WTLB Ugly Tie Contest

[oldnewhartfordboy]

For all you old Rock-N-Rollers. Here is a picture of WTLB DJ's in circa 1962 -63. It is the ugly tie contest.
Pictured L-R
Ken Cornell, Don DeRosa (DDR -Emperor DeRosa) Joe Tierno, Dave Bowers
This is from the era of WTLB being the dominate radio station in CNY

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[stoney]

I remember in '67 they were THE station to listen to. I won a WTLB "Good Guys" sweatshirt from Greg McShea.

[bobbbiez]

Yep, WTLB was "THE" best in the area. They use to hold the block dances, if I remember correctly on Wednesdays, at Sylvan Beach.

[kit]

I'd love to see photos of Bill Quinn, Harley Flaum and other WTLB DJs from those early years. I remember moving to New Hartford in the winter of 1951-52. The radio station's call letters were WGAT at that time and it changed to WTLB shortly afterward.

[oldnewhartfordboy]

Bill Quinn has always been camera shy. There was a WTLB reunion a couple years ago. Of course, Quinn didn't show. Ironically, he was one of the most driving forces of the great sound of TLB in the 60's.
He was the program director and afternoon jock for most of those years. I do have some photos of the reunion and the WTLB "OLD GUYS". Also, a mini WRUN reunion of the jocks of the music radio's years of the mid 70's.
BTW, Bill Quinn is still alive (&well) and living in the Syracuse area. There is a WNDR site with his picture on it.
Sadly, Don DeRosa (DDR) passed away a couple months ago. Joe Motto, one of the original WTLB ALIVE FIVE -right after the call letter switch from WGAT, passed away a couple weeks ago. He went on to become the legendary Boom Boom Branigan at WPTR in Albany.

I have a copy of WTLB's Pamms jingles from the Good Guys years of the mid 60's. If interesed, and know a way I can down load them on this site let me know.

[dgriffin]

Dec 4, 2010 18:39:35 GMT -5 oldnewhartfordboy said:

For all you old Rock-N-Rollers. Here is a picture of WTLB DJ's in circa 1962 -63. It is the ugly tie contest.
Pictured L-R
Ken Cornell, Don DeRosa (DDR -Emperor DeRosa) Joe Tierno, Dave Bowers
This is from the era of WTLB being the dominate radio station in CNY

Well, WTLB may have had the dominant station personality in CNY, but with only 1,000 watts daytime, 500 at night, even overmodulating (against FCC regulations), they didn't have a dominant signal. Luckily, the next closest station on 1310 back then was in Ohio, I think. WIBX (a regional 5,000 watt'er)could be heard on 950 in those years all the way to the Massachusetts border (my experience.) TLB might be good to Herkimer in a straigt line down the valley, but sometimes they'd begin to fade on Cornhill!

Re the above picture, I see the short heavy-set Italian fellow was gone by then. Does anyone remember his name? He had a deep radio voice, had been around for years and survived the transition from WGAT easy listening to WTLB's Top 40 ... for a while. He was from an era when voice mattered. After that, DJ's still had to have a voice of sorts, but primarily they had to be young and attract kids to record hops and gas station openings.

[jon hynes]

Dec 5, 2010 12:42:52 GMT -5 @dgriffin said:

I see the short heavy-set Italian fellow was gone by then. Does anyone remember his name?

Would that be Nick Dardano? I went to school with Tony his son at UFA in the early '60s.

[jon hynes]

I'm good friends with Ken Cornell's son. I saw him today and told him that I am sending him the picture.

[Clipper]

That heavy set Italian guy, Nick Dardano didn't only " survive" the switch from WGAT to TLB, he was THE predominant voice of TLB for several years while others came and went.

[dino]

I remember Fred Reed & Rick Montalbano working at the station in the late 60"s. Did Bob O'Donnell work there also?

[dgriffin]

Dec 5, 2010 19:29:35 GMT -5 jon hynes said:

Dec 5, 2010 12:42:52 GMT -5 @dgriffin said:

I see the short heavy-set Italian fellow was gone by then. Does anyone remember his name?

Would that be Nick Dardano? I went to school with Tony his son at UFA in the early '60s.

Yup, Jon. Nick Dardano. And Clipper is right. I saw Nick at the station in '61 and I think he was still there in '63 when I left Utica.

[dgriffin]

Dec 5, 2010 12:21:54 GMT -5 oldnewhartfordboy said:

He went on to become the legendary Boom Boom Branigan at WPTR in Albany.
.

WPTR, Albany! A 50,00 watt clear channel station, and in those days clear channel meant exactly what it said: you had the frequency to yourself on this side of the Mississippi. Today you only have 750 miles, I think.

But WPTR today is a shadow of its former self. It's a Christian Music station and the last time I checked the online FCC data base a few years ago (I'm a radio nut) it still had a 50 KW license, but was down to 1,000 watts operating. With a pretty weird contour that points northwest toward .... nothing!

I pass under the shadow of their towers often when I'm out Central Avenue near where my kids and grandchildren live. They've built a new building on the old site. Their signal is really weak, even driving by in the car.

But I can remember listening to them in Utica. They were an easy catch on the car radio, and up on Deerfield Hill or Smith Hill on a summer night, you were in heaven between two clear channel Top 40 stations, WPTR Albany 1540 and WKBW Buffalo 1590 (I think.)

[oldnewhartfordboy]

WPTR may still be broadcasting at 50 KW. Now days with all the interference on the AM band it's hard to tell, and 1540 is not a great frequency to begin with. They always were very directional. I could never get them in the Utica area but as I traveled north they came in. Back in the day they came in the Old Forge area like a local station especially at night. Don't forget there is a station in Syracuse on 1540 they are protecting. WKBW, now WWKB also, sounds weak on 1520. I can hardly get them at all less than 60 miles from their transmitter. Once again, all the crap and interference on the AM band that wasn't there 40 years ago.

[oldnewhartfordboy]

That heavy set Italian guy, Nick Dardano didn't only " survive" the switch from WGAT to TLB, he was THE predominant voice of TLB for several years while others came and went.

The big daddy host that loves ya the most. He gave Utica-Rome rock & roll on the radio. RIP Nick

[drider]

My sister used to date DJ Bob Stanley from TLB. I don't know how long he was there. mid 60's
Besides TLB, I liked to get WKBW Buffalo and Dick Biandi (spell?) for the latest Top 40. I think
he moved on to the big Chicago station - WLS? For country music WWVA Wheeling W. Virginia
was gettable at 50K watts.