What began as a community service of Riverside Church of New York City in 1961,
WRVR changed gears in the 70s to become an internationally-recognized jazz
station.  This page is dedicated to the station that launched a renaissance in jazz
music, put many of its air personalities in very high profile work later on, and
provided the relaxing sounds of New York to hundreds of thousands of listeners.
The numbers tell the tale of WRVR, though, as the business side of WRVR dictated
its fate, and in 1980, WRVR became a commercial country station.

My experience with WRVR began in 1977, the day that Elvis Presley died.  On the
air that day was Herschel, Les Davis, G. Keith Alexander, Doug Harris and Rob Crocker.

Also on this page, the sound of WRVR, an On-Air schedule, artifacts, links and remembrances.

WRVRecreated: A WRVR broadcast day on the Internet!
Your webmaster premiered a 24-hour recreated broadcast of WRVR,
complete with a five hour reassembled evening program featuring
Herschel back in June, 2006.  I took four 90 minute airchecks and
edited them together for this program segment.  For the rest of
the day, I used my record collection that came from the WRVR years and put
together a midnight to midnight broadcast.  The program was well received,
in spite of some internet glitches, and at times over 20 people were listening,
with a total of 35 listening part of the day. 

We apologize for the time that comments were not working, email problems have
been fixes.  Leave your comments, suggestions and remembrances here.

 

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On The Air
July, 1977, this was the program schedule for WRVR:

• 6:00 AM   Les Davis
• 10:00 am G. Keith Alexander
• 3:00 PM   Doug Harris
• 7:00 PM   Herschel
• 12:00 AM  Barry Vaughn

WRVR placed 25th in the ratings that summer, with a 1.1 share.

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Artifacts



WRVR "Metropolitan Report" 
from March, 1977.  Click it
to enlarge.
Courtesy Donna Halper

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Links to WRVR Personalities, mentions, etc.

Robert Seigel of NPR, former WRVR Newsman
Rob Crocker - former WRVR personality
John Platt - former Programmer for WRVR
Donna Halper - Air personality, Music Director, Consultant to WRVR beginning in 1977
Batt Johnson - former WRVR Personality

Tom Roberts reports that Les Davis is now on Sirius satellite radio.

 

 

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Remember WRVR

A grass-roots effort, unsuccessful in its application to the FCC, tried to save the WRVR 
format for New York City.  When the music changed, WRVR became a memory.  

Add to this list: do you have web links, pictures, ephemera from WRVR in the 70s?  
How about your memories of WRVR?   Email please and contribute to this web site.

Here are some of those remembrances:

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WRVR-FM, New York - This was my main jazz radio station from the time I became obsessed by 
jazz music (1976) until the walls came tumbling down in late 1980 when, without warning, the announcer 
played a jazz piece just before midnight, and then followed with a country song just after midnight, 
with the station now called WKHK. WRVR's call letters apparently started in 1961 as Riverside Radio, 
with ownership by Riverside Church, whose religious services were covered on Sunday mornings. 
When I started listening, the announcer lineup was powerful, including Max Cole in the early afternoon, 
Les Davis, Knicks basketball player Spencer Haywood during the weekend, and Zulema (sp?)  on the 
weekend. The station moved from playing plenty of hard-hitting jazz, to losing its edge more and more 
as it approached its own death in late 1980.   

Jon Katz, Maryland criminal defense lawyer (www.markskatz.com/crimdefense.htm)

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Hello:

I was having a bit of remembrance the other night and I thought about all the wonderful big band jazz that 
Ed Beech played on WRVR. At the time, I lived in NJ during the early 1970s(?). In any event, I would like to 
get an audio tape of his program if anybody had the foresight to record him. Thanks for any help you can 
provide.

Richard, Napa, CA      fogsf @ sbcglobal .net

Ed. note: If you can help Richard out, email him directly.  Be sure to copy his email address and remove all spaces before sending.

