Classic Rock, Classic Jocks

       WNEW-FM 102.7 was a cool radio station in the New York tri-state area to say you listened to or to have on when people visited or rode in your car. We knew the DJs and their time slots by heart. They worked very hard to keep their audiences interested and didn't talk down to their listeners. People like Richard Neer, Vin Scelsa, Dave Herman, Dennis Elsas, Carol Miller, Alison Steele (The Nightbird), and Pete Fornatale were prominent on the airwaves.

     These aforementioned DJs began their legendary run in the late 1960s and lasted well into the 1990s. For their last gasp they touted themselves as "Classic Rock, Classic Jocks." It was a nice way of saying they understood what their audiences wanted to hear and would listen to their suggestions. This occurred before the "bean counters" finally noticed how much DJs cost in comparison to "canned" shows and younger, less experienced disc jockeys. The numbers were too obvious to ignore, even if authenticity was thrown out the window and maximizing shareholder value made no sense in the long run. WNEW-FM owners had succumbed to what many firms have done to their own detriment: they defined short-term gain as the only thing which mattered.

     It was sad to hear their last chance to produce ratings. We had so many choices by the 1990s to select from that we forgot how our "old friends" at WNEW had inspired us and cheered us on through our adolescent years. It's easy now to see our error in judgment and how nothing can bring them back. Perhaps we'll be more forgiving to future local phenomena and make room for their easy and appealing presence in our lives. They never harped on how Classic Rock was the only type of music to listen to. DJ Jonathan Schwartz would regularly slip in Frank Sinatra on Sunday evenings. Fortunately, we were fine with this and welcomed the change of pace. I still love the albums they played and will always make time in my music listening to appreciate the music. The lyrics and harmonies still resonate with me and will no doubt last much longer than anyone might have expected back in their heyday.