Road Trip Across America 1973 (Segment 1)

-


It's 1973 we climb into our AMC Gremlin for a cross-country road trip.  We begin in NYC.  We break up the trip into multiple segments and create a 70-minute CD for each segment of songs we would likely hear on the radio as we travel.  Segment 1 NYC to Pittsburgh.  

What would we hear and what stations would we tune into.  What route would we use?  I'm leaning toward more backroads.

THE ROUTE (1973 backroads version)

You’re leaning the right way. Instead of the fast but soulless I‑80 turnpike blast, we take the character route:

NYC → US‑46 → PA Route 611 → PA Route 22 → US‑30 → Pittsburgh

This gives you:

  • The Delaware Water Gap

  • Allentown/Bethlehem

  • The long industrial spine of Route 22

  • The Laurel Highlands

  • The old Lincoln Highway (US‑30) rolling into Pittsburgh

This is exactly the corridor where FM freeform and AM Top 40 overlapped in the early ’70s.

NYC → New Jersey (first 20–30 minutes)

Stations we’d hear

  • WABC 770 AM – Top 40 giant

  • WNEW 102.7 FM – Freeform rock, deep cuts

  • WPLJ 95.5 FM – Album‑oriented rock

  • WCBS‑FM 101.1 – Oldies (already a thing by ’73)

New Jersey → Delaware Water Gap → Allentown

Stations we’d hear

  • WIBG 990 AM (Philadelphia) – fading in and out

  • WIFI 92.5 FM (Philadelphia) – early album rock

  • WAEB 790 AM (Allentown) – Top 40

  • WEEX 1230 AM (Easton) – pop/rock

  • WSAN 1470 AM (Allentown) – progressive rock (yes, really)

Route 22: Allentown → Harrisburg → Altoona

This is the industrial backbone of Pennsylvania in ’73 — steel, coal, trucking, diners, and FM stations with DJs who still smoked in the booth.

Stations we’d hear

  • WQXA 105.7 FM (York/Harrisburg) – album rock

  • WKBO 1230 AM (Harrisburg) – Top 40

  • WFBG 1290 AM (Altoona) – pop/rock

  • WAMQ 94.3 FM (State College) – college‑leaning eclectic mix

US‑30: The Lincoln Highway → Pittsburgh

As we crest the Laurel Highlands, Pittsburgh stations begin to fade in.

Stations we’d hear

  • KQV 1410 AM – Top 40 powerhouse

  • WDVE 102.5 FM – brand new album rock station (launched 1969, rising fast by ’73)

  • WAMO 106.7 FM – soul, funk, R&B

  • WIXZ 1360 AM (McKeesport) – Top 40 (where a young Jeff Christie — later known as Rush Limbaugh — worked)

Sliding into that ’73 Gremlin, ashtray full, map folded in the glovebox, WABC fading into static as Manhattan shrinks in the rearview — this is exactly the kind of trip where the radio becomes the co‑pilot. And in 1973, the dial was alive: AM Top 40 still dominant, FM freeform exploding, and the backroads between NYC and Pittsburgh giving you a constantly shifting soundtrack.

Below is Segment 1: NYC → Pittsburgh, built as if we’re actually driving it in 1973, taking the slower, more interesting route — the one with diners, truck stops, and small‑town FM stations that still played whatever the DJ felt like.

Coming soon. 
Segment 2 Pittsburgh to Columbus. Segment 2 is where the dial really changes. Leaving Pittsburgh on US‑30 and dropping onto US‑40 (the National Road) toward Wheeling, you move from steel‑town FM rock into a corridor where AM radio still ruled, and where country, trucker songs, and regional singles were absolutely part of the soundscape.

Comments

Post a Comment