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It's nice to see folks remember this great Jazz radio station. I first started listening to WRVR around 1974. 
It was my musical mainstay. The station provided you with new and old. You could here Duke and Louis on 
some shows, and Chick and Herbie on others. Jazz-rock fusion wouldn't have got the boost in 1970's without 
stations like WRVR. I still somewhat recall when it when off the air. It was 1980, right after Labor Day. It 
was either a Saturday or Sunday morning in early September when I heard Les Davis say "here's one from 
Johnny Cash." I thought I was still drunk from the night before, but I wasn't. In a week or so all of the 
station jocks were replaced, but who cared. I wasn't listening anyway. It was so sudden, a real ambush 
job, and a dark day for jazz fans in New York.

Smitty

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My memories of WRVR are of being in my high school jazz band (Trumpet) Connetquot High School 
(Bohemia, Long Island) and listening to the station from about 11:00pm till about 1 or 2:00am while I mentally 
wrestled with the choice of whether to pursue Graphic Arts or Music Education. Luckily the day I interviewed
for F.I.T. (Fashion Institute of Technology) the two representatives from the school were complete losers. I 
subsequently chose to attend Berklee College of Music and graduated in 1983. I am currently Teaching music 
in Westborough, MA since 1989. I still play trumpet. mostly Trumpet and Organ (weddings) and also in a Motown, 
R&B band which includes two teachers a police officer an EMT a nutritionist and a HVAC specialist. We all still 
love Jazz, but play classic rock R&B at our twice monthly gigs. I love that I found this Website! I remember 
Hershel's voice vividly.... This station was my musical savior at a time when disco and all other rock stations 
were playing down to the "ignorance" of musical consumers. I was introduced to the late Trumpeter Woody 
Shaw on WRVR and have been a Jazz follower ever since!

Paul Tomashefsky - Massachusetts

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What a great site! What a great idea. You can't imagine how alive that radio station IS. I went to get some 
photographs reproduced about a year ago. The guy behind the counter looked at my name and said, "Batt Johnson? 
From RVR?" That is some twenty-three years later.

I have one correction for now with more to follow. Batt Johnson was the first speaking voice on the country station 
(WKHK) that replaced WRVR. John Brejot, the new music director from Texas was on the air just playing music 
without talk. The last jazz song to air was Charles Mingus' "Good-bye Pork Pie Hat." The first country song was 
Waylon Jennings "Are You Ready For The Country." This happened about 10AM September 8th, 1980. As we filed out 
|of a large staff meeting next door at the auditorium of the elementry school with all of the people of WWRL-AM 
and WRVR-FM, there was a large light blue moving van parked outside. They were loading all of the jazz records 
(LPs) into it. Jaws were dropping onto the sidewalk, hearts were breaking and tears were flowing. I entered the 
studio and saw ALL of the phone lights flashing as John continued to play songs without saying a word. He handed 
the studio over to me. I took the microphone and did a back-announce of the previous country songs heard as if 
nothing had happened. I didn't DARE answer ANY of those calls coming in. What was I going to say anyway? I know 
that EVERY SINGLE PERSON on those lines had the same question..."What the____happened?" The rest as they say...

Thanks for listening then, thanks for reading now. 

Batt Johnson 06-16-04

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I wrote an article about the old RVR -- and specifically about the great Ed Beach -- in RADIO and RECORDS 
a year or so ago. Ed lives in Eugene, OR, and thousands of hours of his JUST JAZZ shows are now owned by 
and available from the Library of Congress in DC. 


See my web site, http://home.comcast.net/~willlayman/wsb/html/view.cgi-html2.html--SiteID-1258407.html, to read about Ed.

Will Layman 07-2004

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Hello and thanks for the wonderful page devoted to WRVR. I have a lot of memories of WRVR, mainly from 1979-80 
when my family moved to Long Island. I even have some recordings of a few songs that I will try to convert to mp3. 
I was a big fan of Steely Dan, who were recording in NYC during this time, and I was always calling 'RVR to request 
one of their songs to be squeezed in. The dj's, especially Les Davis, always managed to play the song. 'RVR was very 
experimental towards the end, I remember hearing Hendrix mixed in, also Stevie Wonder. It was a great time for jazz 
crossover music and that niche really died when 'RVR went off the air. They actually left the air at 12 noon, because 
I listened to Les Davis that morning (Sept 8, 1980) before heading off to school. When I got home I remember 
thinking....whoa...bad reception, all I am getting is some country station! All of the dj's at 'RVR were great and 
friendly...I remember Batt Johnson alright, great voice, anyone remember the beautiful Pat Prescott!

