WFDU

WFDU (89.1 FM) is a non-commercial, college radio station licensed to Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, New Jersey. Founded in 1971, WFDU's studios are on campus, with transmitter on the Armstrong Tower in Alpine, New Jersey. Following negotiations with New York University and the Federal Communications Commission, an agreement was reached for the two Universities to share the 89.1 dial position on the FM band.

The station’s broadcast signal has a 60-mile radius of its transmitter, within the historic Armstrong Field Lab in Alpine, New Jersey. The AFL is the site of the world’s first FM station, W2XMN, built by the creator of FM technology, Major Edwin Howard Armstrong. And, with an increase in antenna height and the power rise to 3000 kW, WFDU-FM will have a potential reach to 8.2 million people. In August 2015, WFDU launched two new HD channels - HD2, which is called Jazz & What's More (Jazz music) and HD3, which is called Masterworks (for Classical music).

While WFDU(FM) and WNYU share the 89.1 location on the dial, each station maintains separate transmitter and studio facilities as well as discrete programming and personnel.

History

On August 30, 1971 at 12:00 Noon, WFDU (FM) began broadcasting to the New York region and became a laboratory for students of Fairleigh Dickinson University to learn the art and craft of broadcasting. WFDU-FM now broadcasts live 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.^[1]

Because of the popularity of “on-line” and smartphone listening, WFDU (FM) was able to offer up and quickly fill all the time slots that normally fell into the periods when the transmitter was off at 89.1 MHz. The new & improved web & app stream boasts exciting new live programs that run the gamut from Jug Band Music to New Jersey Sounds to various Blues, Rock & Soul shows. WFDU is on iHeartRadio, iTunes Radio, TuneIn.com, and on the WFDU (FM) website, <wfdu.fm>.^[2]

Programming

WFDU (FM) plays wide array of music ranging from Blues & Country/Bluegrass music to RetroRadio, Eclectic, Folk, Gospel, Oldies Rock and Soul/R&B.

Blues

Big Frank Mirra, a well-known Blues musician in the Metro area for over three decades along with former blues radio producer, Music Director of Blues/Roots/American programing, Mike Stokes, serve up tasty treats on Tuesdays on Blues on the Run. Dennis Gruenling is the host of Blues & the Beat, spinning everything from the legends of Chicago-style blues like Muddy Waters, the jump blues styles of Joe Liggins, New Orleans blues of Fats Domino, and even some vocal blues and R&B from the likes of The Spiders every Thursday. Friday Night Live is a veritable interactive playbill for what’s happening, particularly in blues and blues based music.^[3]

RetroRadio

RetroRadio is the latest format to have entered the WFDU-FM music programing. RetroRadio on WFDU was a collaborative effort of the programming department of the station. Drawing upon his 45 years in professional radio, Duff wanted to provide an exciting familiar broad-based radio format that would appeal to WFDU’s larger NYC Metro listening area. Duff, Mike Phillips, Ghosty, & Kenny O’Boyle put their collective musical heads together to determine which songs would ignite enthusiasm to the baby boomers AND the later generations who are hearing these terrific songs in stores, movies and commercials. What they came up with forms the basis of WFDU’s RetroRadio format; a core period of 1960-1975 with occasional forays earlier & later. These are the lost tunes that the commercial stations have dropped in search of advertising revenue. The RetroRadio DJ hosts present their music in a style reminiscent of the NYC top 40 stations of yore; WABC, WMCA, WOR-FM, WINS, WMGM, & WWDJ. It’s a tight upbeat slice of popular radio that will get your feet moving and cause sudden outbursts of sing-along pleasure! Former 1010 WINS news anchor, Judy DeAngelis, General Manager Duff Sheffield, Country music host Kenny O'Boyle, Brian Norton, E.B. Fisher, Jimy Bleu, Ghosty and Ed Alstrom are some of the hosts of RetroRadio. ^[4]

Country/bluegrass

A photographer by heredity, Richard Haas hosts Bluegrass & Beyond. In 2008 Kenny took his first broadcasting course with Professor Duff Sheffield as an undergraduate at Fairleigh Dickinson University. From then on it was hard to keep him away from a microphone. Kenny hosts 'Let There Be Country' every Tuesdays and Thursdays.^[5]

Eclectic

Lise Avery began broadcasting her show, Anything Goes!!, from WFDU-FM in 1998, which features a fun, unpredictable mix of standards, jazz & classic pop with a bit of almost anything else. Rob DeScherer started at WFDU in 1990 with his show Crescent City Roadhouse, featuring the best blend of Music America Blues, Country, & Singer/Songwriter Folk, with a special accent on Cajun & Zydeco music.^[6]

