WOR radio marking its 100th anniversary

WOR/710 AM, one of the nation's oldest radio stations and a cornerstone of news radio in New York, celebrates its 100th anniversary of broadcasting Tuesday with two days of on-air and other special events.

Tuesday from 6 to 10 a.m., "Len Berman and Michael Riedel in the Morning" will feature interviews with such past WOR personalities as famed Manhasset-raised talk-show host John R. Gambling, helicopter traffic reporter George Meade, meteorologist Bill Korbel (who now reports weather for Newsday), newscaster Shelly Strickler and personal-advice host Daria Dolan.

The show will also include historic airchecks from former WOR hosts Joan Rivers, Barry Gray, Bernard Meltzer and both the legendary John B. Gambling and his son and first successor, John A. Gambling. Wednesday at 5:40 p.m., the Empire State Building will light up in the colors of the station's logo: white, orange and navy blue.

WOR, licensed to the Newark department store L. Bamberger & Co., began broadcasting on Feb. 22, 1922, from a corner of the sporting goods and radio department, connected to a 250W transmitter on the roof. Launched as a way to promote sales of radio sets and other goods, the store's broadcasts debuted with a recording of Al Jolson singing "April Showers." Music quickly was joined by such disparate programming as instructional classes, lectures, bedtime stories and news.

John B. Gambling's iconic talk show "Rambling with Gambling" began as a WOR precursor morning program in 1925. It evolved into "Gambling's Musical Clock" and, initially as an afternoon show, "Rambling with Gambling" in 1942. Gambling's son John A. Gambling took over in 1959, followed by grandson John R. Gambling from 1990 until retiring the show under a different title in 2013. Disregarding such name and format changes, "Guinness World Records 2003" recognized the then 78-year-old show as the world's longest running radio program until being surpassed by WSM/Nashville's "Grand Ole Opry."

In 1934, WOR and three other stations formed the Mutual Broadcasting System radio network. Four years later, in a milestone for the medium, WOR began recording and rebroadcasting European news, particularly from the BBC. Presidents including Franklin D. Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan appeared on the station, as did historical figures from Charlie Chaplin to Albert Einstein. In 1978, WOR ran Larry King's new Mutual talk-show out of WIOD/Miami, helping launch the interviewer's radio empire.

Following multiple changes in ownership, WOR was purchased by Clear Channel Media and Entertainment, now iHeartMedia, in 2012.

"A station broadcasting for over a century is truly incredible," said WOR-AM Program Director Tom Cuddy in a statement, adding that the station "has a strong connection with the communities we serve…."