When the cafe clock in Anabel Taylor Hall struck 8 p.m. on Sunday,

Feb. 6, WVBR's "Bound for Glory" launched its landmark 1,000th live radio show. The longest-running live folk concert broadcast in North America featured an Illinois-based folk duo called Small Potatoes and "a few surprises," said the show's producers.

But it's no small potatoes cracking the 1,000th live broadcast milestone.

Phil Shapiro, M.A. '69, creator and host of "Bound for Glory," is the stalwart force behind the show's success. Shapiro has hosted and produced every one of the 1,000 live shows -- and he's actually done about 1,600 shows altogether.

"The achievement is unbelievable," said Steve Worona, president of Friends of Bound for Glory, a volunteer support group established in 1996. "Not only has Phil managed to host this show for 33 years, he has single-handedly produced each concert."

"Bound for Glory" got its start in 1967, the year folk legend Woody Guthrie died and Shapiro came to Cornell as a graduate student in economics. Shapiro started his show at WVBR's studio, then located in the basement of Willard Straight Hall. The aspiring DJ started out spinning vinyl, but Shapiro soon added live performances by local musicians to the mix. In 1969, "Bound for Glory" aired live from the coffeehouse at Anabel Taylor Hall, where it has remained.

Shapiro's promotional savvy and word of mouth soon made "Bound for Glory" a household name on the folk music circuit. Today, it's a major tour stop for any folkster -- established or unknown. That's an accomplishment in itself: No one gets paid money for appearing on "Bound for Glory" -- not Shapiro, not the producers and not the performers. Admission is free for the public.

But "Bound for Glory" performers are compensated with an element that is all too rare these days, according to the show's genial host.

"They get paid in magic," said Shapiro. "Our live audience is known far and wide as the best folk audience in the country. We have famous performers come back again and again."

Bill Staines, a master folk musician, has accounted for 17 of the 1,000 "Bound for Glory" live broadcasts. Others performers, like Howie Bursen, have topped even that impressive figure.

Shapiro says "Bound for Glory" is booked as well as any folk club in the country. He gets calls from agents and performers all the time. Among the nationally recognized artists who have played "Bound for Glory": Patty Larkin, Utah Phillips, John McCutcheon, Aztec Two-Step, Martin Simpson, Mike Seeger, John Gorka and Sam Hinton. But local musicians have graced its stage as well: Peggy Haine, Bill Steele and Mark Rust -- as well as the group Cornerstone.

Musicians who don't necessarily need exposure seek a night with Shapiro and friends. And even that exposure's limited: WVBR's signal doesn't carry much beyond a 60-mile radius outside Ithaca. But in April, Ellis Paul will play "Bound for Glory" for a second time. Paul has appeared on MTV, and yet he'll be coming back for some of that "Bound for Glory" magic.

Paul's return also is an example of Shapiro's willingness to stretch the definition of folk music -- if the performer is top-notch.

"I want to hear some connection to the thousand-year-old folk tradition, but I go by my gut instinct," Shapiro said. "The further you are from that tradition, the better you have to be to appear on the show. Ellis Paul is fairly far removed, but by God, is he good!"

The "Bound for Glory" audience itself has gone through a lot of changes since the show got its start, Shapiro said.

"We started out with basically all students and the occasional gray beard. But by the early 1980s, the audience was mostly aging baby boomers. Today we have every age group, from little kids to senior citizens. That makes us one of the few concert venues in North America that's not segregated by age," he said.

And a spectrum of dedicated "Bound for Glory" fans will be on hand to celebrate what has become an Ithaca tradition: Sunday nights at Anabel Taylor Cafe.

The show is broadcast live from the Cafe at Anabel Taylor Hall from 8 to 11 p.m. every Sunday night when Cornell is in session and from the WVBR studios during vacations. Performers generally play three 30-minute sets at 8:30, 9:30 and 10:30 p.m. Admission for the live audience is free. Food and beverages provided by Cornell Dining are available at the cafe.

WVBR is at 93.5 FM throughout Central New York, and 105.5 FM on Ithaca's East Hill.