Happy Half-Century, Shelli Sonstein!
• This week our industry observes an increasingly rare remarkable broadcast achievement — Shelli Sonstein, longtime co-host of the Jim Kerr Rock & Roll Morning Show on iHeartMedia Classic Rock WAXQ (Q104.3)/New York celebrates her 50th year on the radio!
We know this because her longtime friend and on-air partner, Jim Kerr reached out to RAMP to exclusively share his thoughts on this very special occasion: “Shelli Sonstein approaches each morning on the air at WAXQ/New York with the freshness and enthusiasm you would expect from a person at the very start of an exciting broadcast career. That career actually began 50 years ago — January 21, 1974, when Shelli first went on the air as a reporter/news anchor at WMMR, in her hometown of Philadelphia. From the very beginning, Shelli vowed to be a positive force in the lives of her listeners and a powerful advocate for the communities she serves. For half a century, Shelli has kept that promise.”
After her run in Philadelphia, Shelli joined the legendary WZGC/Atlanta as an award-winning afternoon news anchor before being recruited in August 1977 by Larry Berger to join the morning show at WPLJ/New York (pictured, left), where she was first teamed up with Jim Kerr. While at WPLJ, she also served as an anchor on the ABC Radio Network. Kerr notes, “One of the highlights of her long tenure at WPLJ was accompanying Billy Joel to the Soviet Union for the first concert by an American rock star in Moscow.”
Sonstein remained at WPLJ, then the most-listened-to FM station in America, until 1989. The following year, Sonstein was reunited with Kerr in the morning at WYNY (now WKTU/New York), and then, two decades ago, joined him once again as morning co-host and News Director at Q104.3, as Kerr notes, “the most-listened-to Rock station in America.”
An Influence That Transcends Radio
A serious journalist as well as a gifted entertainer, Kerr notes that Shelli slept on the radio station couch for a week in 2012 to provide around-the-clock information updates during Superstorm Sandy and its aftermath. She has also won multiple awards for her public affairs program, Sonstein Sunday, and the NYSBA Best Podcast Award for her series, 9/11 Stories. She is the recipient of three Gracie Awards, and in 2022 was inducted into the New York State Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame.
For its entire run, Shelli provided daily information to the monologue writers at the Tonight Show With Jay Leno, and for over a decade wrote and edited the morning prep service for the CBS Radio Network. Sonstein’s popular 7:20am feature, the “Dirty Joke Of The Day,” lead to the publication of Shelli Sonstein’s Thoroughly Tasteful Dirty Joke Book, published by St. Martins Press.
And there’s more: “For years, Shelli has been a leading advocate for the 9/11 community and all first responders,” Kerr said. “She is a Board Member of Friends of Firefighters, and each year leads a team of listeners up the 104 stories of the World Trade Center to raise funds for the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. In 2019 she was honored by COPS (Committee Of Police Societies), and In 2021, NYC Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro swore in Shelli as an Honorary Battalion Chief of the New York City Fire Department, a rare and unique honor. Addressing an audience of first responders, Shelli finished her remarks by saying, ‘As long as I have a microphone, I have your backs.’ She didn’t need to say it. They knew.”
Speaking on behalf of all of us, Kerr exclaims, “Happy 50th Anniversary on the radio, Shelli!”
