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WEBR: Committee of experts to create a library of artists, titles and composers nel 2 by the time I moved back to Buf- money was fl owing; we had a great Songbook. “And we said, ‘Let’s do it!’ with John Farley; and a treat for fans kids, and I decided, well, I’ve got to falo. We reacquainted ourselves and staff and it was doing wonderful. And So, the two of us went to work.” of jazz, “Jazz on a Sunday Afternoon,” watch the bucks a little bit, because I’ve been dear friends ever since that I rode that all the way up to the day Angelo and Mitchell convened a with Al Wallack, who hosted “Jazz in radio did not pay a lot back then,” Ho- day to this day. It’s just such a won- I retired. I got so lucky at the end of rohoe said. derful thing to be back together with my career. I spent 12 years there with “So I went into the real estate busi- him, here, together, on WEBR. I’m Gannett. It was enough to get my kids ness, owned my own real estate com- over the moon with that. I just love it!” through college without going broke. pany for many years. Retired in 2005. Lillis, longtime weather forecaster We did OK for ourselves with it.” So, spent the next 15 years enjoying at WGRZ-TV, has the afternoon drive Nothing But the Best my retirement, traveling and like slot from 3-6 p.m. at the new WEBR. for WEBR that. Then the pandemic hit and I fi g- On the Road Again Angelo was happy to come out of ured, well, I’m not going to be travel- Angelo went from market to mar- retirement to launch WEBR at its ing in the near future,” he said. ket during his long broadcast career. new location at 1440 on the AM ra- “And then, strangely enough, I got “I was changing jobs at the least ev- dio dial. The station also got a new a phone call from Don (Angelo), and ery three years. Trying to move up, physical address at 1580 Kenmore he said, ‘Would you be interested and I had my own personal goals. On Ave., Buffalo, where Yuhnke also has in coming back and hosting a show air news, DJ, production director, did offi ces for his cab company. WJJL three hours a day.” Horohoe said he talk show for a while. I want to taste had been housed in a small space in answered, “Sure, why not? I’ll give it all. Have an opportunity to see what the Southgate Plaza in West Seneca that a shot.” Horohoe has a deep ra- it’s like at every level of doing this with what could best be called aging dio voice well-suited to the business. business.” equipment. “It’s something I enjoy doing. They From news to on-air talent, even- “First, we bought brand new equip- say if you wake up in the morning and tually his path took him to a favor- ment for the new studio,” Yuhnke you enjoy going to your job, you’ve ite stop, St. Ignace, Michigan, near said. Angelo told the contractor to got the right job.” The vintage microphone from WEBR radio, “The Sound of the City,” now the resort area of Mackinac Island, build two studios, the second one a resides at new studios in Kenmore. For the People where he had the fi rst of numerous duplicate of the fi rst, with a window Angelo says the station plans to posts as station general manager. He between them. The construction had committee of experts to create a li- the Nighttime,” for many years on the introduce specialty programming, changed the format, rebuilt the sta- to ensure the sonic quality of the brary of artists, titles and composers. old WEBR. including live musical performances tion, hired new staff, all skills that he rooms and make them big enough for The committee, a group of program Wallack fi gures prominently in the and a talk show without a talk show would bring to the new WEBR. Along live music or interviews. There’s also directors, musicians and composers, station’s lore about “The Lone Rang- host. Add that in with the variety in the way, he and his family made life- an independent studio in the Niagara worked on compiling the library over er.” Wallack produced an anniversary shows already on air, and you have long friends who they visit to this day. Arts and Cultural Center on Pine Av- the winter of 2019 through middle of broadcast and played the Lone Rang- what Angelo and Yuhnke are bank- All Roads Lead to Buffalo enue in Niagara Falls, where