as "freeform". Laquidara's classical music background and interest in jazz also helped form the eclectic nature of the influential radio station. As described by former station manager Dave Pierce in a memoir, in the late 1960s Laquidara typically began his midnight program with "twenty minutes of bird sounds" and then "juxtaposed The Blue Danube waltz and Emerson, Lake & Palmer". Return to Massachusetts In 1969, he was offered an airshift at WBCN in Boston, to replace disc jockey Peter Wolf, who was leaving to join the newly formed J. Geils Band. In 1972, Laquidara took over the morning shift on WBCN — dubbed the show "The Big Mattress" — and stayed there for almost 25 years, before moving to WBCN sister station WZLX in 1996. The Big Mattress The Big Mattress, Laquidara's morning program, was a pioneer effort in FM broadcasting. It was one of the first FM broadcasts to feature a shifting cast of on-air personnel, including producers, writers and production staff. The program included music, news, talk and humor such as making prank phone calls to unsuspecting listeners, elements that are now a widely used characteristic of "drive time" radio. One feature of the program was a segment called "Mishigas" (Yiddish for "craziness") where the group led by Laquidara would quiz listeners, including celebrities, offering prizes for correct responses. If the listener was unable to answer the quiz, a penalty of having to "dance the Funky Chicken" was issued. In 1976, Laquidara surprised listeners by abruptly announcing he was "quitting radio to do television and pursue other paths". Laquidara later admitted that he had quit radio in 1976 because "it was getting in the way of my cocaine habit." Laquidara retired to live in Stow Massachusetts for almost two years and was persuaded to return to WBCN by then program director Tommy Hadges, whom he gives credit to for saving him from his drug habit. "When I came back in '78, I didn't really want to come back, because I still wanted to continue being able to do cocaine, but the money they offered me was too hard to say no to. Luckily, I agreed to do it and I'm still alive." The Big Mattress was a top-rated Boston area radio show lasting for over twenty years. Duane Ingalls Glasscock As a recurring part of WBCN's The Big Mattress, Laquidara introduced his alter ego, Duane Ingalls Glasscock, who