WWZY ("107.1 The Boss") is a classic rock music formatted radio station licensed to Long Branch, New Jersey. The station is simulcast on 99.7 WBHX Tuckerton, New Jersey.
History
1960–1996
WWZY first went on the air on June 1, 1960 as WRLB "Radio Long Branch". At the time, the station's owner was afforded the possibility of broadcasting with 50,000 watts, but he declined, thinking that FM radio had limited potential. Therefore, the station signed on with 3,000 watts from a tower located in Long Branch, New Jersey. The studios were located adjacent to the tower. WWZY still uses the tower site, although the studios are now in Neptune, New Jersey. When the Long Branch 107.1 did not utilize 50,000 watts, the Federal Communications Commission subsequently assigned 107.1s to Briarcliff Manor, New York (north of New York City); Belvidere, New Jersey (near Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania); and Hampton Bays, New York (Long Island). These area 107.1s would later haunt the Long Branch allocation with interference in fringe areas.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, WRLB was a "full-service" station, broadcasting big-band music, high school sports and local news. An Italian program aired on Sunday. Competition was mainly from the Asbury Park Press' radio station, WJLK-AM-FM, which aired similar full-service programming.
In 1968, WRLB revamped its programming continuing with adult "middle of the road" music from 6 a.m. until midnight when it switched to rock/top40 music hosted and pioneered by Charlie Roberts who was the first disk jockey in New Jersey to play rock on a commercial FM radio station; the program was called The Subway (an homage to Dick Summer at WBZ in Boston who was Charlie's mentor when he was at Boston University). His first song selection was "Road Runner" by Junior Walker and the All Stars. On occasion, he would have live in-studio guests including the progressive rock band Vanilla Fudge. His weather guy/sidekick was "Tommy Metro" who was also the station's chief engineer, Tom Tcimpidis.
In 1981, WRLB was sold to Monmouth Broadcasting and became contemporary hit radio, WWUU (known on-air as "U 107"). The station was programmed as contemporary hit radio, but without a strong local presence due to automation. The station was sold again to Jonathan and Elizabeth Hoffman (under the similar name "Mammoth Broadcasting"), and in 1982 became WMJY (Y-107), featuring live local talent playing the hits. Liners for the rechristened station highlighted the station's local presence by touting "The New Live Y-107". Radio personality Sean "Hollywood" Hamilton spent a short time doing afternoon drive at Y-107 in early 1982 before moving onto Z-100 in New York City.
At first, Y-107 maintained You 107's CHR format, but within a few years, Y-107 was a rock station, using the slogan "Rock Hits Home", with special programming on Sundays spotlighting new-age music, blues, psychedelic music, and The Beatles. Disc jockeys at Y-107 in its rock days included John Ford, Linda Jordan, T.J. Brustowicz, Bobbi Stewart, Garrick Hart, Willobee (now Program Director/Operations Manager & afternoon host at KVNV - NV89 in Reno, Nevada), Lauren Pressley, Jason Watt and Thom Morrera. Ian Case hosted a morning show that combined music and comedy bits. Newscasters included Doug Doyle, Rhonda Schaffler (later of CNN) and Matt Ward.
In late 1988, Mammoth sold WMJY to K&K Broadcasting. At the time of its purchase, K&K operated two radio stations in Erie, Pennsylvania. Word had gotten out that a format change was in the works. On January 19, 1989, mention had been made on the air of a rally to be held the following afternoon at the station's studios in downtown Long Branch to save Y-107's rock format. In the early morning hours of January 20, 1989, K&K sent a security guard to remove overnight announcer T.J. Brustowicz from the premises and padlock the doors. The entire staff was fired (many reading of their job loss in the paper that morning), though some announcers and support personnel were eventually hired back. K&K then temporarily instituted a satellite-driven hard rock format called "Z-Rock." Many of WMJY's listeners objected to the firing of the local DJs and the hard-rock format, and petitioned K&K to change it back to classic rock. The new owners refused.
In May 1989, WMJY changed to a local, soft-adult contemporary format called "SeaView 107 FM." The new format featured soft-rock artists with a heavy dose of 1960s and 1970s oldies. Call letters changed to WZVU in June 1989.