Stephen Vincent O`Rourke   07-2004

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ALL HAIL WRVR. I was 19 when I was introduced to jazz by WRVR. I, too, remember the day it "went off the air."
Over the years, I keep up with my favorite spinners -- Pat Prescott and Les Davis specifically. I've lost track of
Les, though. Do you know anything about his whereabouts? If he's still in radio -- jazz or otherwise? Is he still alive?
I know at one point, he was doing a "Live At/From Greenstreet" long ago. Done an internet search and only get
old news. Pat does a show with Dave Koz at 94.7FM. If you know anything about Les, please let me know at e-mail.

By the way, nice site.

T.R. Clark  10-2004

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I grew up in the South. White boy from Chattanooga, Tennessee. In 1972 at age 14 we moved to Long Island
when my dad, a sportswriter, took a job at the New York Times. Went to Uniondale HS and played clawhammer
banjo (was a hick from Tennessee thing).

Jazz became my passion and RVR was the main reason. I really miss Van J (I think the J stood for jaw).
Sure wish I could find the recording of Hallelujah Time the guys used as an intro for one of the shows.

Mike Searcy (Dandridge, Tennessee)  11-2004

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During the seventies & early eighties while living in Manhattan I couldn't begin a day without the wit of
Les Davis & Roberta Altman on current events.

I have yet to hear radio that comes close to the play list RVR, topshelf.

How I mourned after the shock that morning to hear...country music.  As a young budding Art Director I'd been
asked to design a logo for a new "jazz" station a few years later.

Though the station is still alive and quite well I would probably respond in the same fashion...
"I can't design anything that isn't what it is and cd101.9 is NOT jazz.

WBGO was always there, or beginning to be but in New Jersey. WKCR there also though I hadn't wanted earn
a degree while listening.

WRVR was the best and only representation of what a New York jazz station should be. A finger on the pulse
of a true, progressive jazz aficionado.

Much love,
Joanne Jubert  01-2005
 

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GOD BLESS YOU !!!! 'RVR was my most important music teacher.
And just in the last couple of days I have had conversations with fellow musicians about that great station
and how much we miss it and the impact it had on us. Thank you for putting this together. I was brought
to tears listening to the MP3 aircheck you have posted. If you have more of these, please tell me how I
could possibly get them from you.

Peace and blessings, Zo-

Alonzo Wright  02-2005

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I have fond memories of WRVR, not just as a listener but as a musician who got musical support from this
station. I remember calling up Les Davis and asking him to play a tune and he's play it within 10 minutes.
I also remember working at the now defunct Green Street restaurant.  Les did a remote show from the
restaurant. With a moments notice of walking up those steps just to say hello, I was on the air doing an
interview.  WRVR was about exploring different facets of this music called jazz, not just playing the
same stuff over and over again, from straight ahead to contemporary to Brazilian, from Chick Corea
to Chuck Mangione, Herbie Hancock to Dave Grusin, Miles Davis to Ronnie Laws. The first years of
CD101.9 attempted to carry on a tradition set forth by WRVR.  Unfortunately it lasted for a brief
while.  Right now it isn't even a shadow of what it was like then. When a station that use to be so
vibrant, loses that, there is no where to go, nothing to say. I miss WRVR and the air personalities
that brought life and spontaneity to the table. I am forever thankful to have been a part of that history.

Onaje Allan Gumbs/ pianist,composer,arranger,producer   02-2005
 

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"The Sunday Salsa Show" con Roger "Rogelio" Dawson was like going to church. I lived in NYC on 45th St.
in Manhattan and would walk to Central Park with my radio and listen to the unbelievable sounds.

