TEANECK—The consensus from Pascack Valley listeners was unanimous: WFDU-FM (89.1 FM), based in Teaneck, plays a wide selection of oldies from the 50s through the 80s that cannot be found anywhere else on the radio dial.
Moreover, they have the best, nicest and most informed DJs who go out of their way to play their requests, said several local listeners who spoke with Pascack Press.
And, by the way, most of the station’s DJs are volunteers who spend hours each week putting together eclectic shows that highlight music and artists rarely, if ever, heard on the radio anymore.
WFDU-FM RetroRadio listeners from Park Ridge, Westwood, and Washington Township were at the station’s recent Meet & Greet event at FDU, Teaneck, that was part fundraiser and part social affair, with over 100 listeners showing up to meet about two dozen of the station’s popular DJs.
Park Ridge’s Thomas Burdick told us, “My favorite DJ at WFDU is Gale Martin and I also love Opie and the rest of the DJs are great.” Burdick, who was sitting with friends at a packed table, also said he made most of his requests with Gale on her overnight shows.
“I have been a guest DJ with her four times and I usually request a lot of Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones and Beatles,” noted the Park Ridge resident.
Westwood’s Scott Shapper said he liked WFDU-FM due to its “great diversity in both the programming and various shows.” He said The Who has always been a favorite band and that they’re routinely played on the station.
Shapper said, “There is so much more you get that you get nowhere else. Who plays ‘Society’s Child’ by Janis Ian or ‘Ode To Billy Joe’ by Bobbi Gentry. Stuff like that is what makes WFDU stand out.”
Shapper then told us he had been a DJ at one point. “My memorable moments were when I had my own program there that streamed on HD2 every Tuesday night from 7 to 10 p.m. Getting calls from listeners when you feel few are listening and you get a call from a listener excited about the selections I chose to play that night.”
Shapper said he once requested, “Thanks For Christmas,” by XTC, which is “very obscure, nobody could find it to play it. Gotta get if off YouTube. Probably one of the best Christmas songs ever done.”
He told us he likes WFDU retro radio as it’s “just a great little local station and I’ve gotten to know a number of the people down there and all good people.”
Washington Township’s Laura Lawler told us, “Today’s music I don’t really like, but WFDU plays all the old music we love. The ’60s was my sister’s music, ’70s high school and ’80s college. It all brings back memories that you can sing along to,” she said, adding, “A wide enough variety that they always play something you loved once.”
She said WFDU features music not heard on commercial stations. “I have a lot of favorite artists, ones you don’t normally hear any more, all the soul music, the Carpenters, Olivia Newton-John, Juice Newton, Kenny Rogers; I could go on and on.”
She noted, “My most memorable moment with WFDU was when I did something daring: I was a guest DJ with Kenny O’Boyle. I had never done anything like it before. Kenny was so nice and helped me through the process. It was a great experience, and I would love to do it again with any of the other DJs.”
Lawler told us she has called and requested many songs on WFDU retro radio “for special occasions and just to hear something I haven’t heard in a long time. Songs for anniversaries from Rod Stewart, on sunny days the Beatles, for graduations ‘Turn, Turn, Turn’ by The Byrds. It’s really nice to hear your name with your request on the radio.”
She told us what WFDU means to her. “It’s all about memories and feeling like you are sharing them with others. I started working at home during covid and I felt a little lonely, then I started listening everyday to WFDU and I suddenly felt like I had co-workers again. WFDU makes you feel like we are all in this together. Also, my husband and I are both graduates of FDU in Teaneck and it is kind of cool to be reconnected with our college days.”
The station began broadcasting to the New York Metro area in August 1971 as a result of a concerted effort for its establishment by the administration of Fairleigh Dickinson University and enthusiastic FDU students. “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.”
It adds that its broadcast signal has a 50-mile radius of its transmitter, within the historic Armstrong Field Lab in Alpine. “The AFL is the site of the world’s first FM station, W2XMN, built by the creator of FM technology, Major Edwin Howard Armstrong. WFDU-FM’s range covers the New York City metropolitan area including Long Island and Southern Connecticut. 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.”
Harrington Park, Englewood Cliffs
Harrington Park’s Gary Reinfried told us, “I enjoy the interaction of the DJs and the diversity each one brings to their programs. It’s more about the ‘oldies genre’ than any particular artist.”
He said one of his memorable moments was when his son was on WFDU. “I was a proud papa when my son Kyle did a one-hour guest DJ slot on Kenny O’Boyle’s show,” he said, adding he “enjoys listening to a local station with down-to-earth DJs.”
He said he rarely requests songs but his favorite request was probably “One Fine Morning” by Lighthouse.
Englewood Cliffs resident Jill Bloch told us she likes WFDU-FM because, “They play oldies music that no one else plays and there are no commercials.” And for her, “it’s great music to exercise to in the mornings.”
She said her favorite artists she hears regularly on WFDU are the Monkees, Paul Revere & The Raiders, and Herman’s Hermits.
She said, “My favorite DJs are Mayor Pete and Opie,” and noted that “the songs they play bring back memories of growing up.” She said a favorite moment with WFDU was when Mayor Pete played Tommy Roe’s “Sweet Pea” for her dog, Clementine, whose nickname is Sweet Pea.
The event featured WFDU’s retro radio hosts including Big Al, Bob Konig, Bob Morris, Brian Norton, Duff Sheffield, Gale Martin, Ian Ranzer, Jack Pignatello, Jacqui Phillips, Jay Wright, Judy Sheffield, Marc Brodsky, Mark Daniels, Mike B., Michael Phillips, Ryan Vincent, Opie, Steve Nicholas, and Mayor Pete.
Also on hand were WFDU specialty show hosts Ghosty, Ron Olesko, Del Gaudio, Robert Harrison, Freddy Hernandez, Bill Hill, and Elaine Rivers.