This
page was last updated on November 7, 2005
NOTE: On November 1, 1975, WBAB 1440 AM
changed its call letters to WNYG. As I
write this update, this month is the 30th anniversary of the change
from WBAB-AM to WNYG. I would like to
take this time to wish WNYG a belated 30th anniversary!
I think it is a good idea to briefly look at WNYG’s short-lived Religious/Contemporary Christian Music format of the mid-to-late 1970s as part of this WLIX Christian 54 tribute.
WNYG began life in the late 1950s as WBAB-AM. For most of the next decade and a half at 1440 on the AM dial, WBAB was a Top 40 music station. In 1973, when WBAB-FM switched to an Album-Oriented Rock format, WBAB-AM simply simulcast its sister station’s new programming.
In 1975, following a three-year market study, the Horenstein’s, who owned WBAB, decided to change 1440 AM to a gospel music and religious programming format. The only other religious stations in the New York City/Long Island/New Jersey area in the summer of 1975 were WWDJ and WFME of New Jersey and WPOW of Staten Island, NY.
WNYG’s principal staff in 1975 consisted of the following:
Chairman of the Board/CEO: Sol Horenstein
President: Muriel Horenstein
Vice President/General Manager: Larry Walsh
Station Manager: Chuck Risby
After WBAB-AM began its “New York Gospel” format during the weekend of September 13-14, 1975 with this scheduling setup:
· 6:00 AM to 8:30 AM—“Let the Sun (Son?) Shine In,” featuring gospel music; meditational segments; and news, traffic and weather reports for those on their way to work or school.
· 8:30 AM to 10:00 AM—“Songs in the Morning.” This program block was targeted at housewives and mothers who have just sent their children off to school and their husbands off to work. Programming consisted of inspirational music, poems, and Bible verses.
· 10:00 AM to Noon—“Golden Hours for the Golden Years” Programs airing during this two-hour block included religious interview and call-in shows and information about social services and events for senior citizens.
· Noon to 2:30 PM—Mixed Programming
· 2:30 PM to Sign Off—During the mid-to-late afternoon hours, WNYG programmed primarily for young people coming home from school. Youth forums and Contemporary gospel music aired during this block.
NOTE: WBAB-AM changed its call letters to WNYG on November 1, 1975.
WNYG’s schedule looked something like this in the Spring of 1979:
· 6:00 AM—Sign on, followed by Contemporary Christian Music. This block was briefly interrupted by a fishing report at 6:30.
· 7:00 AM—“The Old Time Gospel Hour” with Jerry Falwell
· 7:30 AM—I need to know what program aired in this timeslot. If anyone remembers, please e-mail me.
· 7:45 AM—“Camp Meeting Hour” with Jimmy Swaggart
· 8:00 AM— I need to know what program aired in this timeslot. If anyone remembers, please e-mail me.
· 8:15 AM--? “Highway to Heaven” with Reverend J.D. Walker (I’m not entirely sure about the timeslot, but I’m certain the show aired in an earlier timeslot on WNYG than it would on WLIX later in 1979.)
· 8:30 AM--? “Hour of Deliverance” with R.W. Schambach. (I’m not entirely sure about the timeslot, but I’m certain the show aired in an earlier timeslot on WNYG than it would on WLIX.)
· 8:45 AM—“Soul Saving Station” with Millie Karpf
· 9:15 AM—“The Believer’s Voice of Victory” with Kenneth Copeland
· 9:30 AM—“No Greater Love,” hosted by Reverend Ross Davi of the Copiague Full Gospel Christian Church. This show was on the WNYG schedule at least since the fall of 1976.
· 10:00 AM—“True Witness” with Reverend Thomas Streightferdt
· 10:15 AM—I need to know what program aired in this timeslot. If anyone remembers, please e-mail me.
· 10:30 AM—Gene Profeta
· 10:45 AM—“Gospel Revivals,” with Reverend Charles Holzhauser
· 11:00 AM—“The Bible Speaks,” with Ferri and Graves
· 11:45 AM—“Midday News”
· Noon to Sign off—Contemporary Christian Music. Lloyd Parker, later of WLIX, was a deejay for WNYG in the late-1970s.
WNYG’s Saturday schedule in 1979 included such shows as “Powerline,” “Rock and “Religion,” and the Saturday version of “The Original Italian Hours.” Following are some highlights from the Sunday schedule in 1979:
· 7:00 AM—“Reach Out Gospel Time,” with Deacon Curtis Jackson
· 7:30 AM—As I recall, there was a radio show in this timeslot that was hosted by Reverend Thurman Jones of St. John’s Baptist Church of Copiague.
· 8:15 AM—“Reverend Wilson Gospel Team,” with Reverend Charles Wilson. This show, which featured lots of gospel music, was quite similar in format to a show which aired in this timeslot in the mid-1970s, “Joshua Baptist Inspirational Time.”
· 9:00 AM—The Bethel A.M.E. Church Program
· 9:30 AM—“The Hour of Deliverance,” with Evangelist Ralph Nichol. (Yes, there were two shows called “The Hour of Deliverance” on WNYG in 1979, and this would prompt a name change for R.W. Schambach’s show at the very end of 1979.)
· 10:00 AM—“The Original Italian Hours,” with Lilla Savona
· 2:00 PM—“The Long Island Greek American Hour, with Teddy Savalas and Christina Savalas-Mamos
· Approximately 3:00 PM to sign off—Contemporary Christian Music
For some reason, the gospel format did not succeed on WNYG in the late-1970s. Once WLIX adopted a religious format in the Spring of 1979, it was really the beginning of the end for WNYG as a gospel station. Therefore, starting on Wednesday, July 4, WNYG would devote its entire afternoon schedule to playing Adult Contemporary pop-rock oldies of the 1960s and 1970s. This pop-rock music package was presented under the name “Memory Radio.” A promotional ad heralding WNYG’s format change appeared in Newsday on July 3, 1979 with the following wording:
Something Special Starts at Noon July 4!
WNYG 1440 AM Radio
Remember the Good Songs With Us!
Over the next four months, WNYG canceled its weekday religious programs, one by one. Apparently, “The Bible Speaks” was the first show to go, since it was already airing on WLIX as “Telephone Time” by late-May 1979. Most of the religious shows canceled by WNYG that summer soon found their way to WLIX.
Sometime between mid-September and mid-October, WNYG moved up its “Memory Radio” start time to 10:30 AM, and more religious shows were canceled to make room for the expanded pop-rock lineup.
The end came for “New York Gospel” at WNYG on Monday, November 12, 1979. On that day, “Memory Radio” was moved to 6:00 AM (sign on time) and relabeled “New York Gold.” The station was now airing secular pop-rock songs all day.
Interestingly, WNYG reinstated a religious format on December 31, 2001.
In 2005, WNYG launched a new website at http://www.wnygspiritofny.com.
Sources:
-Abrams, John. “Rock ‘n’ Roll Station in Babylon Is Converting to Gospel Music Next Month.” New York Times August 17, 1975: 81.
-Kaufman, Bill. “Data II: Gospel Radio” Newsday. September 15, 1975: 7A.
-“Remember the Good Songs With Us” advertisement. Newsday. July 3, 1979; Part II: 26.
-“What is WNYG Radio?” advertisement. Newsday. September 26, 1976; Sports: 20.
