Howard's first radio job came in 1971 during his senior year in Suffern High School. An English Teacher (and faculty adviser of the school radio station WSHS), Hank Gross, was working at WTBQ Radio in Warwick, NY on weekends and brought in Howard to do odd jobs like news-gathering, music filing and an occasional newscast. The station hired him full-time shortly thereafter, and he did the 2pm-to-signoff shift. While finishing his final year in high school, Howard also took on the role of music director, and the station made a transition from a "beautiful music" format to a more adult contemporary sound.
