Arnie's boyhood Radio ShackThe years that followed saw young Arnie fashion his electronic skills on many a project brought home from the Radio Shack.
While still in high school, Arnie was hanging around the store one day, when he heard someone mention that radio station WMEX was looking for an engineer. He immediately went in, and he got the job.
Later he moved on to WBOS in Boston where he also worked as an engineer. At that time WBOS programmed numerous foreign language shows, and in 1956 the station manager approached Ginsburg, informed him that many of those programs were being cut, the station would begin playing rock n' roll, and he wanted Ginsburg to program it. He also wanted him to host his own DJ show during the morning slot. Ginsburg, (not being a morning-person), talked the manager into working the evening hours, when teenagers would be in their rooms and doing their homework. He soon developed his own on-air style, on his own Top 40 show. This prepared him for his move back to full-time Boston Top 40 radio station WMEX, this time as a DJ, in 1958.
Hear a rather subdued Arnie Ginsburg with the Older Records Hour in his last year at WBOS in 1958. No sound effects here. They would soon be a major part of his act at WMEX. [ LISTEN ] (5:55)
WMEX publicity shotHe also refused a salary from station owner Max Richmond, instead making a deal for a 25% cut of all the commercial revenue Ginsburg would generate for his show. This, he claimed, made him "the highest-paid jock on the station." According to Billboard magazine, by 1959, he was making an annual salary of $10,000, an amount higher than the median American income at that time.
Ginsburg frequently did on-air testimonials for his advertisers, and perhaps the best-known was his work for Adventure Car Hop, a drive-in fast-food restaurant on Route 1 in Saugus, which promoted the "Ginsburger." According to the car-hop's owners, Ginsburg's radio commercials brought as many as 2000 teenagers to his restaurant on a typical summer night.
Ginsburg was also known for his ability to create hits by giving them radio exposure on his show. One good example was a novelty song by British vocalist Lonnie Donegan, "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor on the Bedpost Overnight." It had been a hit in England, but when released in the United States for the first time in 1959, it was not successful. Then, in 1961, Ginsburg received a copy from a listener and began to play it, and after several days of heavy airplay, the song took off and became a hit in America.
During the payola scandal, Ginsburg was among a number of high-profile Boston disc jockeys (including Norm Prescott, Bob Clayton, and Joe Smith) called upon to testify before a congressional hearing in Washington DC in early 1960. Several of the announcers, Ginsburg among them, acknowledged receiving monetary "gifts" from record promoters over the past several years.
In Ginsburg's case, he told the committee that the gifts totaled $4,400 over a three-year period. But Ginsburg was never implicated in any wrongdoing, nor was it proved that he played certain records because he had been paid to do so.
Reporters covering the hearings were divided in their opinions of whether payola had occurred, or whether the hearings were much ado about nothing. As for Ginsburg's role, some journalists seemed willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, referring to him as "scholarly" and "soft-spoken", and quoting his assertion that he was never influenced to play songs he did not personally believe in. But others were more skeptical, accused him of being evasive and giving "excuses" for why record promoters had given him gifts.
Throughout his top-40 career, Ginsburg was regarded as a credible voice for reaching the teen audience. It was said of him that airplay on his show could make a record a hit. Record companies which asked him to do commercials often saw increased sales. This was the case for such records as "Roses are Red" by Bobby Vinton and "The Monster Mash" by Bobby (Boris) Pickett. Ginsburg also reported his weekly "picks" (songs he believed would become hits) to trade publications such as Billboard magazine.
Arnie doing his thing at WMEX Boston, on December 12th 1965 [ PLAY ] (27:28)
As was the custom in top-40 radio, record companies would bring up-and-coming singers to do guest appearances, which further helped sales. Among the local stars Ginsburg promoted were The Rockin' Ramrods and Freddie Cannon. Cannon subsequently recorded a promotional song for Ginsburg, "Arnie Ginsburg, the guy with the swinging show." Ginsburg was also known for his record hops, dances that were held at local venues; he often hosted them at the Surf Ballroom in Nantasket Beach.
WMEX 1959-1967While Arnie Ginsburg is best known from his days at WMEX, he also spent some time at other stations in Boston. In early 1967, when WRKO changed format to top-40, the station's new management wanted to build the new radio station around a well-known local radio figure, and Ginsburg was their first choice. However, the plans were interrupted.
Ginsburg was on the air for less than a month when his former boss, WMEX owner Maxwell (Mac) Richmond, served the station with a court injunction, enforcing a non-compete clause which stated that if Ginsburg left WMEX, he could not work on air at any other station for 18 months.
The case made its way through the courts and finally, Ginsburg was ordered off the air. But although he could not be heard on the airwaves for a while, he was able to stay in the business with WRKO, which moved him into sales. Ginsburg also sold all the time slots for WRKO-FM. Later, in 1970, he went on to become the general manager of WBCN. This proved a very controversial move, as the staff was opposed to the idea of a former top-40 personality serving as the manager of an album rock station—at that time, FM album rock prided itself on being the antithesis of AM top 40.
By 1972, Ginsburg was working on the AM side again, as the General Manager of WWEL. In 1973 he joined Boston's largest station, WBZ, producing and hosting a Saturday-night oldies show with all his familiar gimmicks: noisemakers, silly puns, and kidding with the newscasters and weathermen. In 1975, Ginsburg was hired by WMEX to do a similar, Saturday-night series of four-hour shows.
Ginsburg also syndicated a customized weekly oldies show to New England radio stations. By 1979 he advanced to become partner of WXKS-FM "Kiss 108," and managed WXKS-AM when it changed format to "Music of Your Life." He also became co-owner, along with Boston radio personality John Garabedian, of V-66, Boston's video music channel, WVJV-TV, in 1985.
Arnie is interviewed 2008
The station not only featured hit music videos; it also featured local announcers talking about the music, and also talking about the music scene in greater Boston. As Ginsburg told a reporter, it was envisioned as "the equivalent of a radio station on television." The venture proved very costly, however, and the station was put up for sale in 1986. From that point, Ginsburg devoted most of his time to enjoying life, keeping up with long-time friends, and travel.
He sold his properties in Boston and moved full-time to his beloved Ogunquit, Maine. Ogunquit residents came to recognize Ginsburg when he rode his moped into town during the warmer months, and in time he became a fixture in the community.
Arnie Ginsburg passed away on June 27, 2020 at the age of 93.
WHERE DID ARNIE WORK? Here is the list: WBOS, WMEX, WRKO, and WBCN.
