Greetings.
I'm a new kid on the block here...
I'm also well into middle age and grew up listening to Dan Ingram and (as I entered teenhood) WNEW-FM (tho' I was more fond of the pre-playlist, free-form version of WPLJ)
Oh, we listened to WPLJ too. If memory serves, they started the
tradition of playing Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant" in its entirety
on Thanksgiving. That seemed like a big deal back then. I did do a bit
of dial-hopping, and listened to perhaps a half-dozen different
stations. But as you know, this was well before digital pre-sets, and
as WPLJ and WNEW were essentially on opposite ends of the dial,
eventually I settled on the best one.
You might be interested in:
FM: The Rise and Fall of Rock Radio, by Richard Neer
Although largely focused on WNEW, it also talks about other New York
radio stations (like WPLJ), and even other "free-form" stations around
the country. How can you go wrong with a book that devotes an entire
chapter to Alison Steele?
Speaking of the Nightbird, a couple of years back I found a collection
of MP3s of various snippets of her patter; hearing them again really
took me back. You might try searching for your favorite DJs -- it's
always amazing what one can find out on the Inter-tubes.
And then there's this web site:
www.nyradioarchive.comNews clippings, magazine articles, air checks, and even some lengthy
recordings of DJs' shows. Warning: do not go to this site if you are
busy!