BUFFALO, N.Y. — Before the New Year’s Eve Electric Tower ball drop became the yearly tradition that it is now, it was only scheduled to be a one-time event in 1988… So how did it make it this far?
Here in Buffalo, the NYE ball drop is a tradition 36 years running, but as former 97 Rock host Larry Norton explains he never expected this during its very first year.
“We thought it would be a one-time thing, but here it is all these years later, still going on,” Norton said.
Norton has since retired from his on-air role with 97 Rock and now lives in Florida.
But, he was back in town for Christmas, and took some time to tell the story about how our New Year’s Eve celebration came to be.
“In 1988, 97 Rock came back on the air after a brief hiatus, and we thought it would be good to do something to celebrate the first year back, so we said, ‘Let’s do a ball drop like New York City',” Norton said.
The radio station organized the event, and figured it was a great way to play their music in a way everybody could hear it.
“As a classic rock station, we said, ‘We want to play our best songs,’ so it was The Who, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin and it’s still rocking today.”
1988 proved to be a very successful celebration, and after every one of those successful years, they put the event on again and again, taking us through the decades and up to our current celebration.
“When it first started, it was big, but it has certainly grown over the years,” Norton said.
Just as many of you have watched all those celebrations on TV, you can join us at WKBW again by watching Channel 7 and our WKBW streaming app Sunday night to ring in 2024 with us.
“I’ll be with my sister in Raleigh for New Year’s, so I’ll be watching the one on television,” Norton said.
This celebration has lasted through everything from a global pandemic to an Electric Tower ownership change in 2004, when Paul B Iskalo bought the building.
“[New Year’s Eve] was certainly part of the discussions [during the sale], about what the responsibility was,” Iskalo said. “It was a tradition, and I felt it was important to carry that tradition on… This is a highlight, right at the top, it’s a great day of the year.”
Iskalo spent Thursday prepping his 8-man ball drop team for their 20th celebration in charge.
“I’m going from 7 a.m. to probably 3 to 4 a.m. the next morning. That is a long day,” said Iskalo Development Corp. chief engineer Michael Kless.
Everything is all set and ready to celebrate 2024 come Sunday at midnight.
Happy New Year Western New York!
