The WABC Musicradio Music Remembrance

WABC was a music station from December 7, 1960 until May 10, 1982. For many of us, those were the greatest years in Rock and Roll music. Elvis, The Beatles, The Four Seasons, The Four Tops, The Supremes, The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac...... The list goes on and on.

In its final hour as a music radio station, WABC played a montage of the greatest hits aired on the station over those years. The medley went on for over a half hour without interruption playing brief clips of many of those songs. Every so often a classic WABC jingle played. It was the final music signature for the station as it signed off as the greatest Top 40 radio station of all time.

As the medley played it was as if the music life of the station was passing before our ears.

Here is that medley, in its entirety, as it was recorded off the air from WABC on that day. It begins with a brief introduction from Dan Ingram. At the end Dan and Ron Lundy make a couple of comments about it and give credit to those who produced it.

If your a fan of this era in music or radio, it will give you chills as it rock and rolls you chronologically through the years.

Mp3 

Thanks to Jon Wolfert of JAM for taping and contributing this medley.

Some interesting notes about this medley:

It was originally created by WABC's sister station, WLS in Chicago. At the end you'll hear references to Tommy Edwards as one of the producers. Tommy was then a disc jockey at WLS (he is now Program Director of Arrow 93FM in Los Angeles). WLS used to run the original version of the medley at Midnight every year for New Years Eve as a way to ring in the New Year. It was a tradition for WLS. And, of course, each year they would add more songs to it to reflect the most recent hits.

The WABC engineers added the classic WABC jingles and a few additional songs to tailor it for WABC's final day as a music station.

Tommy Edwards himself contacted the web site on October 5, 1998!

Tommy wrote:

Hey thanks Allan for putting my montage on the WABC site.

I, like you, am a huge fan of WABC. I programmed WLS for a time and changed its name to "Musicradio WLS". I look at the people who worked at WABC with respect and was almost a member myself.

I started working at WOR-FM in 1969 and was called by Rick Sklar and interviewed for a shift. However RKO General wouldn't let me leave.

I eventually left OR-FM and went to WLS in Chicago and was honored to be a friend of Rick Sklar and his wife. We enjoyed movies and dinner quite occasionally.

I created the montage for New Years Eve (as you mention on the web) and when WABC called for a copy for their last music day, I felt honored!!

I think the musicradio website is excellent and you should be very proud.

Tommy Edwards
KCBS-FM
Arrow 93
Los Angeles

WABC Musicradio 77 Home Page