WMNB

Station Information

Call Letters: WMNB (now WNAW)

Frequency: 1230 AM

Location: North Adams, MA

WMNB banned The Beatles!

Evidence of the Ban:

The North Adams Transcript on August 9, 1966 reported, "North Adams radio station WMNB-WMNB FM, has discontinued playing Beatle music, program director Andre Speyer reported today, because of the furor over Beatle John Lennon's remark that they are 'more popular than Jesus.' Mr. Speyer reported that a survey taken last week after the controversy began, indicated that listeners voted about 7-1 against the Beatles in this situation. Mr. Speyer explained that he hoped the situation is temporary and that the Beatles will correct their statement or retract remarks attributed to them. 'Since the Beatles appear to such a young segment of our audience,' Mr. Speyer said, 'I feel that the remarks made by one of them was extreme poor judgment.' Mr. Speyer said he has respect for some of the work the Beatles have done and is hopeful that this is all a mistake."

Notes:

In 1966, WMNB appeared to play music all afternoon on weekdays (called "Wonderful World of Music" on program schedules) except for top-of-the-hour newscasts and other short talk segments. Given that these items included a 3:30 PM "Student Opinion" segment and a 4:55 PM roundup of school lunch menus, it's likely that this afternoon music block was pop music aimed at younger listeners.

Current Info:

Correspondence:

The station was contacted to see if they want to apologize to The Beatles, but they did not respond.