The Voice of Long Island
    The Voice of Long Island Audio    


The Voice of Long Island was probably the most significant of all of the older radio shows in laying the groundwork for both Off The Hook on the radio and $2600 Magazine itself.  On this program, which lasted just over two years, hosts Mike Yuhas and Eric Corley played with phones and called operators from all over the world, did all kinds of wild experimentation on the air, performed various comedy sketches, and witnessed firsthand the true potential of noncommercial radio.

Found here is a veritable time capsule from the early '80s, where the differences in society, technology, and attitude become readily apparent.  This was an era without CDs and where rotary phones were commonly used.  It was a time without computers and automation taking over virtually every part of our lives.  The Bell System was still the only game in town, Ronald Reagan was the newly elected president, and there was no such thing as downloading music.

There are a number of transitions in the history of the program.  The first episode aired on February 7, 1981 under the name of Radio Free Long Island.  On May 23, 1981, the show was renamed Radio Free Weekend.  Finally, on September 19, 1981, the program was given the name it would be remembered by: The Voice of Long Island.  The infamous and mysterious musical theme to the show debuted on June 6, 1981.  For most of the program's run, it was three hours in length.  However, that time was reduced to two hours in October of 1982.  The final known episode aired on April 16, 1983.  There were two reunion shows, one in 1987 and the other in 1990.

Presented in this section will be full-length episodes of The Voice of Long Island in high fidelity as well as low fidelity.  Since many of the shows are three hours in length, we encourage you to allow plenty of time for downloading.  Each episode will appear on the site exactly 28 years after it was first aired, every Friday night/Saturday morning at midnight.  For now, we can only offer the current week's show in high fidelity due to bandwidth and space reasons.  You are encouraged to post or copy the shows elsewhere if you desire.

The Voice of Long Island - 1981

  1. "Stardate," Radio Free Long Island ID, musical collage, the very first rap, introductions, stereo effects, what is planned for this show, a history of the time slot, "The Better Than Dead Air Show" and "Planet Three," coverage from Newsday, mailgrams from Hugh Carey and Ronald Reagan, WUSB made contact with the American embassy in Tehran during the recently ended hostage crisis, Ambassador Robert White was supposed to be interviewed, Mike describes a traffic adventure, more morbid stories, plans for a surprise phone call later, Frank Sinatra in the shower, wondering how Mike pulled this off, Frank Sinatra's drain, a proposal for a new English economy by cutting back on capitalization and irregular verbs, a rash of people getting stuck in elevators on campus, Mike and Eric's elevator story in the hospital, interesting people are in danger of being called, moving around the studio, Sheila Hogan from WPKN is on the phone while doing her show, Mike describes the studio layout, calling various operators to get the phone number for the American embassy in Tehran, a recording of the phone calls placed to Iran during the hostage crisis, analysis of the calls, a mistaken connection to the minister of foreign affairs, a station in Seattle is reported to have had better luck, a very confusing call, Mark Almond Band, the latest Tammy Faye Bakker record, Bunky and Spunky will be here next week, Mike tries to get listeners' stereo lights to go out, Ian North, Wilbur Spencer and his new invention, news from the Zodiac news service and Statesman, Bill Connors, Beethoven, looking up Python Productions in London, calling Python Productions collect, calling Joe Jackson in Honolulu, Mike calls the time, Godley and Creme, calling the weather in Buffalo, soliciting calls from listeners, El Salvador may become another Vietnam, Cal Chader, Kirk is up next, Bob James.
  2. "Stardate," Blind Date, The Beatles, The Buggles, Squeeze, late breaking news stories, exploding sewers in Louisville, an interview with newscaster Rick Redman at WHAS in Louisville, the Purina connection, flying manhole covers, opening the window, calling Ralston Purina, wondering if local sewers could also blow up, Mike and Eric discover that they went to the same elementary school, weeding out the audience, Mike shuts Eric's trunk, Bunky and Spunky will make their debut tonight, Sidney Schreiber will also be on tonight, it's Valentine's Day, The Clash, The English Beat, The Selecter, a story of barometric pressure, Firing Squad with William F. Bunckley, Steve Goodman, a melee involving Guardian Angels and cops on a subway in Brooklyn, Curtis Sliwa of the Guardian Angels is on the phone to explain what happened tonight, it's the second anniversary of the Guardian Angels, plans for the Guardian Angels on Long Island, how society has changed for the worse, expansion into malls in Suffolk County, what it takes to be a Guardian Angel, The Ramones will be playing at Stony Brook tomorrow, The Proof, Jan Hammer, Gary Numan, Mike and Eric have differing opinions on yogurt, an extended discussion on the subject, Sidney Schreiber on the Long Island Expressway, NRBQ, Deep Purple with sound effects, "in of doors," Mike critiques the wire service's spelling, an update on the Louisville sewer explosions from a Jack in the Box employee in Centereach, Mike describes an unusual phenomenon at the beach, accusations of coughing and sneezing on the air, Mike tries to discuss erosion, Pearl Harbor, The Shaggs, the issue of blasting caps, the very first episode of Bunky and Spunky: blasting caps, audio from an outtake, a call from one of the Bunky and Spunky creators, Guy Van Duser and Billy Novick, new material from Richard Strange, Eric has a complaint against Frank, Mike and Eric are starving, more on the Guardian Angel story, attempts to get comments from the transit police, how a tape wound up skipping on the radio station, Mike makes a startling revelation, occurrences of records scratching on the air, unusual music, Beethoven, Cheap Trick.