WBZ NewsRadio 1030 History – 1960′s

Researched and Written by Donna Halper

March 14, 2010 12:46 AM

From The History Of WBZ Radio

Filed under

Heard On WBZ NewsRadio 1030

WBZ History By Decade

The Greatest Air Show On Earth (credit:WBZ Archive Photo)

Bruce Bradley (credit:WBZ Archive Photo)

1960: Bruce Bradley joins WBZ, when the station is still playing middle of the road pop music. Gradually, as the music becomes more top-40, “Juicie Brucie” Bradley’s night-time show becomes extremely popular.

1961: It’s Carl deSuze’s 20th year with ‘BZ! He is given a big party, and he does a re-creation of how his show from the 1940s used to sound.

April 1961: In its annual poll, Radio-TV Mirror Magazine names WBZ’s “The Newsmakers” as “Best News Program.”

June 17, 1962: Westinghouse attempts to buy KFWB but the deal falls through and Westinghouse instead purchases WINS in New York. (WINS will later become the nation’s first all-news radio station.)

July 1962: Westinghouse announces it is ending its operation of Springfield’s WBZA.

September 30th, 1963: Bob Kennedy, who will do talk and public affairs, joins WBZ. His award-winning show called “Contact”, made it’s debut on September 30th, 1963 and featured a wide range of celebrities– from politicians to authors to the day’s biggest newsmakers– appear on it. The call-in number is Algonquin 4-5678. “Contact” remains on the air during most of the decade.

Jefferson Kaye (credit:WBZ Archive Photo)

1964: The WBZ airstaff is Carl deSuze in the morning, followed at 9:30 by Dave Maynard, then Jay Dunn at 12:30, Jefferson Kaye at 3:30, and after a news and information block at 6pm, Contact, and 8:05 Bruce Bradley. Overnight is Dick Summer. During the folk music craze, Jefferson Kaye does a popular Sunday night show called “Hootenanny.”

Gary Lapierre (credit:WBZ Archive Photo)

September 1964: Gary LaPierre joins the news staff, with his first assignment to spend 24 hours with The Beatles.

November 9, 1965: The Northeast Blackout plunges the region into darkness. Only people who have transistor radios are able to tune in to WBZ.

1966: Gil Santos begins doing play-by-play of the Patriots football games.

Summer 1966: Bruce Bradley is broadcasting live in the Sundeck Studio from Paragon Park, Nantasket Beach.

August 18, 1966: The Beatles perform live at Suffolk Downs. Bruce Bradley introduces the show, and in the audience is then-13 year old Joe Kennedy.

1968: Bruce Bradley leaves WBZ! (But he will be back…)

January 1969: WBZ does a series on racial problems in Boston. Newsweek Magazine does an article praising the series.

January 1969: WBZ gets the right to broadcast Boston Bruins hockey, which had been on another station. Veteran announcer Fred Cusick is chosen to do play-by-play.

July 1969: Guy Mainella’s sports-talk show “Calling All Sports” debuts.

1969: Larry Glick promotes Sunkist Lemonade as the “Commander” of the late night airwaves.

Larry Glick Promotes Sunkis (credit:WBZ Archive Photo)

More WBZ History:
Brief History Of WBZ Radio | 1920′s | 1930′s | 1940′s | 1950′s | 1960′s | 1970′s | 1980′s | 1990′s | 2000′s

Gretchen Liberty

Jay Dunn is my father and his passing in Feb 2011 have left a lot of people remembeing his days in radio and especially those days on WBZ. He was truly one of the best in radio for years to come and listening to a WBZ Air Test with im has been very nostalgic ! I hope he’ll be remembered always by his show ending “Put the coffee on honey I’m comin home !” ……
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2010/03/14/wbz-newsradio-1030-history-%e2%80%93-1990%e2%80%b2s/ WBZ NewsRadio 1030 History – 1990′s « CBS Boston

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http://boston.cbslocal.com/2010/03/14/wbz-newsradio-1030-history-1920s/ WBZ NewsRadio 1030 History – 1920′s « CBS Boston

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Robert

Gretchen,

I remember your dad very well from the early 1960s as well as his real estate program which ran for a short time on WOTW in Nashua, NH. I got to meet him in the late l970s..what a gentleman! It’s a shame that we’ll never see talent like that on the radio anymore.
Harvey Gersin

Gretchen,

I just noticed this posting about your Dad, Jay Dunn’s passing a year ago. I worked with him and all the other disk jockeys between 1961 and 1965. I was the research director at that time. We did a lot of live remotes from various locations around Boston in a broadcast trailer. As part of the promotion department under Warren Maurer, I would often be with the guys on the air on location. Sorry to hear about your father. He was a great guy. I got to know him pretty well. Just learned that Dave Maynard died yesterday.

Harvey Gersin