WLIR was a radio station that played a new music–modern rock format on the frequencies 92.7 FM, 98.5 FM, and 107.1 FM from the 1980s into the 2000s. Bob Wilson, longtime WLIR employee and historian, created the website WDAREFM.COM (Dare FM), which maintains the spirit of the original WLIR. He also programs the music playlist. The website broadcasts a mix of alternative rock from the past and present day, along with former WLIR/WDRE personalities, such as Larry The Duck, Drew Kenyon, Andre, and Rob Rush.
WLIR on FM radio WLIR was best known as an influential radio station that launched the careers of many music acts and disc jockeys from the 1970s through the 1990s. In 1970, it changed to a progressive rock format before switching to a new music/modern rock format in 1982. The station originally broadcast from studios at the Garden City Hotel in Garden City, New York, then 175 Fulton Avenue, Hempstead, New York, 1600 Stewart Avenue, Westbury, New York, and finally, 1103 Stewart Avenue, East Garden City, New York, with its transmitter located at the North Shore Towers in Floral Park, New York.
92.7 FM beginnings (1959–1970) WLIR was founded in 1959 by John R. Rieger. It was licensed to Garden City, New York on the frequency 92.7 FM and played a mix of Broadway show tunes, jazz and light classical music from a basement studio in the Garden City Hotel.
The progressive era (1970–1982)
In spring 1970, announcers Richard Neer and Mike Harrison convinced Rieger to change to a progressive rock radio format, with Harrison as program director. This meant playing obscure artists, playing album cuts instead of just hit singles, and having disc jockeys speak in a casual, conversational tone. The new format debuted on July 1, 1970. The station also began its long-running series of live concert broadcasts from the nearby Ultrasonic Recording Studios and later from local clubs such as My Father's Place and The Ritz. Artists featured on the series included Bruce Springsteen, the Allman Brothers Band, Dr. John, Jackson Browne, the Doobie Brothers, Billy Joel, Hall & Oates and many other notable performers of the era. In addition to the live concert series, WLIR promoted local bands such as the Good Rats.
Neer and Harrison departed for progressive-rock WNEW-FM in 1971. The air staff in the early '70s included program director Ken Kohl, George Taylor Morris, Jim Cameron, Joel Moss, Malcolm Davis (later a longtime Boston radio host as "Austin from Boston" on WODS), Charlie Ahl (WPLJ, WHN and WCBS-FM NYC as Chris Charles), Dave ("The Wrench") Friedman, Ray White, Earle Bailey, production director Ben Manilla, and public-affairs producer Heather Schoen.
As the 1970s went on, many rock stations drifted toward more commercial album-oriented rock formats. WLIR would buck this trend by playing the increasingly popular punk rock and new wave music genres that were being ignored by other rock stations in the United States.
First Confirmation of the murder of John Lennon The first official confirmation of Lennon's death on December 8, 1980, apparently came from WLIR's news director Steve North, according to North and DJ Bob Waugh. North was doing a special comment on the murder of gun control advocate Dr. Michael J. Halberstam, when an intern ran in with the news about Lennon. North then read the AP wire bulletin and spoke several times with a police contact, who was finally able to confirm Lennon had died at 11:24.Steve North, The First Person to Report the Death of John Lennon. Daily Beast, December 8, 2020. Waugh has since released an aircheck from that night.Bob Waugh Shares the news of John Lennon's death live on WLIR (12/8/80). YouTube clip found June 4, 2023.
"Dare to Be Different" (1982–1991) In 1982, it was decided that for the station to move into the future, a format change was needed. Program director Denis McNamara recommended to the station's owner that he choose one of two formats, either progressive adult contemporary music or new music. Although adult contemporary seemed commercially appealing, new music was chosen because it was more in step with the "dare to be different" campaign being used to promote the new format and it was more "fun". Denis and his staff were also playing pieces of new music from England and the NYC CBGB movement starting in the late 1970s, with Denis closely following publications like NME, always wanting to stay ahead of what was trending with new music across the globe. It was a perfect solution to what was needed in New York, since none of the other stations were going to "touch that stuff" On August 2, the format switch occurred, and the station featured new wave (McNamara "hated" that term because he felt it was a trendy phrase that might be out of style in a year), synth-pop, post-punk, early alternative rock acts and novelty songs. The personalities of the disc jockeys became much more upbeat.
The station became known for playing new artists, and occasionally playing singles before other stations. For example, as shown in the 2017 documentary Dare to Be Different - WLIR: The Voice of a Generation (see ), WLIR played the Frankie Goes to Hollywood single Relax just six days after its U.K. release, six months before the record company released it in the United States. The station arranged with a record store in London to get same-day air delivery of new records (years before this was the norm) from Heathrow Airport; WLIR music director Rosie Pisani would drive the to nearby JFK on Thursday afternoons to pick up the records. WLIR also teamed with Dutch East India Trading, an independent record import company in the neighboring village of Rockville Centre, New York, to bring in test pressings before the finished records were mass-produced.
