If you grew up anywhere near a transistor radio in the Tri-State area during the sixties, that voice is tattooed on your brain. It’s high-octane. It’s joyful. It’s quintessentially New York. Bruce Morrow—better known to basically everyone as "Cousin Brucie"—isn't just a disc jockey. He's a living time capsule of the golden age of Top 40 radio. But as the decades roll by and we keep hearing that same familiar energy on the airwaves, people naturally start asking the same question: how old is Cousin Brucie, anyway?
He’s older than the rock and roll era he helped define.
Bruce Morrow was born on October 11, 1935. As of right now, in early 2026, Cousin Brucie is 90 years old. Let that sink in for a second. While most people his age are deep into a quiet retirement, Brucie is still leaning into the microphone, spinning the Four Seasons, and shouting "Go, Cousin!" to a multi-generational audience. It's kinda wild when you think about it. He has been on the air for about seven decades. He was there when the Beatles touched down at JFK. He was there when 77 WABC was the biggest station in the known universe. And honestly, he’s still here, proving that "teenager" is a state of mind rather than a number on a birth certificate.
The Brooklyn Roots of a Radio Legend
Brucie didn’t just appear out of thin air with a velvet voice and a stack of 45s. He’s a Brooklyn boy through and through. Born in the Sheepshead Bay neighborhood, his early life was shaped by the salt air and the frantic energy of post-Depression New York. He wasn't always the "Cousin." In the beginning, he was just a kid obsessed with communication. He attended James Madison High School—the same school that produced Carole King and Judge Judy—and then headed off to New York University.
Radio back then wasn't the corporate, programmed-by-algorithm machine it is today. It was the Wild West.
While at NYU, he helped found WCUM, the student radio station. It was the first time he really felt the power of that connection through the speakers. After a stint in Bermuda (where he reportedly worked at ZBM-1), he came back to New York and eventually landed at WINS. This was the era of Alan Freed. The energy was electric. But it was his move to 77 WABC in 1961 that really lit the fuse. That’s where the "Cousin" persona truly became a cultural phenomenon.
How Old is Cousin Brucie and Why Does He Sound 25?
It’s the great mystery of the industry. You listen to him on WABC (where he returned in 2020) or his long-running SiriusXM show, and you don’t hear a 90-year-old man. You hear a guy who is genuinely excited about the music. Most people his age have a certain "patina" to their voice—a gravelly quality or a slowing of tempo. Not Brucie.
The secret might be the "Cousin" moniker itself.
The story goes that back in his early days at WINS, an elderly woman walked into the studio and asked if she could call him "Cousin" because she felt like he was family. He realized right then that radio wasn't about being a distant celebrity; it was about being a relative in the room. He leaned into that. That connection keeps you young. When you’re talking to "family" every night, you don't have time to get old.
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He’s outlived almost all of his contemporaries. He saw the rise and fall of disco, the birth of hip-hop, the transition from AM to FM, and the pivot to digital satellite radio. Through it all, his delivery hasn't changed. He still uses those classic radio tropes—the staccato pacing, the warm "Hey, Cousins!" greeting—that feel nostalgic but never dated.
The Night He Met The Beatles
You can’t talk about Brucie’s age or legacy without talking about August 1965. If you want to understand why he is a permanent fixture in music history, look at the footage of the Beatles at Shea Stadium.
He was the one who introduced them.
Think about the sheer volume of that crowd. 55,000 screaming fans. It was a level of noise that modern speakers can barely replicate. Brucie stood on that stage, took the mic, and felt the earth move. He has often joked that he was terrified the stage was going to collapse. Being part of that moment cemented him as more than a DJ; he became the gatekeeper of the British Invasion in America. He wasn't just playing the records; he was the bridge between the band and the fans.
That kind of experience changes a person. It gives you a perspective on cultural shifts that very few people alive today possess. When he talks about the 60s, he’s not reciting a history book. He’s telling you what the air smelled like at Shea.
From 77 WABC to SiriusXM and Back Again
For a long time, people thought Brucie would finish his career at SiriusXM. He spent fifteen years there on the "60s on 6" channel, reaching a national audience that had moved away from New York but still craved that specific sound. It seemed like the perfect "retirement" gig—high pay, low stress, global reach.
