Bill-O'-Notes® » Radio

WCAP Radio Days 1984

Bill O'Neill — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 17:47:37 +0000

Here’s a classic [proving that 'classic' does not necessarily confer 'talent'] aircheck from December 5, 1984 at WCAP (980 Lowell). It’s unedited so you can hear lots of pops from when the “skimmer” aircheck tape deck turned on and off. Skimmer only record whenever the mic was on and goes into ‘pause’ mode when the mic it turned off. I worked at WCAP for many years. Even when working elsewhere, with few exceptions, I held down radio shifts at WCAP from around 1981 until 2000. Darlene McCarthy, the news anchor on this audio, is now the weekend news anchor for 7 NBC (WHDH TV Boston). Darlene has been a very successful news anchor for many years. During that time at WCAP Darlene and I shared the 6 pm. to midnight shift; I was the music guy and Darlene did top of hour news throughout the evening. It was clear, during her time at WCAP, that Darlene would go very far and she was a pleasure to work with. Download audio file (Bill_ONeill_on_WCAP_980_Lowell_1984.mp3)

Howard Johnson: Under the Orange Roof

Bill O'Neill — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 00:51:37 +0000

I was checking out this HoJo memorabilia site today – it’s at America’s Landmark: Under the Orange Roof. The site mentions that the Lake George, NY Howard Johnson may have opened for its last “season” this summer as it is up for sale. I discovered this 1957 radio jingle for Howard Johnson. Download audio file (Howard_Johnson_1957_Jingle.mp3) Check it out!

Bill-O’-Spot Reel

Bill O'Neill — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 03:21:51 +0000

Here are some selected audio things from, I think, 1995 to 1997. Commercials, stagers, promos, mostly at WCAP (980 Lowell).

WSSH Boston Radioactive Memories

Bill O'Neill — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 04:59:44 +0000

Lost and found. I just dug through a bunch of audio tapes tonight that I didn’t even know that I had saved. I had assumed the tapes were lost in our 2000 move to Vermont. Mostly airchecks from my radio days at WCAP (980 Lowell), the former WSSH (99.5 Boston), and former WHDH (850 Boston). The one I’ve got running now is a March 14, 1987 aircheck from WSSH. It’s ‘scoped’ from 7PM to 1AM which means that the tape only recorded whenever I keyed the microphone and then went into ‘pause’ mode whenever I turned off the mic. So, you get my voice talking into and out of a music set. Download audio file (Bill_ONeill_on_WSSH_Boston_March_1987.mp3) I now notice how often I mentioned that a certain song was “on compact disc.” That’s because the technology was just getting going. In fact, most of the songs you hear were played on “cart” which was a tape cartridge that resembled an 8-Track tape. (Ask an old guy if that still eludes….) Time had a way. I forgot how much I really enjoyed working at WSSH. Like WHDH, it’s no longer a radio station! ”Wish, ninety-NINE point five, WSSH” was based in Lowell, Mass. Continue reading →