Evan Toth is the host of Garden State Sound, which showcases the brilliance of the written song and the majesty of the timeless performance – both modern and classic – featuring the musical acts from the great state of New Jersey. Paul Butler has been with WFDU since 1985 hosting The Imagination Parade, a blend of stories, songs and sometimes contests and prizes for kids and the families who love them. Recently, he also started hosting another kids show called, 'Kids Cross Roads'. Bill Shibilski, even after a decade in retirement, is back with Polka Party every Sunday evening. Vicki Solá has been hosting Que Viva La Música for over 30 years now and she has been associated with WFDU (FM) since 1981. Andres Padua aka “Mr. Hard Salsa,” a contributor to Que Viva La Música since 2012, and a regular on the show since May 2013, has come on board officially as co-host with Vicki Solá for Que Viva La Música. "THE MIGHTY ORGAN", hosted by noted organist Ed Alstrom features the rarely heard sound of mid-century pop organ, by some of the greatest organists ever: Ethel Smith, Lenny Dee, Klaus Wunderlich, Jesse Crawford, Eddie Layton, John Kiley, Don Baker, George Wright, and many more, from a time when the organ was justifiably called "The King of Instruments".^[7]

Folk

Lynn Crystal has worked at WFDU for sixteen years, making her broadcast debut as the newscaster for Marc Copeland's Jazz Influences and later hosting her show Carnival of Song, which showcases exceptional songwriting and performances. Jerry Treacy is associated with WFDU as the host of Crash on the Levee, an eclectic and unique mix of weekend Music America.^[8]

Ron Olesko, a graduate from FDU began the WFDU-FM’s now longest running show, “Traditions” in 1980. The Traditions show is a mix of folk music that is not only traditional but modern and meaningful, incorporating much thematic material. ^[9]

Gospel

Tony Smith has been working at WFDU for 11 years, hosting his show Gospel Jazzations, focusing on the jazz/instrumental side of gospel music. He’s also a gospel jazz saxophonist playing this special brand of music across the world. DJ D-Real is the host of Gospel Housing Authority, which features Gospel music in its many forms: Gospel Rap, R&P (Rhythm and praise), Contemporary, Traditional and Club. DJ Frankie Vibe is an Inspirational/Soulful House Mix Show DJ who has been a DJ for 16 years and has always been fascinated with the fact that people of all shades of color would come together under one roof just for the love of house music. Floyd Cray is the host of New Song Radio, with music that is beautifully composed melodies that touch the spirit of people across the world. Sharon Addison has been with WFDU since 2008, hosting Spotlight on Gospel and taking her listeners island-hopping in different rhythms and languages with Caribbean & World Gospel music. Anita Elaine Rivers and Eric Johnson, known as Min. EJ host “The Sound of Victory”.^[10]

Oldies/rock

Boomers, is a music preservation program, hosted by Brian Norton dedicated to keeping the music of the baby boomers era alive. John is a lifelong Jersey boy, and a Graduate of FDU (82'). He's also a former DJ and Music Director at WFDU-FM. John has worked in various jobs in the Music Biz for 25 years, working as a DJ in a number of clubs including Hitsville, The Blue Willow and Loop Lounge. Big Al has worked with WFDU for 30 years, playing a wide variety of independent releases (domestic and imported) from every genre in the new rotation, plus the occasional gem located deep within the dusty WFDU archives on his show, New Music Smorgasbord. Allyson is now the host of On the Fence With Ally Cat, bringing the sounds of the 70's and 80's, together with Rock and combining that with a special segment each week. Steve Nicholas, a graduate from the Metropolitan (Teaneck) campus at Fairleigh Dickinson University, Class of 1983 and a former General Manager at WFDU hosts “Ride the Wave”. Shaun McGann hosts the The Thursday Nite Show, a rock-based program that organically incorporates jazz, hip-hop, blues, and pop into its mix. Uncle Floyd's Garage Sale Music is a mix of what might be in someone's eclectic collection of LPs, 78s, 45s, etc. that might have been found at any garage sale over the last few decades. Ghosty spins top hits and lost gems from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s on his show, “The Vintage Rock & Pop Shop”.^[11]

Soul/R&B

Dan’s Old School consists mostly of old-school blues, R&B, rock n’ roll, and rocking jazz, with a tip of the hat to the venues where he saw Muddy Waters, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Stevie Wonder, Solomon Burke, Champion Jack Dupree, the folks name above, and many more. Ed Alstrom hosts, GOT SOUL? program. Regular segments include Artist, Album, and/or Record Label of the Week, ‘White Guys’ that ‘got soul’, and special events like Soul Dance Parties. Christine Vitale has been with WFDU since 1996, first as a newscaster and then in 2003 hosting The Group Harmony Alley, which features vocal group music and doo-wop. On Christine’s “Rhythm, Rock ‘n Blues Rollercoaster”, it’s the spinning of classic and avante garde vocal group harmony sounds, plus the featuring of current and lesser-known artists, many of whom perform on the live music scene today. Terry the Jaguar is the host of Soul 2 Neosoul Experience and plays everything that’s grooving be it blue-eyed-soul, brown-eyed-soul, Euro-soul or soul fusion.^[12]

References

External links

• Official website
• Query the FCC's FM station database for WFDU
• Radio-Locator information on WFDU
• Query Nielsen Audio's FM station database for WFDU