But then 2020 happened.
In a move that shocked the industry, Brucie left the satellite giant and returned to his original home: 77 WABC. At age 84, most people are looking for the exit. Brucie was looking for the entrance. He wanted to go back to the terrestrial airwaves where it all started.
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"I'm coming home," he said at the time.
It wasn't just a marketing slogan. WABC had been bought by John Catsimatidis, who wanted to bring back some of the station’s legendary luster. Hiring Brucie back was a masterstroke. It proved that in an era of TikTok and Spotify, there is still a massive, hungry audience for "Personality Radio." People don't just want songs; they want a friend to play them with.
The Health and Longevity of a Radio Icon
Ninety is a big number. Naturally, fans worry. Every time he takes a week off or sounds a little bit tired, the Google searches for "Cousin Brucie health" or "is Cousin Brucie still on the air" spike.
So far, the man seems indestructible.
He’s been open about his life over the years, often attributing his longevity to his wife, Jodie, and his genuine love for the audience. There’s a psychological component to aging that scientists call "purpose." If you have a reason to get up, put on a headset, and engage with thousands of people, your brain stays wired. Brucie is the ultimate case study in this.
He has also managed to avoid the "angry old man" syndrome that plagues many veteran broadcasters. He doesn't spend his airtime complaining about how music today is "noise" or how the world is going to hell. He stays positive. He stays in the "Cousin" zone. That lack of stress—or rather, the ability to transmute stress into performance energy—is a legitimate health hack.
Misconceptions About the Cousin
People often get his age wrong because he’s been "old" in their minds for a long time. If you were a teenager in 1964, Brucie felt like an older, cooler brother. If you’re seventy now, he still feels like that. It creates a weird time-warp effect where people assume he must be 100 or, conversely, that he started much later than he did.
Another misconception? That he’s just a "nostalgia act."
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While he plays oldies, his business sense is incredibly modern. He understood the value of his "Cousin Brucie" brand decades before "personal branding" was a buzzword in Silicon Valley. He trademarked the name. He wrote books. He did cameos in movies like Dirty Dancing (he’s the magician, in case you missed it). He’s a savvy businessman who happens to have a golden voice.
How to Listen to Him Today
If you want to hear the legend in action, you don’t need an old tube radio anymore.
- 77 WABC (New York): He hosts "Cousin Brucie’s Saturday Night Rock & Roll Party" from 6 PM to 10 PM ET. It’s also streamed online, so you can listen from anywhere.
- WABC App: You can catch his shows on demand if you miss the live broadcast.
- Live Appearances: He still pops up at various events around New York and New Jersey, though these are rarer than they used to be.
Hearing him live is a different experience than listening to a recording. There’s an unpredictability to it. He might tell a story about Mick Jagger that he’s never told before, or he might spend five minutes talking to a caller from Brooklyn who remembers a concert in 1962. That’s the magic.
Why Cousin Brucie Matters in 2026
We live in a world of curated playlists. Spotify knows what you like, but it doesn't know you. Cousin Brucie represents the last of the Great Communicators. He’s a reminder that music is a social experience.
When you ask how old Cousin Brucie is, you’re really asking how long this era of radio can last. He is the final bridge to a time when a single DJ could command the attention of an entire city. When he eventually decides to hang up the headphones, it won't just be the end of a career; it will be the end of a specific type of American magic.
But for now? He’s 90. He’s healthy. He’s loud. And he’s still your Cousin.
Actionable Next Steps for Fans:
- Check the WABC Schedule: Tune in this Saturday night. Even if you aren't a fan of 60s music, listen to the technique. Listen to how he hits the "intro" of a song (talking right up until the vocals start). It’s a masterclass in broadcasting.
- Explore the Archives: Look for his 1987 autobiography, Cousin Brucie: My Life in Rock 'n' Roll Radio. It’s a fantastic look at the politics and payola of early radio.
- Share the Experience: If you have kids or grandkids, play a segment for them. Explain that before the internet, this man was the internet. He was how you found out what was cool.
Brucie isn't just surviving; he's thriving. He’s proof that if you find the thing you love, you never actually have to grow up. Go, Cousin!