Audio Documentary (mp3 format)
Part 1: Introduction
Part 2: The Dawn of Radio, 1936-1945
Part 3: The "Golden Age" of WBRU-AM, 1946-1965
Part 4: WBRU-FM is Born, 1966-1976
Part 5: WBRU Growing, 1977-1987
Part 6: "Alternative Rock" at WBRU, 1988-1996
Part 7: BSR is Born and WBRU in the New Millenium, 1997-2006
Part 8: The Future of WBRU & BSR
LINER NOTES:
Produced in early 2007 by BSR and WBRU staff.
Hosts: Paul Payton, Brown University Class of '69 and Rita Cidre '07
Executive Producer: Paul McCarthy '01.5
Associate Producers: Rita Cidre '07, Lindsey Gaydos '08.5, Jason Sigal '07
Narration Recorded at: Recording Duplication Services, Summit, NJ. Thanks to Dave Barr.
A note from the producers: When we started this project, we realized that it was an impossible undertaking. After all, radio is an ephemeral and immediate medium — it doesn't want to be captured and packaged up nicely. But we did our best, digging through dusty files, rusty reel-to-reel tapes, and countless yearbooks and news clippings. Unfortunately the nature of a student-run organization is that it's usually a bit disorganized, and there's often a long-term memory problem, because new staff are cycling in every four years. That means that things get lost.
But even if many of the tapes are gone, the memories certainly live on. We know, because you told us. We interviewed more than sixty-five people, listeners and staff alike, to bring you this audio history, and the stories you told us are amazing. We know that there are hundreds, probably thousands more stories out there, and we regret only that there was not more time to hear them all. Thank you, listeners, staff, and friends, for everything you've done, and for inspiring and supporting the new generations of radio producers at Brown. We couldn't do it without you.
Thanks to: Jean Cummings '40, Joseph Parnicky '40, Shurwin Drury '41, Gordon Graham '44, Richard Lukin '47, Robert Watkins '47, Bernard Frechtman '49, Bruce Chick '50, Harvey Sindle '51, Richard Walton '51, Robert Fearson '51, William Eaves '52, Eugene Kay '52, Jerome Bernstein '54, Charles Hackett '58, Will Stamm '58, Eugene Kay '59, Linda Lederman '61, Charles Sokoloff '63, Jack Edmonston '64, John Peck '64, Joseph Nardino '64, Don Harris '65, John Leistritz '65, Robert Cope '65, Steve Alterman '65, John Meier '66, Stu Aaronson '66, Jerry Hubeny '67, Fred Brack '68, Mark Jordan '68, Don Berns '69, Penny Dixon Gumm '72, Graydon Goss '73, Lawrence Moss '73, Bette Schultz '73, Vincent Thomas '73, Barnet Malin '76, Ben Weiser '76, Skip Kelly '77, Eric Schultz '79, Angus Rockett '80, Philiip Kaplan '80, Jeff Lesser '82, Mary Julian '82, Hunt Blair '83, Jonathan Groff '83, Sam Zwetchkenbaum '83, Stephen Hill '84, David Malm '86, Doug Mayer '87, Alison Stewart '88, Beth Marx Lorge '88, Neil Bernstein '88, Jacob Levy '93, Jason Bordoff '94, Mark Stachowski '97, Dan Oppenheim '98, Pam Young '98, Nick Noe '99, Seth Resler '99, Ben Harvey '00, Mike Tassone '00, Shauna Duffy '04, Adam Conrad '07, Sean Garcia '07, Zach Harnett '07, Adam Vasconcellos '07, Natalie Rubin '08, Jenny Weissbourd '08, Amanda Murray GS '08, Eric Spindler, Mary Dalton, Paul Andrews, Craig Healy, Debbie Rich, Mark Rosati, Tom Carrazzo, Jack Reich, Jonathan Lev, Susan Smulyan, the Student Activities office at Brown University, the Hay Library at Brown University, the current staff of WBRU and BSR, the Cogut Center for the Humanities at Brown, the Creative Arts Council at Brown, and the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities.
An extra special thanks to Peter Tannenwald '64, who has probably done more for radio at Brown than anybody in its entire history.