30 Years Ago Today Preston Elliot Moved to Philly… and Never Left
Its funny how memories can bring on other memories. Last week Preston noticed that it was 30 years since the Blizzard of ’96 here in Philly. This lead to the…
Its funny how memories can bring on other memories. Last week Preston noticed that it was 30 years since the Blizzard of '96 here in Philly. This lead to the revelation that he came to Philly to start his radio career here a week after that.
Today, January 12th, 2026, The Preston & Steve Show was a celebration of those 30 years. That decision for Preston to come to Philly changed not just his life, but those of the show and the Philadelphia radio landscape itself.
The Sounds
The musical selections of the morning show today all came from songs released (or popularized) in 1996. From the Smashing Pumpkins taking us back to "1979 (Ninety-Seventy-Nine)" to a road trip to York, PA with Live's "All Over You". A tribute to Molly Ringwald came from Sponge with "Molly". Oasis, Alanis Morrisette, Spacehog and more late nineties hits. You can always see what was recently played on MMR here.
The Stories
It goes without saying that 30 years leads to a whole lot of memories. Preston shared that it was an overcast day when he arrived. He needed to pull off the road to find a payphone to call WDRE Program Director Jim McGuinn to figure out where the hell he was going. Jim gave not just directions to the station, but a path to changing more lives than he knew.
Jim McGuinn
The conversation included a special appearance from the man himself: Jim McGuinn, the WDRE Program Director who hired Preston and brought him to town. Memories flowed about the scrappy beginnings of WDRE, its low tech setup in a retirement home complex, and the creative energy that made the station short lived but unforgettable.
As Casey pointed out, the ripple effect of Jim’s choices did not just shape careers but helped fuel decades of success and the millions of lives impacted through events like the Camp Out for Hunger.
Will Chapman
We also heard from Preston's first friend from WDRE Will Chapman. Will shared not just some joys of the working days with Preston, but also the joys of retirement as Will is certainly enjoying that these days. Preston also recounts an LLC he had formed with Will as well as donning a judge's outfit to judge people who couldn't park or partied too hard.
These stories and many more in todays episode:
