Click here to subscribe today or Login.
“Is it hot enough for you? It’s only WARM for me…” For a generation of Northeast Pennsylvania residents, that slogan was emblematic of youth and rock and roll. The impact of WARM 590 was beyond that of a mere radio station. WARM’s legacy is inseparable from the era during which it peaked, and the guiding lights of that impact were the disc jockeys and radio personalities, the Legends of WARMland, that guided the area through the good times, and a few troubling ones as well.
WARM hit the airwaves in 1940, when the rock and roll era was still over a decade away from taking shape. In the interim, WARM played swing and big band music. Even after the 1950s rolled around, and rock had become the most important style of music to the American youth, WARM lagged behind. Only one station in Northeast Pennsylvania, WICK, was playing rock and roll in 1957. In 1958, that dynamic shifted.
That year, WARM was purchased by Susquehanna Broadcasting, based out of York. Having been placed on radio station 590 AM back in 1952, WARM was ready to become the powerhouse known as “The Mighty 590,” with the music of youth culture overtaking the outdated programming. Before long, WARM became the predominant Top 40 music station in Northeast Pennsylvania and Luzerne County.
During its “five towers of power” era, WARM radio’s airwaves stretched from the Southern Tier of New York State to the Jersey Shore, up through the Poconos and, of course, all around Luzerne County. The area covered by WARM, especially in Northeast Pennsylvania, became known as WARMland. However, the station’s broader reach gave it national prominence as well, bringing prestige and popularity to WARM in equal measure.
The hits of the 1960s and 1970s, often thought to be the soundtrack to the Baby Boomers’ childhoods and adolescence, were the key to WARM’s success, as were the personalities behind the microphone. Early DJs at WARM like George Gilbert, Don Stevens and Len Woloson were members of the station’s “Sensational Seven,” and each had a knack for promotions. WARM’s highlight events were its “WARM Days,” hosted at Rocky Glen Park. Guests would flock to the park to catch a glimpse at some of the most popular music artists of the day. The 1962 WARM Day, for example, featured multiple artists with Top 10 hits to their names, including Bobby Vinton and Brian Hyland.
It wasn’t all fun and games in WARMland. The radio station was a serious news outlet, covering the top stories of the day independently and extensively. The reporters working within the WARM radio news department were untethered from the national wire, meaning that the on-air personalities were not miming the words that would be in the following day’s newspaper. They covered national stories like the Cuban Missile Crisis and the assassination of John F. Kennedy as sternly as they covered Hurricane Agnes and the Sheppton Mine disaster. WARM’s news programming was also renowned for its sports coverage, and was on the cutting-edge in weather forecasting.
Giants in the local radio world made their careers at WARM in an industry that is not known for employee retention. On-air personalities like Ron Allen, Bobby Day, Terry McNulty, Joey Shaver, Bill Stuart, Harry West and Tommy Woods were fixtures at the station for years, providing comfort and consistency to their listeners.
As the 1970s ended, WARM became an oldies channel, not unlike its musical makeup from the pre-rock era, and mixed in a bit of country as well. Since the 1980s, the legacy of WARM radio’s heyday has been well-remembered and protected by those who grew up listening to the station’s programming and attending their events. A documentary by Richard Briggs for WVIA, “WARMland Remembered,” has kept the history of WARM radio alive, as has David Yonki’s epic, public blog.
For those of a certain generation, the memories of WARMland remain vivid. The voices who kept the station at the top of its game for more than two decades are truly legends of their craft. They took everything the medium of radio had to offer, and they brought the very best in music, news, promotions, sports and weather to keep their audience informed about the history they were living through.