By Sharon Oliver
Contributing Writer
REGION – Radio personality John Garabedian has been a fixture in the Massachusetts radio and television scene for more than 50 years. However, the 83-year-old Southborough resident is best known as the creator and host of “Open House Party” (OHP) on Kiss 108. Six months after its launch, it was the most-listened-to radio program in Boston on Saturday nights.
Basement beginnings
His good fortune began after attending a party in 1987 where he ran into Kiss 108/WXKS-FM’s Sunny Joe White, who asked Garabedian if he would be interested in doing a weekend shift on the station. During dinner the following week, Garabedian pitched the idea of hosting a big live, interactive, national party show. White loved it. Failing to find the right office space, Garabedian chose to do the show from his basement and strapped a tiny microwave antenna to his chimney and aimed it towards the Prudential Tower which was 24 miles away. After all, he built his first radio station in his suburban Boston bedroom at the age of 14.
Listeners loved the requested songs, celebrity interviews and danceable music mix and the program grew into a nationally syndicated show with broadcasts on over 175 stations worldwide.
Some of the segments aired on the show included “Make It or Break It” (also called “Rate the Record”). Garabedian played a new song each week and listeners called in with their votes and opinions, and “Who Sings It?” wherein Garabedian played a throwback song (the fourth song of the show), and listeners called to guess the artist in order to win a prize.
Departure from show
Garabedian sold the show in 2012. He said in a press release: “When I sold “Open House Party” to United Stations four years ago, they required me to host for four more years. That expires at midnight this New Year’s Eve. Though they were surprised I declined to renew, I explained that I had one major life achievement I had yet to accomplish and needed space to do it.”
When United Stations were unable to find a replacement in 2016, they asked Garabedian if he would stay until 2017. His final show aired in January 2017. Since his departure, OPH has changed in terms of presentation and production. Lady Gaga once said in the Boston Herald, “If it weren’t for John Garabedian, no one in America would know who I am.”
In the same article, Garabedian speaks about his first “Open House Party” guests – a couple of “tall good-looking black guys from Germany.” During the interview the host asked the R&B duo how they were able to sing in perfect English. They replied, ‘We practice very, very hard.” It was later discovered that the two performers known as Milli Vanilli were lip-syncing.
Philip McLaughlin9636 shared this advice on YouTube given to him by Garabedian when they met several years ago, “I met Garabedian in Boston, and he was nice enough to talk to me. I asked him what is your advice for getting into broadcasting. And his reply was just be yourself and have fun with it. Don’t imitate anybody. Let your dreams take you as far as you can go. Never forgot it!”
Many awards
In 2013, Garabedian was awarded “Broadcaster of the Year” for the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association and inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2014. In the spring of 2018, he was nominated for the National Radio Hall of Fame in the category “Longstanding Network/Syndicated Personality (20+ years)” for his 29-year run on “Open House Party.”
In 2024, Garabedian acquired WJIB after the passing of longtime owner and operator Bob Bittner and reimaged it from “The Memory Station” to “The Memories Channel.”
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