Cousin Brrruuuuu-cccc-eeee...

Broadcast legend, Bruce “Cousin Brucie” Morrow witnessed first hand the birth, growth and growing pains of rock and roll. He spun us through the turbulent times when musical styles shifted radically; kids didn’t trust anyone over thirty and everything seemed possible. Rock and roll was nothing short of a cultural revolution, beginning with the seeds of rebellion sown by black R & B artists in the 50’s and escalating through the British Invasion, surfer sounds, Motown, the Summer of Love, Woodstock, the beginnings of heavy metal, punk and beyond.

He experienced firsthand the music, the people who created, produced, packaged and sold it; and the times that shaped the music and were, in turn, shaped by it. For someone who’s heard it all and played it all for nearly five decades Cousin Brucie, one that helped form our own soundtrack of musical preferences, kindly sat down with us to support our blog and share thoughts of life back then.

We spoke of the realization of the power of influence he held daily when taking to the airwaves with an audience in the millions. He shared that the relationship was one of mutual support and respect. He spoke with us, not “at” us. “Rich, in New York, you best be real, otherwise your audience will see right through you and you’re history”. This radio legend is the only on air personality to ever have a New York City street renamed after him. West 52nd street is now known as “Cousin Brucie Way”.  To him, driving past the street sign often; he is proud of that tribute and it's testament to his kinship with his listeners. In Hollywood you can essentially buy a star on the Walk of Fame, in New York to have a street named after you means you earned it.

Brucie has been a mainstay of New York hit radio for more than 40 years and has remained one of its most popular personalities. He has been a favorite on-air host on New York radio stations WINS, WABC-AM, and at WCBS-FM, which was the nation’s No.1 oldies station. It was at WINS where Bruce got his first professional break and where he gained his legendary nickname “Cousin Brucie.” The story goes that one night in 1959, an elderly woman found her way into the studio from which Morrow was broadcasting and asked him “Hey cousin, can you give me fifty cents?” Morrow complied and the endearing name “Cousin Brucie” was born. What most don’t know and what Bruce shared with us was that the next morning he informed his station manager that he wanted all promo and references to his show to be “Cousin Brucie”. The station manager strongly objected. After much discussion the two agreed to a one day trial, if the new label was accepted great, if it failed then Bruce was out...as in “out of a job”. Bruce promoted the “Cousin” every other breath during his shift on the air. The next morning he takes a call from the station manager and is told to come down to the station. Bruce, young and never having been fired was scared and asked his Dad to go with him. Entering the office he was soon informed that he was fired. Bruce and his dad objected but they were reminded of the deal. At that point, the manager pulled from his desk a stack of telegrams sent to the station in support of the new “Cousin Brucie”...the station manager said, “I need to fire you in order to rehire you to a new long term contract!”

We spoke of AM’s policy of no song being longer than two and a half minutes. Radio stations were all about making money and playing songs cut into advertising minutes which was the revenue life blood of a station. Thom McAn was a huge sponsor and Bruce’s association with them was honest and strong. Thom McAn was a good product sold at a fair price and we did a lot of personal appearances over the years with them. In 1964, Bruce signed autographs at our very own Woodbridge Thom McAn on Route One.

Bruce feels his decade of live Palisades Park concerts were a precursor to Woodstock. He felt producers saw the ability to draw thousands to the park with live performances (actually all performances were lip synched). Different era and back then it was accepted by those in attendance. With the advancement of technology the audiences became more critical. On the subject of Woodstock, Bruce feels, as one that was right there in the mix of it for those infamous three days that Woodstock was the ultimate emotional aesthetic expression of the times. Woodstock was about returning to the fundamentals of who and what we are as a community of people. And for a few days, it worked.

I didn’t dare ask him if he had any one particular favorite performer or group through the years. In speaking and researching him I quickly came to the conclusion that not only has he met virtually everyone...they are his friends. I can’t think of another soul other than perhaps Dick Clark that has complied a resume of musical friends than Bruce Morrow. Bruce feels that all musical groups and artists are products of what we have learned from previous years and generations. This man who was best friends and spoke weekly with Elvis, introduced the Beatles to the famous Shea Stadium audience and was the magician that sawed “Baby” (Jennifer Grey) in half in “Dirty Dancing” was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1988, the Broadcasting and Cable’s Hall of Fame in 1990 and the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2001. His autobiography, entitled “Cousin Brucie” My Life in Rock and Roll Radio was a bestseller as was his classic, Doo Wop: The Music, The Times, The Era. Bruce recently signed another long term contract with SIRIUS XM Radio. You can catch our cousin twice a week on Cruising with Cousin Brucie and Cousin Brucie’s Saturday Night Rock and Roll Party. He is also seen regularly on PBS television’s “My Music” series. In the little free time that he has he and his wife Jody enjoy traveling, his second love is photography and his commitment to charitable causes to help children affected by cancer and other illness is never ending.

You and your Woodbridge High classmates lived through a period of time where you were on the front lines of change. Rich, your generation took the reins of change and didn’t want the plastic life your parents had lived. I think it’s wonderful that you, Diane and Cindy make this effort to keep your class close. For some reason, East Coast cousins appreciate the meaning of true friendship so I would say to all of you Barrons I am reminded of Bill Withers’ “Lean On Me” timeless lyrics:

Sometimes in our lives
We all have pain
We all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there’s
Always tomorrow.

I hope you’ll always have a friend to lean on. Even when there’s no one else around, you can forever find comfort in music. Peace to you, cousins."

 

 Before ending our conversation I had to ask him...”thick or thin?” Bruce immediately replied; That’s easy...thin crispy crust, extra cheese, sausage, mushrooms and most everything else except fish. God created them to swim in the sea, not sit on my pizza!

I found Bruce to be amazingly unselfish with his time. We shared three phone calls and his sincere interest in all of us and our efforts to stay in touch with each other was simply unreal. Cousin Brucie is to our formative years as Mantle is to the Yankees, taylor ham is to a hard roll and as Lady Gaga is to exaggeration. He treated us like family... but then again, when you think about it, wouldn’t we expect that of a cousin?