By Joe Viglione
As 740 AM (soon to be 720 am) WJIB, 101.3 FM was playing “The Name of the Game” by Abba, I was thinking of half a century back (which is the point of the Memories channel) to when David Robinson of The Cars noted that Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson were “real craftsmen.” That stayed with me, and as I was hearing it again on WJIB, the bass, the overall sound, the craftsmanship survived these past decades.
Now that John H (Garabedian) cultivates/curates the late Bob Bittner’s pride and joy the station is extending its playlist to pretty much all of the 20th Century. Heck, this writer has written over 10,000 reviews yet I learn by listening, John Garabedian is the man, and the listeners are spreading the gospel word of mouth.
You’ll hear “Maggie May,” of course, from Rod Stewart, discovered by Garabedian when he was at WMEX, 1510. Mercury Records was pushing “Reason to Believe,” but John H had other ideas. I don’t even know if Garabedian goes by “John H” anymore, but we radio listeners of old have it ingrained in our heads.
It is amazing that WJIB avoided some conglomerate cannibalizing the signal, local ownership being a rarity. Edward Perry’s WATD – established in 1977 – is still going strong, Easy 99.1 FM Plymouth Rock Broadcasting appears to be still on the air, I hear “Shambala” by Three Dog Night online, but WNSH is long gone on the North Shore, and many others have fallen by the wayside.
Bob Bittner and Donna Halper would have Let’s Talk about Radio on Sunday mornings, Garabedian has instituted Big Bands and Crooners on Saturday nights. So the locally-owned radio stations still have specialty shows which serve the public.
Legend is a word thrown around, and true legends are taken for granted. Bittner and WJIB are legendary, and so is Mr.Garabedian. From the online writings of listeners, and their chatting on the airwaves, John Garabedian is being appreciated, and the station is one of a kind and worth tuning in to.