What comes to mind when someone mentions AM radio? Talk shows? Lots of static? The grandparents’ old transistor?
Well, apparently while much of the world was switching over to FM and jumping on board the satellite radio trend, a few committed souls were busy reviving the old forgotten frequencies.
Seasoned WPAT (930) DJ and radio producer Bob “The Answerman” O’Brien, who lives in Secaucus, has been working with other like-minded pros to restore AM radio to its glory days. Specifically, O’Brien and fellow DJ Teddy Smith are reminding listeners there’s no reason great music can’t be played on AM.
He plays CDs, cassettes, 45s, 78s, and even 8-track tapes.
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All-request show
O’Brien hosts an all-request show that gives listeners the chance to experience a live radio show – something that’s rare these days. To generate more revenue, most popular radio stations rely on playlists, prerecorded sets of music that get played by machine. Most DJs today don’t have the freedom to select the music they play, and some listeners have complained that playlists have taken the spontaneity and fun out of FM radio.
O’Brien, who has worked in the industry for 25 years, remembers the days before prerecorded music.
“DJs used to take requests. They used to play things they liked, groups they wanted to give some exposure to,” he recalled. “No two shows were ever the same, because you were always getting different requests from your audience. That was live radio.”
On his show, O’Brien takes requests from listeners who call in. He boasts he either has – or can lay his hands on – almost any song ever recorded. He specializes in music, both hits and obscure tracks, recorded in the 1920s through ’80s, although he says he plays contemporary songs as well.
And in another nod to the past, he plays CDs, cassettes, 45s, 78s, and – get this – 8-tracks tapes. (Note: Readers too young to know what 45s, 78s, and 8-tracks are may want to visit a museum.)
Al Jolson and The Who?
A typical show, he said, could include an Al Jolson recording back to back with something by The Who, followed by a Stevie Wonder B-side.
“I have listeners who call from all over,” O’Brien stated. “Since we’re syndicated, I have listeners as far away as Florida, Canada, Long Island, and then of course right here in Secaucus. And I never know what someone is going to want to hear. But I always do my best to find it, and I usually do. If I can’t find the song and play it that night, I get it for the next show and play it on the next show.”
Frequently, he says, listeners will request a song they’ve heard about, but have not heard themselves.
The show is demanding work and requires a team of assistant producers who help O’Brien run around the studio to dig up requested tunes.
He’s got answers
Despite the emphasis on music, O’Brien and Smith, whose show follows O’Brien’s, both incorporate elements of talk radio into their shows.
Smith invites guests on to discuss a theme or topic and the conversation is broken up with sets of music.
O’Brien offers consumer advice and other help to listeners who are having difficulty cutting government red tape.
“I try to get the information for them,” he said, “that’s how I got the name ‘The Answerman.’ ”
Naturally, in live radio there are bound to be mistakes, he acknowledged.
“I’m very good at what I do,” he said. “But every once in a while I make a mistake. I’m human. And that’s what happens when you’re doing a live show. The listeners always forgive me because, you what they say, ‘At least we know you’re real.’ ”
WPAT is located in Manhattan. O’Brien’s show can be heard from 7 to 9 p.m. Other formats are aired at other hours.
E-mail E. Assata Wright at awright@hudsonreporter.com.