonderful deep voice resulted in a
and Florida. KZLA,
Menu. CT; WQCD New York, NY; WICC and WEZN, both Bridgeport, CT. TODAY:
WELI New Haven, CT, AFTER:
day. Reeth & King
Parker composition which is played every December: "Christmas
& Fay. also worked in record promotion. Roscoe
George Hudson Robinson was born in New Haven on
his note (5-19-00) (e-mail). June 2, 1979 - June 9, 1984. from his daughter (10-15-01). author whose last novel was about radio. He later moved to Boston and was affiliated
Connecticut
In 2014 Gary put a new LPFM station on the air, WMEX, in Rochester,
The Development of Radio, n.d. Collins, Michael. Canton, OH; WJOC Jamestown, NY; WLSV Wellsville, NY; WRUN
Edward T. Howe, Ph.D., is Professor of Economics, Emeritus, at Siena College near Albany, N.Y. PBS: American Experience. Rob
Boston, MA, AFTER:
The original WDRC-FM is now WHCN.[1][2][3]. At WDRC Alice was the receptionist
1994 - October, 2003 &
Man From Mars Productions, RABBETT
In early 1959 the West Hartford resident
his note (8-19-05) (e-mail). He also attended Columbia
Later Alice returned to Hartford. He also
in the Air Force). from Buckley Broadcasting on July 7, 2014, Rob took over the
PRIOR:
Digital Networks in 1998 and was senior producer on the
the war. the midday shift (10A-2PM) formerly held by Grahame
June 10, 1973. WJMJ-FM, the radio station of the Archdiocese of Hartford, announced today that it has hired longtime Connecticut radio personality Jerry Kristafer for its daily morning show. Stu
the country using his real name, "Stephen Capen." White, Thomas H. United States Early Radio History. Early Radio History, n.d. Great Depression and World War II 1929-1945, Goodspeed Opera House Opens Today in History: October 24, A Night to Remember: When the Steamboat Took on the Railroadand Lost, Mad about Shad: Connecticuts Love Affair with an Oily Fish, Charles McLean Andrews and Evangeline Walker Andrews, An Orderly & Decent Government: Significant Events & Developments, 1819-1865, North Stonington: Shunock River and Local Ambitions Powered a 19th-century Mill Town, Five Minutes that Changed Connecticut: Simon Bernstein and the 1965 Connecticut Education Amendment. in Maryland, but they remained close friends until King's
began spinning records at the age of 13 - in his North Carolina
Russell. Kurt
news and sports anchor on WDRC AM's Brad
He left Hartford for a brief
In January 2015 DRC FM rebranded itself as 102.9
visit his web site
RUSSELL
Charlie Parker promised that listeners would have fun when they tuned in, and his new "radio fun" format ruled Hartford's airwaves throughout the 60s and 70s. was a very witty, low-key personality whose WDRC tenure was
at WDRC was during the CBS days, though he began entertaining
ROBINSON
She was heard on WDRC, anchoring
Haven, CT; national program director of Insilco Broadcasting;
Her first assignment was as the station receptionist. Dan joined WDRC when Buckley Broadcasting
interview shows, though. to Red Wolf Broadcasting and Allan stayed with Connoisseur. I didn't know was radio was but I knew those people could make me laugh. He introduced Hartford to his Royal
The cause of death was not revealed but he had been in declining health recently. In 2001, WDRC-FM began playing several songs from the 1970s, adding artists like Billy Joel, Doobie Brothers, Eagles, James Taylor, and others into the mix. South Korea. University's Brooklyn campus and began his radio career in
later he began hosting the wakeup show at WJMJ, the Diocese
[4] At that point, the station focused on hits of 1964 to 1969, with about four songs per hour from the 1955-63 era. changed; his pay was a loaf of the sponsor's bread. On October 30, 1938, the station famously aired Orson Welles War of the Worldsprompting frantic calls to the Hartford Courant from terrified listeners. licensees of a radio station in New Hampshire whose owners
He taught extensively at the
On March 13, 2006 Dan came off the morning
native of Louisville had a vast background standup comedy,
For the original WDRC-FM and its history, see, "Buckley Sells WDRC And CT Stations To Connoisseur", Ledyard broadcaster buys five Connecticut radio stations, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=WDRC-FM&oldid=1130816834, Classic rock radio stations in the United States, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Doolittle Radio Corporation (founder of AM, This page was last edited on 1 January 2023, at 03:03. Contact: 869 Blue Hills Avenue Bloomfield, CT 06002 860.243.1115 June-November, 1990. Jerry Kristafer, the longtime Connecticut radio personality heard for decades on WAVZ-AM, WELI-AM and, most notably, two stays at WDRC-FM, has moved over to God's station. In Ocber 2019 Allan took over the afternoon drive show on
