Oldies Fans Vindicated In NYC

It's a great day for oldies fans in New York today.

Two years ago, the heart was ripped out of New York oldies fans (and some of us long-distance transplants elsewhere) when its beloved legendary station WCBS-FM was "JACK-ed" to the mixed music format and all of its air personalities gone without a chance to say goodbye. It was like a death in the family to many of us who loved the station and its jocks. We feared it may be gone forever.

But, two things happened. First, the audience continued to speak and remain fiercely loyal, due in part to a New York Radio Message Board forum provided by Allan Sniffen. That gave fans a vehicle in which to continue to share with one another and carry the flame for the music they loved. Second, JACK-FM's ratings in New York continued to slide. Ultimately, CBS Radio President Dan Mason had the courage and vision to right a wrong and restore WCBS-FM's format with a 60s-80s playlist and the return of some of the familiar names like Bob Shannon, Mr. G, Dan Taylor and others. One person said Mason should be given a parade on 5th Avenue.

For me, it's just not New York City without WCBS-FM. It was like cutting a big chunk out of the city and throwing it into Long Island Sound or something. When I would fly into New York on my way to Connecticut to see family, the one thing I looked forward to the most was getting on the Metro North train and tuning my radio into WCBS-FM and enjoying it for as long as I could until the signal started to fade.

WCBS-FM officially returns to the airwaves at 1:01 p.m. Eastern time today. Nice work, everyone who made this happen.