news- June 2020. er in a 1983 live on-air re-creation of ing on as a winning combination In 1978, Angelo and his family re- man Tom Darro and former Falls “We said, ‘Let’s stop now, that’s the show. He said Fran Striker Jr., and a magnet to viewers young and turned to Buffalo after 17 years, when Mayor Vince Anello do their shows enough to launch with,’” Angelo said. son of the man who wrote the radio old. The partners are also exploring his father became ill and eventually on WEBR. “Steve has a studio at home, and he’s series, specifi cally wanted WEBR to an FM component, and Yuhnke is passed away from cancer. What’s Not on the Dial? a tremendous production expert. And do the project. ‘I liked you guys be- spending a lot of time at the antenna Angelo found a job in town at Vinyl Collections – it was his job, then, to digitize all of cause you were the fi rst station to do site on Buffalo Avenue in Niagara WWOL in the Lafayette Hotel in the Basis of the Format the music.” the fi rst script,’ Wallack said Striker Falls, upgrading the transmitter with downtown Buffalo, where he met For the all-important on -air for- What you hear, musically, includes Jr. told him. “Bill Devine (then sta- digital technology. Steve Mitchell, a production director tion manager) called me in and said, Yuhnke said the radio station is there. “And from that day to this day, ‘I think you’re the guy who needs to committed to giving back to the com- he has worked for me at several sta- see how to do this.” So Wallack set up munity. “You know, we’re giving back tions, and for 40 years we have been WEBR’s live broadcast, which took by gentleman who was 99 years old,” planning and working on the develop- place at Striker’s house. Coinciden- Yuhnke said. Former WEBR engi- ment of a format of the station you’re tally, the site was in Strykersville – no neer Don Lange was hired by WEBR listening to now, that we call Stan- relation to the Striker family. Wallack as a as vacation relief transmitter en- dards of Excellence.” recalled some of the actors who rec- gineer in 1941. He eventually rose to From WWOL radio, Angelo went reated that fi rst script live, on air. “I the position of chief engineer. “The to a succession of broadcast execu- remember Dave Waples was in it. family called us and said he wanted tive positions in Western New York, Mark Hamrick, Laurie Githens. Peo- to spend his birthday at the station including WUTV Channel 29, and ple came from around the country and were wondering if we’d let him Sherwin Greenberg Productions as for this. And there was a little kind of see it. We did better than that. We put marketing director, where he met gift shop area and they were buying him on the air and we celebrated his the great actor, director, producer weird collectibles. And it was the 50th birthday,” Yuhnke said. The special and writer Orson Welles. Angelo re- anniversary [of the original broad- event was aired live on Jack Horo- calls that Welles was in Buffalo to do cast]. That’s why we did it,” Wallack hoe’s afternoon show on July 20. a national Dunlop commercial, which said. “I think what’s really made the dif- he completed in one perfect take, Like Wallack, Jack Horohoe also ference in WEBR radio is that we are walked right past a lavish reception The clock at the new WEBR-AM radio station, owned by Kenmore Broad- was an on-air personality in the touching the people,” Yuhnke said. planned in his honor, put on his cape, casting Corp., 1580 Kenmore Ave., Kenmore. WEBR of then and now. “And what’s happening is that they’re strode out the front door into a wait- “I started my radio career kind of fi nding out that we really do care ing cab and drove away. mat, Angelo called on his old friend, all the greats, composers and lyri- in the mid-60s, ’64, and worked for about it. This is not Bill Yuhnke’s ra- Sabres and a Sports Network Steve Mitchell. “Steve and I, we are cists essential to The Great American WEBR from about ’68 to ’71,” Ho- dio station. It’s their station. And that Angelo got a job as general sales old, old radio guys. And when you go Songbook. Angelo rattles off a few: rohoe said. “They changed format, was the whole mission, right from the manager for what became WNYB-TV, back to the early ’60s and