It was the perfect night for a concert at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow, Long Island.

Making the evening even more ideal was that the concert was free.

As one big thank you to fans for 40 years of loyalty, WCBS-FM hosted its Saturday in the Park with disco great KC and the Sunshine Band.

The on-air gang was there for hours, just like the throngs of listeners. “Broadway” Bill Lee did a later than usual Saturday show, as a live remote just feet from the stage. Fittingly, he stayed on the air until, “Brooklyn’s Own” Joe Causi (above) started his Saturday Night Seventies on scene. The air personalities, including Ron Parker, signed autographs from adoring fans.

Causi provided the “opening act” for KC and the Sunshine Band. Waiting for the sun to set, the classic disco band took the stage at 8:30.

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It was a stretch of nearly 25 years for Al Bernstein at WLTW/Lite-FM. Bernstein left the Clear Channel, perennial top-rated station, in 2007. Nearly five years later, he’s resurfaced at WCBS-FM in a part-time role. After a brief training appearance this week, his first official shift is Sunday afternoon.

Bernstein is reunited with his former program director, Jim Ryan, who took over that position at CBS-FM last month.

WCBS-FM has been in the market for another personality since veteran jock Bob Shannon went on medical leave before the start of the year. While Shannon convalesces, evening and overnight DJs Ron Parker and Joe Causi have rotated on the midday shift.

With more than three decades in New York radio, Bernstein has also been heard on WNEW-FM, WBLS, WYNY, and WKHK (the Country precursor of WLTW).

A native of Westchester, Bernstein’s distinctive sound has led to doing voice-over work on an assortment of radio and TV commercials.

Credit: whud.com

Without any fanfare, it’s a typical month for WLTW/Lite FM. The Adult Contemporary giant was number one in the just-released overall PPM ratings for June.

Lite FM saw its huge numbers dwindle from May (8.1 to 7.7). But the station maintained its 5,600,000 cume (audience).

A surprise at number two, where WLTW sister station WHTZ/Z100 made a nice .5 leap.

Despite only slipping .1 for June, WCBS-FM fell from its usual second-place perch. The Classic Hits format, now under the direction of longtime WLTW programmer Jim Ryan, finds a home in third.

It’s the second ratings book for WBLS since the Urban station gave a voice to several displaced KISS FM/WRKS personalities following ESPN’s takeover of the 98.7 frequency.

WBLS had a fourth-place showing, with only a minimal drop off to 5.6.

As for ESPN/WEPN, the all-sports station lost .2 to 1.6 in the overall ratings. By contrast, rival WFAN improved slightly to 3.3.

More ratings insight after the jump

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It’s a weekend four decades in the making. WCBS-FM, the venerable Oldies turned Classic Hits station, is marking a milestone, after launching the vintage Top 40 tunes on July 7, 1972. To commemorate the occasion, the station is welcoming back, or playing vintage clips of, CBS-FM’s most popular DJs.

The call letters were created in the 1940s. In those nascent days of radio, WCBS-FM was simply a simulcast for the WCBS-AM’s programming.

Finally in 1966, CBS-FM started its own format. The Easy Listening, “Young Sound” was born. A year later, a plane crash into the transmitter, forced WCBS-AM to debut its all-news format on the FM tower.

In 1969, WCBS-FM, still seeking an identity, opted for a freeform rock genre, molded in the WOR-FM and WNEW-FM style.

But it was until 1972 that CBS-FM had its niche in New York–Oldies.

Bill Brown, longtime midday jock, and late night DJ Don K. Reed were CBS-FM “originals” from the freeform days.

The station wasn’t just the greatest oldies or greatest hits of the last 40 years. It showcased some of greatest jocks in history. Dan Ingram, Ron Lundy, Harry Harrison, “Triple D” Dandy Dan Daniel, Bob Shannon, Dan Taylor, and “Broadway” Bill Lee are just a select few that could be inducted into the CBS-FM “Hall of Fame.”

Ironically, as the audience got “older,” the music got younger. In the last several years, the original feel has been slightly altered to focus on the 1970s and 1980s, while putting the 1950s “Oldies” into “semi-retirement.”

The weekend lineup after the jump.

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While the big story of the May Arbitron ratings was the performance of WBLS and ESPN/WEPN, there was more to analyze.

Starting at the top, WLTW/Lite FM, once again sets the tempo. The Clear Channel Adult Contemporary picked up an additional .6 to settle at 8.1.

WCBS-FM, the perennial number two overall, stayed put, although dropping slightly from April to 6.3.

WHTZ/Z100 remains third, but saw a nice .4 boost from last month. Sister station WKTU, however, went in the other direction, losing .3 to 4.4.

Spanish station WSKQ maintains its strong following, gaining .4 to 4.3.

Clear Channel has two more slots in the Top 8 positions–WAXQ/Q 104.3 held steady at 3.7, while WWPR/Power 105.1 had a minimal improvement to 3.4.