is a published
National DJ day can be a special occasion especially when you're a DJ. Allentown, PA; WHOL Allentown, PA; nightclub circuit, AFTER:
ROB
TODAY:
Davis was inducted into the Connecticut Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame in 2015 Credit: AP. News anchor and host of Mornings With Gary Byron on WDRC's Talk of Connecticut Radio Network. (11-19-21), KENNY
MIKE
WDRC is the oldest continuously operated commercial radio station in Connecticut that uses both AM (amplitude modulation) and FM (frequency modulation) transmissions. He was no stranger to performing. over. GAY
She was a frequent
He starts Monday. In later years he branched into journalism, doing extensive
He was born in
John spent 21 years on the air at KYKY St. Louis before buying
7PM-midnight shift formerly held by Ron
The station had a great sound. A
broadcasting; his assignments included doing play-by-play
1959. voice of station promotions. . KDKA Pittsburgh, PA; WIND Chicago, IL; WMAQ Chicago, IL;
More Robin Quivers. many years before moving to East Longmeadow. Passed Away Arnold Dean, . to see if the records were in sync! After
Art
Kelly." was August 20, 1995 when he phoned in during the 30th anniversary
December 1944 - prior to December 16, 1946. We are ready willing and able to go the extra mile to take your business to the next level. As soon as you hear his voice, you'd understand
where he also worked part-time in radio. Her focus was upbeat, positive shows featuring guests and
This
WGRX
", PRIOR:
PRIOR:
Gary's
JOHN
WKCI Hamden, CT; WAVZ New Haven, CT; WFBG Altoona, PA;
at Big D FM. his sketch comedy. starting on WDRC FM's midday shift for a few months before
all in Boston, MA; WGUY FM Bangor, ME; WMAS FM Springfield,
at WDRC actually preceded the switch to pop music programming
He took over the 7PM to midnight
For the last 50 years, it has been regarded as the industry standard training school for aspiring radio personalities and technicians, including training in . MA; WBRY Waterbury, CT; WAVZ New Haven, CT; WBIS Bristol,
TODAY:
REDDING
various shifts. In 2008, WDRC-FM implemented HD Radio technology. PRIOR:
Radio in Bristol, CT (5-20-11), TED
show was cancelled by Buckley Broadcasting's WOR. WRKO Boston, MA; WSAR Fall River, MA; WFYR Chicago, IL;
His career
WTIC Hartford, CT. TODAY:
is Senior vice-president and Chief Information Officer of
He was a musician in a local group known
the Day. Kangaroo Show,
in Jacksonville, FL (9-11-20) (e-mail). BlogTalkRadio Radio Hostsince Feb 2008 Black Talk Media Project Radio PersonalityFeb 2008 - Jun 2008. 1987 graduate of Olean (NY) High School and 1991 graduate
He spent three-and-a-half years
Paul spent many years
He also did periodic shifts on AM. RAYNOR
Larry's listener Talent Show, LARRY
area allowed him to work with dozens of celebrities arranging
The music was a mix of some currents and oldies, which was typical of the format in those days. Digital Networks, Hollywood
and voicetracking the overnight show. He also
A
Connoisseur is a former owner of WDRC. At WNBC,
The Marconi award is one of the most prestigious honors that the Radio industry has and since 1989 is given to personalities and radio stations for excellence in broadcasting. By August 1948, Billboard Magazine reported listeners
From 1999 to late 2001
Bob Cohen is his real name
WAND
name on his birth certificate was Joseph Aloysius Smythe. Russell was
Klonk (aka Suzanne Moutinho) grew up in West Hartford and
and his girl friend run a daycare center near Minneapolis
While
C.W. WRIV Riverhead, NY; WALK A/F Patchogue, NY. WXCI
. HD2 is known as The Big D, uses old DRC-FM jingles, and plays mostly 1950s to mid-1960s oldies that the main channel does not (though the main channel played a handful of such songs up until its format adjustment in July 2014). TODAY:
100.5 FM WRCH 10 Executive Drive Farmington, CT 06032 Website . NBC affiliate, WSAN. They began
so Joey moved to the evening show but stayed less than a year. relatives). Armed Forces Radio, AFTER:
He left Hartford to join a brand new station
passed away at the age of 67 after a yearlong battle with
prior to July 8, 1989 - August, 1989 ? drive following Chris Rivers
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