Cousin Brucie is now 82 years old and he is still on the air! He does a nightly show on Channel 6 on Sirius Satellite Radio, which is "60's on 6". Still has the same "cousins" shtick, even though the Brooklyn he espouses is long gone.
Dan Ingram, the Ingram Thingram, laughing and scratching, "on the Dan Ingram Show -- Charge!!"
Ingram had a perfect working relationship between his brain and his mouth. He was amazing to hear. If you couldn't listen all 4 hours at least you had to catch his unique 2:05 PM openers and 6:00 PM closers. Each day was something different... a funny little story, anecdote, over that iconic theme music. Have heard him say his WABC debut was being a fill-in -- and then replacement -- for Chuck Dunaway. "Dunaway went thataway."
According to a friend of mine who has worked in the NY radio scene for years:
"There were a lot of Johnny Darks running around the country during top 40's heyday. The one in New York was on WMCA in the mid '60s. He is deceased at the present time."
Subsurf -
The Johnny Dark you site was not the one I met. "Mine" was flourishing in New York in about 1964-1965, but I can't remember what was his radio outlet.
BTW for those interested, Dan Ingram"s 50th anniversary in broadcasting is NOW.
Here's a couple of website "URL"s dedicated to that. The "rewoundrodio" website will have streaming retrospect s of actual DAN INGRAM broadcasts, from his heyday at WABC MUSICRADIO77 and WCBS FM this July 4th weekend. Hey, that's next weekend, isn't it? BOOKMark THESE SITES AND ENJOY.
8-)
So in the winter of ‘78, Johnny made a (literally) choked-up farewell on the air, and left WRKO for New York's WNBC/660. "WNBC... had the pleasure of working for Bob Pittman (now the CEO of AOL and one of the richest people in America... way to go Bob!) and thanks for giving me my break in New York! And John Lund... a great programmer who finally took us from the next 1... to number one in New York!”
But it was back to Beantown in 1985, as Dark segued to Boston’s WHTT/103.3, playing the hot hits at the former CBS-owned FM (now WODS).
In 1988, he realized the dream of so many of us in owning a station, WHQO “Your Headquarters for Oldies – Oldies 108” in Skowhegan, Maine. But the sun and fun capitol of the world, South Florida, once again beckoned in 1989, where he took to the airwaves as the second jock hired on the new on WFLC, where he's been for almost 10 years, likely a longevity record for any disk jockey at the same station. Hardly any jock stays at the same station for more than a few years these days, but as Johnny tops ten, he “wouldn’t mind staying another ten years. I respect what the station is doing and what they’re playing. WFLC...the South Florida's Coast...great station... very misunderstood by the industry... we don't talk over the intros of the songs ... we have great respect for the music we play... and for the listeners!. I have utmost respect for the company... COX is by far the most professionally run company I've had the pleasure to work for... it's the only company that's run like the big boys in the big cities... you feel like you're in New York or LA when you work for these guys!”
Anyone remember a New York DJ (for a short stint) who called himself "Johnny Dark"? I had drinks and dinner with him and a mutual friend back in the middle 1960's at a great NY restaurant called "La Scala", whose bast-known patron at the time was Joe DiMaggio. The clams oreganata appetizer they served there were out of this world and I returned there many times to have them served to me. All I needed to sustain me were the clams and some great garlic bread.
Posted by Duff at 3:20 am (PDT) on Sun September 6, 2009
I listened to Murray the K's "Swingin' Soiree" on WINS most evenings in the early '60s. He developed his own Pig Latin-ish language called "Me-a-zurray" (as in "Ce-a-zan ye-a-zou de-a-zig e-a-zit be-a-zaby?"). I never did understand why he called his listeners "submarine race watchers", though.
He had a fondness for Frank Sinatra's music, and I think he organized an annual Sinatra marathon at WINS, where they'd play nothing but Sinatra until Frank himself would call in and say "that's enough". Historical accounts I've read disagree, but I think that in 1964 this marathon went on for a month, Sinatra never called, and all the listeners left for rockier pastures like WABC and WMCA. WINS then switched to the all-news format it airs to this day.
Registered users can log in to post comments or submit items for the galleries.
Most people find us by word of mouse. Please share our URL, https://www.bbemuseum.com/museum/ with your friends!
This site is brought to you using 100% recycled electrons.
Registered users can log in to post comments or submit items for the galleries.
There are 12 comments for this item.
Ingram had a perfect working relationship between his brain and his mouth. He was amazing to hear. If you couldn't listen all 4 hours at least you had to catch his unique 2:05 PM openers and 6:00 PM closers. Each day was something different... a funny little story, anecdote, over that iconic theme music. Have heard him say his WABC debut was being a fill-in -- and then replacement -- for Chuck Dunaway. "Dunaway went thataway."
CB in FL
"There were a lot of Johnny Darks running around the country during top 40's heyday. The one in New York was on WMCA in the mid '60s. He is deceased at the present time."
i have listen to the clips you have here
The Johnny Dark you site was not the one I met. "Mine" was flourishing in New York in about 1964-1965, but I can't remember what was his radio outlet.
Here's a couple of website "URL"s dedicated to that. The "rewoundrodio" website will have streaming retrospect s of actual DAN INGRAM broadcasts, from his heyday at WABC MUSICRADIO77 and WCBS FM this July 4th weekend. Hey, that's next weekend, isn't it? BOOKMark THESE SITES AND ENJOY.
8-)
Ingram50
OR
http://77dan.com
Johnny Dark
So in the winter of ‘78, Johnny made a (literally) choked-up farewell on the air, and left WRKO for New York's WNBC/660. "WNBC... had the pleasure of working for Bob Pittman (now the CEO of AOL and one of the richest people in America... way to go Bob!) and thanks for giving me my break in New York! And John Lund... a great programmer who finally took us from the next 1... to number one in New York!”
But it was back to Beantown in 1985, as Dark segued to Boston’s WHTT/103.3, playing the hot hits at the former CBS-owned FM (now WODS).
In 1988, he realized the dream of so many of us in owning a station, WHQO “Your Headquarters for Oldies – Oldies 108” in Skowhegan, Maine. But the sun and fun capitol of the world, South Florida, once again beckoned in 1989, where he took to the airwaves as the second jock hired on the new on WFLC, where he's been for almost 10 years, likely a longevity record for any disk jockey at the same station. Hardly any jock stays at the same station for more than a few years these days, but as Johnny tops ten, he “wouldn’t mind staying another ten years. I respect what the station is doing and what they’re playing. WFLC...the South Florida's Coast...great station... very misunderstood by the industry... we don't talk over the intros of the songs ... we have great respect for the music we play... and for the listeners!. I have utmost respect for the company... COX is by far the most professionally run company I've had the pleasure to work for... it's the only company that's run like the big boys in the big cities... you feel like you're in New York or LA when you work for these guys!”
He had a fondness for Frank Sinatra's music, and I think he organized an annual Sinatra marathon at WINS, where they'd play nothing but Sinatra until Frank himself would call in and say "that's enough". Historical accounts I've read disagree, but I think that in 1964 this marathon went on for a month, Sinatra never called, and all the listeners left for rockier pastures like WABC and WMCA. WINS then switched to the all-news format it airs to this day.
Registered users can log in to post comments or submit items for the galleries.