More from the ratings after the jump

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Jim Ryan, the WWFS/Fresh 102.7 program director, is adding to his workload. Ryan takes on the title of WCBS-FM program director, effectively immediately. He assumes the role vacated by Brian Thomas, who moved to Florida to head CBS Radio’s Tampa cluster.

“Jim knows New York radio and its core audience like no other, which is a perfect fit for the station that embodies and personifies the city,” said Don Bouloukos, senior vice president and market manager, CBS Radio New York. “I have had the good fortune of working with Jim for the past two years and his day to day performance made my final decision an easy one. This legendary institution [CBS-FM] begins its 41st year in very capable hands.”

Ryan is known for his time as programmer at Clear Channel’s WLTW/Lite FM from 1996 to 2008.

Before joining CBS Radio, Ryan was head of his own consulting company, Jim Ryan Media, where he advised many top radio stations, including market leaders in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Houston, and syndicated national personalities, in addition to providing Arbitron PPM analysis to influential clients in the talk radio industry.

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She was the person, arguably, most associated with the Disco era. Donna Summer, known as the Queen of Disco, died today after battling cancer. She was 63.

A five-time Grammy Award winner, Summer had a string of hits including, Hot Stuff, Bad Girls, On the Radio, and No More Tears with Barbra Streisand. In the 1980s, Summer kept the music playing with She Works Hard for the Money and Unconditional Love, featuring Musical Youth.

WCBS-FM jock Joe Causi has been playing her tracks for years, dating back to his days at Disco 92/WKTU.

“[I'm] still in shock over the passing of Donna Summer,” Causi tells FishbowlNY. ”She was a ‘major’ part of my passion for dance music in the clubs and on the radio. Her music was magical, constantly reinventing herself with every album of music she has given us.”

Summer notched her first number one single in the U.S. with MacArthur Park in 1978. That same year, she got a starring role in the Disco flick Thank God It’s Friday, where she sang her signature, Last Dance.

“Artists like Madonna, Lady Gaga, and other pop superstars should pause for a moment and recollect on the originator,” Causi says.

Summer is survived by her husband, Brooklyn Dreams singer Bruce Sudano, three daughters, and four grandchildren.

As the adage goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same. That could have been written about WLTW/Lite FM and its ratings prowess.

Once again, the Clear Channel heavyweight was tops on the overall PPM Arbitron ratings for April by maintaining a 7.5 rating for the second straight month.

WCBS-FM, which last week announced programmer Brian Thomas is leaving to run the CBS Radio cluster in Tampa, kept its number two position by posting a slight gain to 6.4.

The number three and four stations are familiar dwellers as well. Clear Channel sister stations WHTZ/Z100 was third with a .4 boost to 5.6. WKTU marked time at fourth by again registering a 4.7.

It was a strong finish for KISS FM/WRKS, jumping to fifth place with a 4.0. Last month, ESPN/Disney took over the Emmis’ 98.7 FM frequency.

More from the monthly radio ratings after the jump.

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Brian Thomas has been one of radio’s premiere programmers in the last decade. He didn’t just return WCBS-FM with DJs in 2007, he helped it return to Number 1.

So it was somewhat surprising, even for the industry with the ”nomad” aspect, that Thomas is leaving New York for a promotion. Starting June 4, Thomas will helm the CBS Radio cluster of stations in Tampa. He will keep his hands on CBS-FM from a distance, though, remaining VP of Classic Hits programming.

“I wasn’t even thinking of leaving New York City,” Thomas tells FishbowlNY. “But after six years, it is in the back of your head of what’s next.”

Always seeking the next challenge, and with his favorite markets, aside from New York, in California and Florida, Thomas was open to exploration.

“When Ben Hill [SVP/market manager, Tampa] reached out in an e-mail that said…here’s a crazy thought [in the subject line] ‘Do you have any interest in the Tampa programming gig?’ It took a week to make the decision.”

But that decision was wrought with emotion.

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Chalk up another victory for WLTW/Lite FM. The Adult Contemporary powerhouse ranked first again in the monthly PPM Arbitron ratings.

WLTW kept its huge audience with a 7.5 rating, a .2 increase from the previous month.

Top competitor WCBS-FM remained a consistent number two in the overall ratings for March. The Classic Hits station, though, lost .3 for the month to 6.3.

Clear Channel’s Z100/WHTZ held third place, and maintained a 5.2 rating for the second straight survey. Sister station WKTU got a .3 boost to 4.7 for March.

Popular Tropical station WSKQ has a slight increase to 3.9. The city’s other Spanish formatted station, WXNY, registered a 3.5 again.

WRKS/KISS FM made a slight gain to 3.8, while Classic Rocker WAXQ slipped to a 3.8.

More from the monthly ratings after the jump

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