2 minute read
Liner Notes
Bill Knowlton
Host of Bluegrass Ramble
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As you know, WCNY Classic FM spent the entire year of 2022 celebrating its 50th anniversary on the air, and we are proud to serve you every day as Central New York’s only classical music station. Now it’s January, 2023 and we are ready to celebrate another Golden Anniversary! On January 21, 1973, WCNY-FM premiered a new show produced and hosted by a young man by the name of William Brierley Knowlton. Fifty years later, the still young-at-heart Bill Knowlton continues to host his weekly Bluegrass Ramble, right here on the same station. Every Sunday night starting at 9:00, Bill presents three hours of this unique and classically American art form.
Bill is affectionately known as “Mr. Bluegrass” throughout the Northeast. His knowledge of the music and connection to the artists (past and present) is second to none. Way back in 1960, he hosted the first all-bluegrass radio show in New York City when he was a student at Fordham University. In 1997, he was named “Broadcast Personality of the Year” by the International Bluegrass Music Association. He received the Syracuse Press Club’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997 and was added to the Syracuse Area Music Awards (SAMMYs) Hall of Fame in 2006. He received a Service to the Arts Award in 1983 from the Cultural Resources Council. Bill emcees at least a dozen bluegrass festivals each year and hosts his own, the Bluegrass Ramble Picnic, every August in Little York, NY. That festival is the oldest in New York and New England. Last year it welcomed 17 bands, with nine hours of live performances. This summer will mark Bill’s 50th BGR Picnic. It’s sure to be a very special event, and one any fan of great music won’t want to miss!
Here at WCNY, we often refer to Bill as “The Colonel.” That’s not a reference to his Bluegrass chops, rather a tribute to his long military service. Bill is a proud U.S. Air Force veteran of the Vietnam era, retiring from active duty in 1974 as a lieutenant colonel. Last April, he was thrilled to take part in Honor Flight Mission 16 and join a planeload of other local veterans to tour the military monuments in Washington, D.C. We are proud to call Bill Knowlton our colleague and friend, and we wish him all the best as he begins year 51 of Bluegrass Ramble on WCNY Classic FM!
Classic FM Station Manager
