A B O U T

WGBB has been serving Long Island since 1924. We are Long Island's first radio station and one of the oldest stations in the country. Through all the challenges we have faced over the years, WGBB has always remained your community-minded radio station. WGBB's radio signal serves Nassau County, Western Suffolk County, at least three of NYC's five burroughs and parts of New Jersey. With a blend of Specialty Programming that includes a multi-cultural flavor, WGBB truly has something for everyone. Over the course of a given broadcast week you may hear any of 5 languages on WGBB. Its just our way of serving our community.

WGBB has not been a stranger to new media technologies. As many of our competitors scrambled for a revenue stream, we focused on the audio stream. We started broadcasting our fine programming via the internet before many of our colleagues and kept doing so while they stopped to find ways to make money off of it. Now that many have continued, we never stopped. Keep an eye on this site and an ear to our programming and we promise to keep endeavoring to make it better. Contact us with suggestions and we will appreciate the advise. You are part of what makes what we do so great. You are a part of our community and we are a part of yours.

 
WGBB

The Station that Serves Your Community.

Some History . . .

Officially Long Island's first commercial radio station, WGBB actually started as a farmer's Ham Station. WGBB was at 100 watts and shared frequency with other locals on 1230 for years. The original studios were 200 feet from the tower, then from the late 1940's studios were at 44 South Grove Street in Freeport.

Notables in the 1950's were Tony James, Jay Nealy and Dave Michaels. Broadcast studios from 1966 thru late 1980's were from 1240 Broadcast Plaza in Merrick with transmitter located off Atlantic Avenue in Freeport. Dave Vieser was one of the famous "Super-6" jocks there in the Top-40 heyday with Bob "Bullet" Ottone, Gil David (now at WHLI), Don Rosen (now with WRJN/WEZY Racine WI), Al Case (Al also served as the Chief Engineer and set-up the wonderful sound of the station's famous organ reverb). There was also the famous WGBB "Car-Box Jackpot" (623-1240). In the late 1960's Susquehanna Broadcasting tried to move the transmitter site north toward Mitchell Field, but engineers convinced them to keep the tower in Freeport because the signal was better near the water. Due to structural problems, the tower was replaced in the mid 1970's.

Other notables who worked at WGBB in the 1970's & 80's include: Juliet Poppa (1010 WINS), Deborah Wetzel (WCBS FM), Bill Whitney, Frank Setapani, Betina Gregory, Larry Kofsky, Howard Liberman, Ed Grilli, Bob Lawrence, Jim Quinn (who later moved onto WPIX as Dennis Quinn), Roy Reynolds (known as Your Boy Roy), John Ryan, Ted David (1969-70 - DJ / also Long Island Network News plus weekends 1986), Gary Lewi (news), Dave Hunter (also news), Steve Andrews (also moved onto WPIX), Gary McFarlane (now known as Chuck Taylor, morning man on B-95.5 WYJB in Albany) and Drew Scott (afternoon News Anchor from 1972 to 73'. Ed Marshall hosted a Sinatra Show on WGBB from 1981-1988.

Flipped to a talk format before it spent time as WBAB-AM (the 2nd LI AM with those calls) in the late 1980's when it simulcast the then co-owned FM. Simulcast with WALK-AM in 1997/1998 during daylight hours as the Sunrise Radio Network (WGBB was often 7 seconds behind WALK-AM because they stayed in delay for their talk programming at night and on the weekends). Currently owned by Multicultural, WGBB is currently broadcasting an ethnic-based format. Studios are now located in the WNYG building on Route 109 in Babylon.