At midnight I would listen to new releases "uninterrupted" from an eclectic mix of artists and genres
like Angie Bofill, Passport, Dave Valentin.....it was great!

The music was fresh, electronics were evolving and the sounds, although heard before, sounded new
and different. Very gratifying and diverse musical points of view.

WRVR, by way of it's Sunday Salsa Show, introduced me to a world of music which I began to understand,
and actively pursue because of the way the DJ's presented the music, the artists, and the genres. The
introductions and studio interviews, the "on location" shows, the venues, these were all a new world of
enlightenment to which this native born Puerto Rican was now hooked.

There was a very personal aspect to the way WRVR engaged their audience and challenged them to prove
their knowledge of music with contests. I remember winning a pair of tickets to see the Jeff Lorber Fusion
with a member named Kenny Gorelick, now known as Kenny G, in New Jersey.

I guess longevity is the ultimate test of quality, and the fact this site exists is a testament to the positive
impact that WRVR made with it's listeners, as well as the people involved with it's development and
success. It sure was a great time in music for me and I'm grateful for the education WRVR provided.

Hopefully, all of the alumni on both the giving and receiving sides are doing well and able to see that
their sentiments are shared by many others who grew up in the NYC area.

Keep the music playing and make sure it's got plenty of SALSA!
 

Angel Matos  02-2005

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Someone on your site mentions wondering what became of Les Davis. I assume "everyone" now knows he
has a daily show on Sirius satellite radio. Before that, a Google search reveals he had a show on Japanese
(!) radio (I would assume done remotely).

Charles 04-2005
The Sea Ranch, CA

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WRVR was one of a kind and I enjoyed listening in the mid 70's. I'm wondering if anyone knows who did the ID
jingles that ran on 'RVR circa 1974? Better yet... does anyone have a dub of the cuts in the clear?

Don 05-2005
Lakewood, OH

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I remember WRVR 106.7 like it was yesterday. No station in the Greater New York City metropolitan area
was playing anything remotely comparable in the late 1970s.  Although I was very young, still in high school
as a matter of fact, WRVR was my first commercial exposure to cutting edge Jazz. I had heard Jazz
practically all of my life, and was in the high school Jazz band. So, I had more than a passing conversance
with the music. No commercial radio stations were playing Jazz fusion in the late 1970s, though, which
probably accounts for its critical acclaim but commercial failure. Nevertheless, Chick Corea,
Return To Forever, Jon Luc Ponty, Noel Pointer, The Jeff Lorber Fusion, Pat Methany, The Jazz  Crusaders,
and a veritable slew of lesser known musicians either got their start or had their music exposed to a
broader audience by WRVR 106.7. The music is so intellectual, though, it will probably never garner the
commercial sucess as genres such as Hip Hop, R & B, Rock, and even Contemporary Gospel. I sure do
miss the music, and the progressive programming made famous by WRVR 106.7. CD 101.9 is but a poor
facsimile. . .

Dennis 05-2005
 

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Great web site. I was an avid listener to WNEW-FM almost from the beginning in October, 1967 with Rosko
and Jonathan Schwartz.  After nearly falling off my chair after listening to John McLaughlin in early 1973,
I switched to jazz fusion and turned on to WRVR and Les Davis. It was a sad day when they switched to
country music. After that  I soured on the whole commercial radio experience and now all I listen to AM talk radio.
CD-101 plays the worst elevator music there is. No creativity or guts to play some hard driving jazz fusion. What a sad commentary.

Keith Lazan  06-2005

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Hey there, great to see a site dedicated to WRVR. It was my brother who turned  me on to the station in
1979.  I was only 13 years old but loved progressive jazz and fusion at the time. I have a cassette tape
from 1980 of WRVR. If you want I can transfer it to a CDR and send it to you. Let me know.

Thanks!

David 08-2005

Ed. note: We've asked David for his aircheck, and when we receive it, we'll post it!

