Bob Grant Will Exit WOR, New York in Early January

[Gloria]

New Yorkers (and former New Yorker/Jerseyans like me) who remember this guy ....time for dancing in the streets!!

http://radio.about.com/b/a/227164.htm

Radio
Bob Grant Will Exit WOR, New York in Early January
Radio Blog


December 14, 2005

Bob Grant Will Exit WOR, New York in Early January
John Mainelli is reporting in this morning's New York Post that Bob Grant, one of talk radio's pioneers, will leave WOR after doing his last show on January 13th. Mainelli says he'll be replaced by "...chef Rocco DiSpirito, who was the central figure in NBC's star-crossed reality show, 'The Restaurant'..."
More: Profile of Bob Grant

[Radio_Lady]

1. Bob Grant was not the first to do talk radio. I believe that claim to

fame in New York, back in the early 1960s, was Barry Gray on WMCA (I worked for him briefly as a production assistant). But perhaps they were on during the same time-frame. Also, in Miami, Florida in the early 1970s, there was a conservative talk host named Alan Courtney (and wife Bernice) who preceded Larry King in the early evening. Larry was on from 11PM to 5AM on WIOD. I replaced him briefly when he was arrested a few days before Christmas, and then went on to WEEI in Boston to become the first full-time female with a daily talk show from 10AM to 2PM Monday through Saturday.
---

"Barry Gray" earned the moniker, “father of talk radio” and though someone else would have started using the telephone as a talk radio tool eventually, Barry Gray did it in 1945.

As the story goes, the technical and legal aspects of using live telephone conversations as part of a radio broadcast were problematic, to say the least, in post-war America. But that didn’t stop Barry Gray from trying and succeeding in putting his listeners on the radio even without WMCA, New York’s knowledge or permission. But when his interview with bandleader Woody Herman caused a sensation, his bosses loved it and he began doing more celebrity interviews. Thus, the call-in show was born.

But that wasn’t the only reason Gray is on this list. During the 1950s, he was an outspoken critic of bigotry, the red scare and incurred the wrath of conservative columnist Walter Winchell. He flew in the face of the establishment and wasn’t afraid to lambaste that which he found hypocritical. He was one of the first talk hosts to utter what many people were thinking but afraid to say out loud.

Gray’s enduring love for his craft kept him on WMCA for 39 years. He would also work at WOR, New York later in his career. If Gray’s contribution to talk radio can be summed up in a sentence it is this: He used his creativity and summoned up the courage to create a style of talk radio that not only proved to be successful then but continues to be utilized by nearly all of today’s talk radio hosts.

Link to:

http://www.talkers.com/greatest/8rgray.htm

[eleny]

2. Long John Nebel was doing talk in the 50s

but for the life of me I can't remember if he ever took calls from listeners, though.

Edit: Just checked Wikipedia and it says that he did take calls on occasion from local NYC listeners.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Nebel

[Radio_Lady]

3. Long John is listed as number 17 of the top 25; Barry Gray was #8.

I did meet him once. I believe he had guests, but can't remember any callers.

Read about him at:

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:nudQgACIqrwJ:www.talkers.com/greatest/17rNebel.htm+Long+John+Nebel&hl=en

The whole list of "Top Talkers" is at:

http://www.talkers.com/greatest/

Thanks for the memories!

[bookman]

5. Thanks Radio Lady

I occasionally listened to Barry Gray when I lived in NJ.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

4. The airwaves will be just that little bit cleaner...

With Bob Grant gone. Not quite Hal Turner, but not for the lack of trying.