WBCN 104.1

Before the mid 1960's, WBCN played classical music exclusively. The call letters stood for the Boston Concert Network. The station slowly began to change to an "underground" music format on the night of March 15th, 1968. The first song played to usher in the new "American Revolution" was "I Feel Free" by Cream. At first, the new "American Revolution" format was only heard during the overnight hours... but by the summer of 1968, it encompassed the entire 24 hour programming day. As a part of their new format, WBCN began supporting non-mainstream, investigative reporting and such novel concepts as a show oriented toward prison inmates, health warnings about the hazards of street drugs, and live updates on the traffic problems at Woodstock. By 1975, WBCN had gradually evolved from the underground/progressive format of the 1960's to the more mainstream album-oriented rock format popular in the 1970's. Unlike most rock stations of the era, WBCN still allowed a degree of individual DJ control of the music. Their playlist in general was more varied than many of their competitors. There was some focus on local music and the station was known nationwide for breaking acts like The Cars, Til Tuesday, and U2. By the mid 80's, WBCN had successfully fended off a number of challengers (the hard rocking, but tightly formatted WCOZ, Top 40 Hit Radio WHTT, Classic Rock WZLX, and others) to become/remain the region's top rock station. Many of the DJs, particularly morning "Big Mattress" host Charles Laquidara, were now local celebrities. Laquidara had Billy West on the show on a daily basis, as well as Karlos, the first computer-generated (using Digital Equipment's DECTalk) on-air personality in radio history. The station was more commercial and "programmed" by this point, but still retained some of its progressive energy and edge. By the '90s, WBCN was at a crossroads. With its audience aging, it risked becoming a classic rock focused station and losing its currency as an outlet for new music. For a long time, WBCN successfully balanced new and old music (featuring the slogan "Classic To Cutting Edge.") In the early 1990s, the station began playing the nationally syndicated Howard Stern Show, but played it in the evenings on tape delay instead of during the morning drive. This allowed BCN to retain the "Big Mattress" audience. In early 1995, WBCN made its first major format adjustment since 1968. The old DJs, station IDs, and classic rock were gutted, replaced by an alternative music format featuring new, younger jocks. At the same time, the Stern show switched to the morning. The station lost some of its longtime listeners (who now migrated to the now co-owned WZLX) but quickly gained credibility among many younger people. In the summer of 1999, WBCN moved its format away from alternative music and more towards a modern rock/active rock lean. The station by this time was heavily playing such acts as Godsmack, Korn, Limp Bizkit, and Linkin Park. By the autumn of 2002, certain classic artists, such as Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, and Ozzy Osbourne, were added back in the stations playlist rotation. When Howard Stern left morning radio for satellite, David Lee Roth and then Opie & Anthony were given the morning show spotlight. At the end of 2008, WBCN put a local morning show back on the air for the first time since the mid 90's, moving the successful afternoon show "Toucher & Rich" to morning drive. The history and heritage of the legendary WBCN rocks on into the future. WBCN is the proud flagship station of the New England Patriots Rock Radio Network. Local Boston music can still be heard on Boston Emissions. And BCN continues its tradition of mixing new rock with the classics that have made us The Rock of Boston for over 50+ years.