Murray started his radio career as a late-night producer of interview shows. Eva Gabor, Laraine Day, and Virginia Graham were the personalities in front of those microphones. Yet, by the time he sat down at the mic on his own, he was doing all-pop (not rock) afternoon shows on WMCA.
From there, he had a brief stint on WMGM before moving to the overnight spot – right after Alan Freed – on WINS. Then, when Alan exited the station, Murray moved into the primetime position... and onto the top of the ratings list, making WINS the first rock station to reach #1 – before the Beatles even existed. He started every show with a Sinatra tune. Rallied the faithful with a thundering “Ah bey!” And may have conceived of more gimmicks than the rest of New York’s D.J.s combined... no matter what Rick Sklar took credit for... spending days broadcasting from subways, doing a show from a fighter jet, convincing bikini clad women to appear at the station in the middle of a blizzard, or luring so many listeners to Plum Beach that the traffic backed up past the horizon... and beyond the NYPD’s capability to handle it. , |