For nearly 50 years, WLRN’s Ted Grossman has donned his engineer's cap, placed his model locomotive on the radio console and chugged out weekly with his long-running “The Night Train” program.
On Sunday, Dec. 29, the Night Train pulls into the station one last time. Grossman is retiring. He will host his final four-hour show, beginning at 8 p.m. from the WLRN studio in downtown Miami.
Over the years, "Ted has charmed and entertained his audience with wonderful music, but also with a huge store of knowledge of the musicians, the recording studios and the famous venues of jazz, regularly airing rare transcriptions of live recordings from the golden age of swing and Big Band music," says Peter Maerz, WLRN's Vice President for Radio. He and Grossman have worked together for more than 30 years.
His audience comes from a surprisingly broad cross-section of the South Florida population.
"When they listen to Night Train, older fans recall the music of their youth, and younger listeners are surprised that the past can be so enjoyable," said Grossman.
Last year, in an interview with the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Grossman said he knew early on in his radio career that he had to diversify his selection of music.
“I realized right away you just can't play big bands,” said Grossman. “You’ve got to mix it up. I'll play anything but smooth jazz and fusion. I can’t tell a sharp from a flat, but I know what good taste is.”
“I think we present it in the proper way,” he added. “Each week is different. We have features, we tell the backgrounds, we tell stories, who’s playing, the dates of the recordings. And I didn't mean it to be that way, but many people tell me it’s like going to a class. I am playing records probably older than a good portion of my audience.”
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Over his many decades in radio, Grossman has devoted himself to collecting and popularizing the jazz and big band music of the '30's and 40's. He’s also accumulated an enviable collection of vintage performances including World War II recordings, Glen Miller concerts and Armed Forces Radio Services broadcasts.
A native of Brooklyn, New York, Grossman moved with his family to Miami Beach in 1949 and graduated from North Miami Senior High School in 1960. He’s a Vietnam-era veteran and served in the Air Force as an air defense radar operator. He then spent three decades with the U.S. Postal Service, retiring in 2009. He also worked at the Miami Seaquarium as an announcer.
Grossman pitched the idea of the Night Train to WLRN in 1975 after the public radio station ended a syndicated Big Band show. All the while, he kept his job with the post office because he joked, “the postal uniform paid the bills, while WLRN paid my ego.”
“I called the station and told them, ‘Listen, I have this material (Big Band records),'" recalls Grossman in his New York accent and distinctive baritone voice. "I'm used to a microphone. I can speak. You should let me have a job.’ I went in. They said ‘we’re gonna try you out.’"
The rest is Night Train history.
