The Song Remains the Same
After 35 years, WDHA sticks to its rock ‘n’ roll guns. By Joe Strupp
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T’S 10:30 ON A THURSDAY MORNING
and Terrie Carr is doing her daily jug-
gling act. Inside the dimly lit studio of
radio station WDHA in Cedar Knolls,
Carr spins rock music, fields listener
requests, segues to commercial spots and
works the audio board, blending music
and voice with conductor-like precision.
“It’s what I thrive on,” says Carr, who
has deejayed at the station on and off for
25 years, and also serves as music direc-
tor. “I love to do a million little things, I
feel connected to our audience and that’s
what terrestrial radio is all about.”
It’s a throwback mentality, but Carr
and WDHA (aka 105.5 FM) are very
much in the present. The station has
been digital for two decades; turntables
stopped spinning 15 years ago.
“I don’t have to worry about a record
skipping,” says Carr. “It’s almost fool-
proof.” Still, she says, “the vibe in the
studio hasn’t changed a whole lot.”
Indeed, memories surround Carr,
who handles the midday shift, and her
fellow deejays. A banner stetches across
one wall of the studio with autographs
from guest musicians who have stopped
by the station over the years. Carr,
looking very much the rocker in black
WDHA t-shirt and jeans, keeps a cow-
bell and a giant bunny PEZ dispenser
close at hand at the console.
On this day, Lou from Morristown
calls in for Billy Squier’s “Rock Me To-
night.” Later, Bobby D. requests some-
thing from Red Sun Rising, an Ohio band
whose debut was released more than 30
years after Squier’s song hit the airwaves.
Mixing the old and new is how
WDHA has remained relevant to listen-
ers while keeping the same rock format
since 1980, when the station was located
in a house on Route 10 in Randolph.
The format, says station manager
Nancy McKinley, “is really in keeping with
what the people in northern New Jersey
want. Rock is a really important part of
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MEDIA
ROCK JOCKS:
Terrie Carr,
left, and fellow
WDHA deejay
Curtis Kay are
familiar voices
to North Jersey
rock fans.