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So Great that you have an article about WRVR and  especially  Les Davis on your site.
I have such great memories of Les' shows. When I was in 3rd grade I  got hooked on Les' show on WRVR.
His program introduced me to Bird and inspired me to take up playing the saxophone. I have
recordings  of Dizzy live and a band called Flying Island that I got  with my boom  box back in 1978
from his show. Flying Island used to camp out at our house and played in the room above our garage.
Les was  ssooooo large.

Robert 09-2005
Grand Haven, MI
 

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I moved to New York from the Caribbean in 1982  and got to know Les Davis through Radio. Les helped
shape my understanding of Jazz. I now teach music in Florida and I often think of Les, the magic and
wealth of knowledge he brought to this music.  Question: Where is Les Davis is he still in radio?
Jazz needs him!

Anthony 11-2005

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I was introduced to WRVR in 1977. I always loved jazz but  it took the RVR commercial format to get me to really become
a customer of the music. I don't know if it makes any sense but when  I'd listen to some of the other stations that played jazz,
I'd listen but it didn't prompt me to go to clubs or buy records. It was as though the music was presented in an "academic"
or some sort of  "objective" studied format. I'd guess offhand that of the several hundred jazz LP's I have the vast majority
of those purchases was because I heard a song from the record on WRVR. I really miss the station. Even now, 26 years later
I still wish I could find a station that plays Jazz in the artful, enjoyable and yet commercial style that WRVR did. I really miss WRVR.

Brendan 2-2006

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Hello.

I just thought it important to tell you that at 5:30am, Sunday July 16, 2006; Max Cole died of complications from
lung cancer. He was 90 years old. Memorial service to be announced.

Many thanks.  Kevin S.  7-2006

Ed note: Max was the Voice of Riverside Church and voiced the Sunday Worship services as well as being the
"jazz impresario" for "Just Jazz" and "More Jazz" on WRVR's earlier incarnation.  A tribute to the service Max
gave to the church is at http://www.theriversidechurchny.org/news/article.php?id=83

Thanks, Kevin.  -LL

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As far as I am concerned...jazz died when WRVR went off the air. I program my own format of jazz after the format of WRVR.
I now live in Tampa, Fl. and I am trying to open a jazz restaurant in the downtown area of Tampa.

Smooth jazz just does not play the variety of songs that WRVR used to play. I am tired of hearing the same songs on all the
smooth jazz formats. I now give away my sampler cd and people love the selections I have chose.

WRVR lives forever in my heart. it was good that after the station went off of the air, Les Davis still provided the same
format from the Green St Cafe. if you would like a cd....let me know.

my format is simple.

old jazz, new jazz, Latin jazz, jazzy love songs, and something jazzy you can dance too. i.e.: Grover Washington Jr's track
.....Check Out Grover.

The music I play is in tribute to WRVR-FM, New York.  What ever happened to Les Davis?

Ric L.  7-2006

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A great site for WRVR! I was a huge fan of WRVR in 1977-1980, and that is how I discovered jazz music at the age of 13! I also remember that sad
day when I turned on my stereo and heard country on 106.7.

I was wondering if you or anyone had any interesting ephemera from WRVR for sale. I recall years ago they sold T-shirts when the station still
had it's jazz format. However, it would be neat to have a poster or something, or even a repro of a poster would be interesting. Couldn't
find anything on ebay, however.

Let me know if you know of anything, I would be very interested.

Cheers, Patrick Jeffery  10-2006

Ed. note: if you can help out Patrick in his search for WRVR-related material, let me know and I'll pass it along!

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I was a freshman at college. My mom had sent me a letter with the newspaper clipping that said RVR had switched formats. I cried.

I now listen to pandora.com on the internet. I have tried to create a station with many of the artists that used to play on WRVR.
You can also listen to this new, online version of WRVR

http://www.pandora.com/?sc=sh99114792788516495

Enjoy!

Don't cry!

Jeff in Connecticut   10-2006

Ed. note: Pandora is a great experiment and Jeff's station deserves a listen!

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What's the liquidation process when a jazz radio station goes off the air (what happens to the music collections?
who can purchase? how to best handle the details, etc)? 

