Gus Gossert - Rare Excerpt Of The Oldies But Goodies Show - WPIX 1971

Quite often I am asked how I got into doo wop music. What you are about to hear is what turned me into a die hard doo wop lover. My father used to love Gossert and taped some of his shows on reel to reel. I ended up finding the tapes when I was very young (no older than ten) and went from someone who already liked oldies to a doo wop fanatic. What you are listening to has monumental significance to my life and who I am now.

Here is an excerpt of Gus Gossert's famed Oldies But Goodies Show. At one time in the early 70s his show was the top rated radio show in America.. Considering that the show was only broadcast in NY, that is quite a feat. Gus Gossert is widely known and respected in the oldies circle for bringing back the music. In the late 60's and early 70's it had seemed that the world had moved on and forgot about the oldies. The oldies revival of the '70's is largely (and mainly) due to Gus Gossert's show. We wouldn't have Grease, Happy Days, Sha Na Na, etc., if it weren't for Gossert's work. I'm not saying that we should give Gossert all of the credit, because there were lots of other guys out there keeping the sound alive. However, Gossert is what brought it back into the main stream. Although I'm not sure of the exact date, this was taped in the summer of '71. Notice at the end of the album he is excitedly plugging his newly released doo wop album. He didn't even have the commercial recorded yet... This was live banter over a music bed.

This show was recorded by my father in Bayonne, NJ, using a Lafayette amp and a Sony tape. The recording was done at 3 3/4 IPS and held up surprisingly well over the last 38 years.