BFYP
DJ Rick Snyder was at home on the turntable at WTRY/Troy, New York, in July 1965. His story is coming up in BFYP Book 2. In the meantime, a couple of tidbits in a sneak preview!
“‘My mother played the piano, my
aunt sang, and I played the trumpet,’ said Rick.
‘But the only music that was constantly available was on the radio.’
“One day he rode his bike across
town to WOLF (Syracuse, New York)
and watched Denny Bracken doing his
DJ thing. (Another station with a studio window on the world.) Denny invited
Rick and his friend into the studio. It didn’t take long—watching the DJ say a
few words while the engineer did all the work—Rick was hooked.
“Rick Snyder is New York radio
through and through … But before hitting WTRY’s airwaves, Rick polished his
platter playing skills at WNDR/Syracuse
NY in 1962, and sailed through WTRX
in Flint, Michigan, prior to scoring the gig in 1964 at WTRY/New York. The
mid-Sixties at one of New York’s most fun radio stations! A DJ’s dream job.”
Featured Radio Survey(s):
Rick was spinning the hot new sounds
of “Unchained Melody” by
the RighteousBrothers, a lot. It’s #1 on our copy of the WTRY Great 98 Big Sound
Survey for July 23, 1965.
So slap some 45s on the turntable,
my “Cara Mia” (BFYP-Book
1 band, Jay
& the Americans @ #14), because “What the World Needs Now”
(Jackie DeShannon @ #15) …
… is love sweet love …
And memories of Independence Day gatherings
and a sultry summer, fifty years ago.
Celebrate this month and …
Enjoy the moment … again!
Share on Twitter: @BlastFromPastBk
Reading Rick Snyders story and having met him and another DJ Lee Gray, I had a good feeling that WTRY was definitely a station with personable DJ's who mixed well with their listeners. I was a member of The Gray Things and WTRY played the hell out of us. Today our song "Charity" is on 8 compilation albums worldwide and We are the only band ever known to include the name of the disc jockey Lee Gray who got us the record deal. My book "The Legendary Gray Things" will be out soon! Mike Olesko
ReplyDeleteHey Mike, thank you for your nice comment and fun bit of radio/Rock history! Yeah it seemed in my chats with Rick and Lee's wife (he'd just recently passed when I interviewed her) that they were a couple of the "good guys" in radio. They loved the music and were always glad to lend a hand to good artists. Let me know when your book is published and I'll work into one of my articles. Feel free to contact me any time. Rock On! LinDee Rochelle
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