Even as some recent events cast doubt on its future, WCRB-FM (99.5) begins celebrating its past today, marking 60 years on air as one of the country's heritage classical music stations. With a low-key kickoff of on-air reminiscences and vintage audio clips, the station also plans a yearlong celebration with special concerts to be announced during the next few weeks.
When WCRB was licensed to Ted Jones and Charles River Broadcasting on Jan. 30, 1948, the little Waltham-based outlet didn't only play classical music. Instead, the daytime-only station, which then broadcast with 1,000 watts at 1330 AM, also played sports, news, and some popular music. But in those early years, according to program director and weekday afternoon host Mark Edwards, the demand grew for classical music. By 1950, WCRB settled in with classical music full time.
The station was one of a small group of commercial classical outlets across the country that "began their lives as a labor of love" in the 1930s and '40s, says Tom Bartunek, general manager of New York classical station WQXR-FM, which is owned by The
In its early years, WCRB grew fast. Dave MacNeill, the weekend overnight announcer who came to WCRB in 1950, recalls when the station began broadcasting in a version of stereo. It was the summer of 1954, and MacNeill was a student at Boston University as well as a station employee. The station, he recalls, had received permission to up its AM power to 5,000 watts and had also just acquired the FM frequency of 102.5. Another Boston station, WBZ, had done some experiments, but it was WCRB that pushed ahead, broadcasting one channel on its AM frequency and one on its new FM.
In 1960, after the FCC had chosen an FM stereo format from several contenders, WCRB was one of the first to try this new technology, as well.
Because the station had contacts with engineers, it got one of those new transmitters fast, making it the third in the world to go FM stereo, according to MacNeill.
But not all change is positive. This week, for example, the 76-year-old MacNeill decided to give up his position as host of the Boston Symphony Orchestra broadcasts. Although he will continue to script the intermission features and serve as an in-studio host Fridays through Sunday nights, the BSO season has simply grown too taxing, he says.
Listeners may have also noted that another WCRB institution has gone. Ray Brown, who had hosted weekday afternoons since 1993, was let go at the first of the year, says Edwards. And rumors of the station's demise continue to run rampant, particularly because it has been listed since earlier this month with a broker, the Dallas-based Star Media Group.
But Louis F. Mercatanti Jr., president and CEO of WCRB owner Nassau Broadcasting, insists that WCRB will stay on air as a classical station.
"We are looking for the right type of co-investor," he says. "We are looking for folks who share our zeal."