My interest in going forward with locating jazz station collections is strictly from a commercial standpoint and therefore beyond
the jazz fan level. It may involve rewriting the posting along the lines of a newspaper want ad: Buyer seeking to liquidate jazz
station music libraries. Please send details to jking101 @ cox.net for consideration.

Thanks for your input/suggestions.

Jon King 2-2007

Ed. note: Can someone help Jon, if so, contact Jon directly; copy and paste his email and remove any spaces.

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I remember WRVR when it was a non-commercial radio station located at the Riverside Church in the city of New York. The
non-commercial status would last through the '1960s.

In the early '70s, it was believed that WRVR would become the National Public Radio (NPR) station in New York but WNYC,
a station which at the time was owned by the city, became the affiliate of the network.

WRVR became a commercial station. The transmitter was moved from the church to the Empire State Building and they
began broadcasting a format of talk part time and jazz throughout the night and a good deal of the weekend.  Max Cole,
Ed Beach and I believe Les Davis were all on the station at that time.

In 1974, WRVR went jazz 22 hours a day. RVR Evening, the station's news program was retained for a while.

It was a true shock in September of 1980 when the format changed to country and the call letters became WKHK.  I was
dialing around that afternoon and when I heard country music on 106.7 FM, I got lost as to where I was on the dial.
It was amazing.

I want to thank you for this tribute site and everyone who ever worked at RVR for giving us years of wonderful radio
and turning so many on to great music. We will never forget this radio station and what it meant to so many people.

Larry Stoler  2-2007

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My fondest memory was entering WRVR's Big Man Contest in 1976. It was in commemoration of the great Cannonball
Adderley. As the youngest recipient in the group of winners (19 years of age), I felt so sophisticated to be among the
ranks of jazz aficionados. Much of what I learned about this music was gained from hours of pleasurable listening,
particularly to Les Davis. I almost passed out after meeting and witnessing him read something I wrote on the air.
The whole event was a an intense thrill-fest. There was a photograph taken of the winners inside The Village Gate.
I would be so grateful to get a copy of that picture or knowledge about how to search for it. Also, how can Les
Davis be reached?

Barbara L. Gardner  2-2007
New Jersey
 

Ed. note: Les Davis is one of the hosts on the Sirus satellite network on channel 72, Pure Jazz.  Check out
his bio at www.sirius.com  and you'll find his email address there too.  If anyone has the picture Barbara is
talking about, contact me and I'll put you in touch with her!

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Thank you for your site. I found it doing a Yahoo! search. I live in Delaware now but I'm born and raised in Brooklyn NY.
I grew up on WRVR since December 1978. I used to listen to WRVR 24/7. When I joined the Army in 81 and got my 1st
stereo, I wrote on the front of all my albums WRVR 106.7 fm NYC. That was to keep their memory alive. I still have
those albums and no working turntables, lol, 3 are sitting and I keep saying one day lol. I use to record my cassette
tapes to sound like WRVR and even dj'ed on a radio station when I was stationed in Turkey and played what I used
to hear on WRVR. Now all I have to do is learn from my teenage daughters how to download on a iPod . God bless.

Raymond Shellow  6-2007
Delaware

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I was continuity director from 1977 through 1979. Carol Goldfarb hired me...she was the General Manager's Gal Friday
(now there's a term I bet you haven't heard in awhile...) The program director at that time was Dennis Waters. I
worked closely with the copywriter, Robert Kraft. He is now the President of FoxMusic in CA.
This was a perfect environment...was sorry to see it fold and become country and western. We worked with a
great group of talented people. Great to hear Les is still on the air...wonder what happened to his A.M. drive
side-kick Roberta?

Adrienne Wilkins (aka Jones)  6-2007

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I just found this site...WRVR literally was 2 and a half blocks from where I still live. I used to listen to that station all the time.
What memories. Eventually I went to work for WNEW AM but until WRVR went off the air, I continued to listen to it..
and I have to say I have the pleasure of meeting and working with Batt Johnson and Les Davis.

Glenn Crespo 6-2009