WLIR's listeners could dial in to vote for the "Screamer of the Week", the top new song of the week. New Order, Depeche Mode, Ultravox, Yazoo and Blancmange were early staples of the new music format. According to McNamara, the "entire music industry was looking upon 'LIR and that 'LIR marketplace of New York City and Long Island as one of the hippest music areas of the world. People used to refer to it as the gateway to America if you were an upcoming artist."
WLIR's success had grown the profits of its operators, 1959 founder John R. Rieger and his partner Elton Spitzer's Phoenix Media Corp., with an increasing share of the New York market, major concert promotions and popular dance club promotions. The station's FCC license had been changed to a special temporary authority in 1972 as the result of slow-moving legal battle that had gone dormant later in the 1970s. The legal battle escalated when the station became more valuable, with new entities (not involved in the original 1972 battle) getting involved after 1982, culminating with the FCC revoking Phoenix Media's 15-year "temporary" license in 1987. As a result of this revocation, Jarad Broadcasting wrested control of the broadcast license for frequency 92.7, taking ownership on December 18, 1987. The permanent license did not include the call letters, so the new licensee operated with the call letters WDRE, while Phoenix Media brought the WLIR call letters to an AM radio station in Rockland County, New York. Phoenix Media also took the "Dare To Be Different" slogan as intellectual property, so WDRE's moniker became "New Music First". The "Screamer of the Week" feature became "Shriek of the Week", but WDRE remained committed to new music as they introduced new bands into the next decade, such as Nine Inch Nails and Nirvana.
Alternative rock expands: The Underground Network (1991–1996) In 1991, the station changed its moniker again, this time to "The Cutting Edge of Rock". The explosion in popularity of grunge and alternative rock in the early 1990s led to a period of turmoil. The synthpop-based music on which much of the station's playlist was based was now out of fashion. Alternative rock artists that formerly were played almost exclusively on the station were now being heard on many rock and pop music stations.
In 1992, WDRE started simulcasting its programming with what was 103.9 WIBF-FM Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, which later became WDRE Jenkintown/Philadelphia. In 1995, WDRE created the first alternative rock network, known as the "Underground Network" and consisting of the following stations:
+ Underground Network Call signin 1995 Frequency Broadcast area State Current call sign KDRE 101.1 FM Little Rock Arkansas KDXE WYKT 105.5 FM Wilmington Illinois WYKT WUNX 93.5 FM Mashpee/Cape Cod Massachusetts WFRQ WUNZ 101.1 FM Mashpee/Cape Cod Massachusetts WHYA WWCP 96.7 FM Albany New York WMHH WDRE 92.7 FM Garden City/New York City New York WFME-FM WMRW 98.5 FM Westhampton/Eastern Long Island New York WBZO WIBF 103.9 FM Jenkintown/Philadelphia Pennsylvania WPHI-FM KFTH 107.1 FM Memphis Tennessee KXHT WRLG 94.1 FM Nashville Tennessee WAIV
Notes:
Four years after WIBF became WDRE's first affiliate, the Underground Network was disbanded. In 1996, WDRE switched to an adult album alternative (AAA) format, brought back Malibu Sue (who had been fired earlier by then-program director Russ Mottla), reverted its call letters back to WLIR and changed its moniker to "The Island". That same year, WDRE Philadelphia became a local, independent modern-rock station.
After the Underground Network (1996–2004) In 1997, Jeff Levine was named program director, Gary Cee assistant program director, and night jock Lynda Lopez became music director. New features implemented during this era included Malibu Sue's All-Request Morning, the 5:00 Rush, Flashback Lunch, LIR After Dark, Andre's 9:00 Knockout and "In the Mix," an alternative dance show with DJ Theo and Andre. The station had a different sound during that era, formed by a combination of alternative chart-toppers like Coldplay, Foo Fighters and No Doubt with alternative dance from Daft Punk, Wolfsheim, Moby, Fatboy Slim and others. Gary Cee took over as program director and brought in British DJ The English Muffin (Orli Auslander) for the afternoon drive and Drew Kenyon joined Maria Chambers on the Morning Show. This sound helped WLIR's ratings and would continue until the station's end on January 9, 2004.
Move to 107.1 FM and brief NeoBreeze (2004–2008)
On January 9, 2004, Univision bought the 92.7 frequency and other assets for $60 million and began simulcasting the Spanish radio format of WCAA Newark, New Jersey on 92.7 under the call letters WZAA. WLIR signed off at noon with a special dance version of "Forever Young" by Alphaville. Andre Ferro would be the last DJ heard on the 92.7 airwaves, followed by a message from ownership. The WLIR call letters moved to the 107.1 frequency on Eastern Long Island, which had been simulcasting WLIR for several years. The new WLIR adopted an active/modern rock format and new image as "The Box". As 107.1 FM is located about 50 miles east of the original WLIR in Garden City, many of the station's fans in New York City, southwestern Connecticut, southern Westchester County, New York, northeastern New Jersey and even the western parts of Long Island itself could not easily receive the station. Many of these areas were closer geographically to other stations occupying 107.1 FM (WXPK in central Westchester County and WWZY in Long Branch, New Jersey), which hindered reception.