forward, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Hoagie went to an oldies format and they start.” Channel 49, Buffalo’s Super Station. when radio was still great fun to Carmichael, Richard Rodgers. Cole brought in new guys, so I was gone,” He and a fellow executive were in the work in, you went on the air and you Porter, Harold Arlen, Stephen Sond- he said. fi nal stages of getting the station on could do things you would never be heim, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Paul “Then I worked as the program the air, having built it able to do today,” Angelo said. “And Simon … the list goes on. Artists go director for WJJL, Niagara Falls, for from the ground up to there were formats, from back in the 1940s to present a short period of time, then decided, become the local Fox a lot of what we’re day: Etta James, Jo Stafford, Diana you know, by that time we had two affi liate. Angelo and doing (now) was on Krall, Beyoncé, Paul McCartney, Mi- his co-worker picked the air back in those chael Bublé … and that list goes on. up the CEO at the days, he said. Record A New Cast of Characters for ONLY ONLINE airport, took him to companies would rou- a Legacy Station a meeting downtown tinely mail records to The lineup of talented hosts begins with his attorney, stations, Angelo said. with the weekday “Morning Show” WEBR alums recall good old days and picked him up “So, over that period with Bob Stilson and Gail Ann Huber Visit the new several hours later to show him the of time … I became a and moves on to “Viewpoint,” with new station, whereupon, as Angelo vinyl collector, and Steve did, too. Tom Darro. “Sixty Minutes with the www.wnypapers.com tells it, the CEO announced, “Guys, So he’s probably got, I don’t know, Mayor, by Vince Anello, takes you I’ve got great news for you. I just 4,000 to 6,000 pristine vinyl, stereo to noon. “Midday Coffee,” features sold the station to the Knox Family.” recordings, and I do, too.” Those Jack Horohoe, “Afternoon Drive,” 1 Bedroom Apartments That ushered in a long association two libraries form the basis of the has Barry Lillis, and the evening with the Buffalo Sabres hockey team Standards of Excellence format that through 7 p.m. is “Coalition Radio,” $FFHSWLQJ and building up the Niagara Frontier WEBR employs. The signal is also a with Nancie Orticelli and Mark Sports Network. rare combination of AM stereo radio, Costantino. Overnight program- $SSOLFDWLRQV Gannett: Hitting a Home Run which Angelo said has an enhanced ming is called “Sound of the %DUNHU&RPPRQV There was a stop at WNED-TV, sonic quality that can be appreciated City,” taking cue from the station’s 4XDNHU5G where Angelo was hired to build an especially online, but also on mono early days. Weekends feature %DUNHU1< advertising sales department under AM radio. specialty program- new PBS guidelines. Then, he came Angelo said doing de- ming with a wide )RULQIRUPDWLRQRUDSSOLFDWLRQSOHDVHFDOO   on board in 1996 at WGRZ-TV, where mographic studies and variety. They \HDUVRIDJHRUROGHU'LVDEOHGUHJDUGOHVVRIDJH Gannett Corp. was just taking over. looking up and down the include “The ,QFRPHTXDOLÀFDWLRQVRIDGMXVWHGLQFRPHZKHQUHQWDODVVLVWDQFHDYDLODEOH Angelo describes the experience Buffalo radio dial of 28 Polish Ameri- $OVRDFFHSWLQJ6HFWLRQ there as the dream job that took him stations brought the ques- can Program, $FFHVVLEOH8QLWV‡2II6WUHHW3DUNLQJ‡/DXQGU\RQ3UHPLVHV to retirement. “I was in dreamland. tions: “What’s not there?” with Andy $SSOLDQFHV &DUSHWLQJ‡&RPPXQLW\5RRP‡3URIHVVLRQDOO\0DQDJHG What a great, great, great company! What doesn’t exist?” “And I Golebiowski; I still have total respect for the way looked at Steve Mitchell, he “What’s Old is :HPDLQWDLQODQGVFDSLQJWUDVKUHPRYDOFRPPRQDUHDFOHDQLQJ VQRZSORZLQJ they did things,” he said. “We bought looked at me, and we said, New Again,” For information, please call for an application. the vision and worked very hard, and ‘Yeah!’ It’s not there at all, in with Bob Nicholas; “Casa Rico,” with eventually, the numbers came. We any way, shape or form.’ Their de- Lenny Rico; the game show “Sound Q&D Management‡800-848-8569 were pushing No. 1 in the market; the sired format is The Great American Decision; “Solid Gold Memories” ‡77<‡1<65HOD\/LQH