![\"DJ](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/20260503-The_Orlando_Sentinel_1981_02_23_Page_11-2.jpg\")
DJ Andy Preston plays music on the final day of WORJ-FM, then known as Orlando’s “Zeta 7,” on Feb. 20, 1981. (Orlando Sentinel File)<\/p>\nFor Orlando radio listeners in 1970s and early \u201980s, the name \u201cZeta 7\u201d likely conjures up a mix of fond memories and profound anger.<\/p>\n
WORJ-FM, \u201cZeta 7,\u201d as it was known back then, was the station that pioneered progressive, album-oriented rock music in Central Florida. It\u2019s now called WMGF-FM, Magic 107.7.<\/p>\n
In early February 1981, station owner Sudbrink Broadcasting announced WORJ and Zeta 7 would end its album rock format and become WJYO-FM, \u201cThe Joy of Orlando,\u201d featuring an \u201ceasy listening\u201d library of music including Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe go into this new easy listening programming with mixed feelings,\u201d said General Manager Harvey Tate told the Sentinel-Star then. \u201cZeta 7 is and was one of the finest album-oriented rock stations in the county. I am sure that most Zeta 7 listeners and fans will be disappointed at having to give up this format \u2013 which was more than a radio format, it was a lifestyle.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tate was spot on. Many fans pleaded with the station to stop the format change. When it came anyway, they protested by displaying upside-down \u201cZeta 7\u201d license plates on the front of their cars. Years after Zeta 7 left the air, you could still spot those upside-down license plates across Central Florida.<\/p>\n
On Friday, Feb. 20, 1981, Zeta 7\u2019s final day, Sentinel-Star reporter Jeffrey Zaslow went to the station to chronicle its finals hours. Here is part of his story:<\/p>\n
12:01 a.m. \u2013 Disc Jockey Paul Gerardi leads into the new day, the last day, with a solemn station identification. \u201cThis is WORJ Mount Dora\/ Orlando,\u201d he says, then pauses to take a breath and catch his emotions. \u201cTo our friends, I hope, we will always be Zeta 7.\u201d Gerardi cues a song to set the mood: \u201cBlack Friday\u201d by Steely Dan.<\/p>\n
7 a.m. \u2013 Rock \u2018n\u2019 rollers in Central Florida are waking up to Thom Robinson, who sits in the DJ booth (by his own acknowledgement) in a state of stunned despair. He wears a button which reads, \u201cI Can\u2019t Stand It No More.\u201d His words are melodramatic but there is sincerity in what he is saying. \u201cI\u2019m Thom Robinson on Zeta 7,\u201d he says, \u201cand this is the last day of my life. I go into the bread line at 10 o\u2019clock this morning. Soon I\u2019ll be heading to West Virginia to stay with my sister and sort out my life. There\u2019s a lot to be said, but music can say it much better than I can.\u201d<\/p>\n
7:40 a.m. \u2013 The phones have been ringing all morning and Robinson decides to allow some of the callers on the air to offer their tributes to Zeta 7. Many of the callers thank him for the Zeta license plates (70,000 were distributed in the past two years).\u00a0 Robinson, 29, responds by telling his listeners to open their windows, even if they\u2019re in their cars, and shout, \u201cWe\u2019re mad as hell and we\u2019re not going to take it anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
DJ Andy Preston plays music on the final day of WORJ-FM, then known as Orlando’s “Zeta 7,” on Feb. 20, 1981. (Orlando Sentinel File)<\/p>\n
1:25 p.m. \u2013 General Manager Harvey Tate, a big, friendly, 48-year-old man whom the DJs regard as an uncle, sits in his own office smiling and speaking of his excitement. \u201cThis is probably the first time in broadcast history where a successful station has made a format change,\u201d he says. \u201cYes, it\u2019s the end of an era and it\u2019s sad. But we\u2019ve made intensive studies of the market, and we think the new format will attract an even larger audience.\u201d<\/p>\n
3:05 p.m. \u2013 A crowd gathers in Tate\u2019s office to look through a stack of several dozen letters Tate has received from listeners. There are a few sympathy cards, and several letter-writers accuse Tate of \u201cselling out Zeta 7 \u2013 rock \u2018n\u2019 roll just to make more money.\u201d A few are in favor of the changed format. But most are just expressions of thanks for all the good music. As people page through the letters, Lise Ruby, one of the station\u2019s advertising saleswomen, comes into Tate\u2019s office and says simply, \u201cZeta was trying to hold onto that spirit from the \u201960s and early \u201970s. But now times are different. Today, everybody\u2019s off doing their own thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
9:22 p.m. \u2013 Six long-faced DJs gather in the announcer\u2019s booth along with David Sousa, 33, founder and VP of Zeta 7. \u201cI kind of hope,\u201d Sousa says over the air, \u201cthat in the next 38 minutes, the governor\u2019s going to call with a reprieve \u2013 a stay of execution. He\u2019ll say they should unstrap us from the electric chair.\u201d<\/p>\n
9:33 p.m. \u2013 A number of Zeta fans have gathered at the station. \u201cI came to be here with other Zeta people,\u201d says Mike Decker. \u201cIt\u2019s the demise of a legend.\u201d<\/p>\n
9:45 p.m. \u2013 Don McLean\u2019s \u201cAmerican Pie\u201d begins.<\/p>\n
9:59 p.m. \u2013 Sousa announces \u201cZeta 7 now leaves the air.\u201d He then plays a short refrain from \u201cGoodnight\u201d by the Beatles.<\/p>\n
10:01 p.m. \u2013 Dead air. Static. Outside the studio, about 20 die-hard fans, most in their teens and 20s, light candles and stand quietly paying their last respects. One fan, Lee Toy says, \u201cIt\u2019s like losing a good friend.\u201d<\/p>\n