Rock Radio Scrapbook

Airchecks: 1971

Talent: TOM RIVERS
Station: CHUM Toronto
Date: January 1, 1971
Time: 12:46

The story of CHUM's year-end charts is a rich and important part of the history of the Top 40 radio pioneer.

CHUM began publishing weekly charts right from its beginning as a Top 40 station on May 27, 1957. However, it didn't publish a year-end list until January 13, 1964, with the Top 63 of '63. CHUM did broadcast the top hits of the previous year in countdown form on New Year's Day in prior years, but if you wanted a list, you had to listen and write them down.

From the Top 63 of '63 to the Top 67 of '67, the year-end survey appeared in the CHUM Chart. In 1968 and 1969, however, the year-end chart became a Top 100 list, available only by sending in a stamped self-addressed envelope to CHUM. Starting with the Top 100 of 1970, the year-end survey was published in a Toronto newspaper. That practice continued right up until the final list, the Top 100 of 1985 (CHUM abandoned its Top 40 format for soft-rock in June, 1986, so there was no 1986 survey). It should be noted that the year-end list format changed in the early '80s, to the Top 82 of '82, the Top 83 of '83, and the Top 84 of '84. It was a Top 100 in all the other years.

All of these countdowns were broadcast on CHUM, sometimes live, sometimes taped. On January 1, 1971, Tom Rivers was counting down the Top 100 of 1970.

Hear a portion of it here.

(The Gary J. Peterson and Donald Major Collections)

Thanks to Marc Denis for his superb audio editing!

Talent: CKLW composite
Station: CKLW Windsor, Ont.
Date: Mostly 1970s
Time: 14:37

What really made CKLW such a great station? Was it the tight production, the bright formatics, the music or the personalities? In truth, it was really a combination of all four elements plus a few more. But to this corner, it was the personalities that really gave 'CK the edge.

On this aircheck, you'll hear a collage of many of the great CKLW voices, including (in order) Byron McGregor, Tom Rivers, Charlie Fox, Jim Jackson, Hal Martin, Johnny Williams, Charlie Van Dyke, Frank Brodie, Jim Edwards, Bill Gable, Chuck McKay, Max Kinkle, Pat Holiday, Ted "The Bear" Richards and Mike Kelly.

You'll also hear Tom Shannon singing Paul Anka's "Diana" (I kid you not!) and the tape wraps up with a clip of Charlie O'Brien. Also, there are a couple of celebrity appearances from Elton John (as E.J. the D.J.) and Cheech and Chong.

Enjoy the CKLW composite here.

(The Don Shuttleworth Collection)

For more great 'CK airchecks, visit The CKLW Years

Charlie Tuna appears on this KHJ chart from Jan. 6, 1971

Talent: TOM RIVERS
Station: CHUM Toronto
Date: May 15, 1971
Time: 29:39

Much has been written and said about legendary Top 40 deejay Tom Rivers, who died of cancer November 20, 2004. We have gathered some of of those special memories here.

Tom Rivers was really COOKIN' the day this aircheck was recorded. Hear Tom Rivers at his very best here.

(The Charlie Ritenburg Collection)

For more great CHUM airchecks, visit The CHUM Archives

Talent: JOHNNY MITCHELL
Station: KGB San Diego
Date: Spring, 1971
Time: 4:04

What's in a name? In rock radio, apparently a lot.

It's not unusual for deejays to go under two or more different names in a career. Dan Ingram called himself Rae Taylor in his early days. Bobby Ocean was Johnny Scott before the powers that be decreed a change of name.

Three or more names is less common. The man CFTR listeners remember as Red Knight called himself Jack London at CKLW and Rick Bradley at CKSL. Bob Dearborn of WLS and "Nightime America" fame was also known on-air as Bud Roberts and Mark Allen.

Canadian broadcast personality Howard Cogan went under FIVE names: his own, Todd Chase, Todd Howard, Howie the Hitman and Hungryman Howard.

It was also not uncommon for two deejays in different markets to have the same name at the same time. Back in the early 1970s, there was a Johnny Mitchell in Toronto on 1050 CHUM and there was also an announcer with the same name at KGB San Diego (better known as Eric Chase, a.k.a. Harry Miller and Paul Christy, writes Scrapbook viewer Barry Salberg). You can hear the latter here.

(Scrapbook archives)

Subject: TOM KELLY
Station: CKRC Winnipeg
Date: June, 1971
Time: 10:04

It seems everyone had their own special radio station while they were growing up. It may have been the station you heard with your little transistor under the covers at night, or the one you listened to at the beach on your summer holiday. The warm memories of those stations seem to stay with us forever.

If you lived in Winnipeg, that special station might have been CKRC.

Hear Tom Kelly on CKRC here.

(NOTE: At about the 3:50 mark, you'll hear Nevin Grant with "In Touch With Today".)

(The Don Shuttleworth Collection)

Subject: JONATHAN WOLFERT INTERVIEW with JACKSON ARMSTRONG
Station: N/A
Date: June 24, 1971
Time: 33:05

Jackson Armstrong wasn't afraid to speak his mind.

In 1971, Jackson Armstrong was interviewed by Jonathan Wolfert of PAMS about a number of radio topics including, memorably, his time at CHUM Toronto. This no-holds-barred interview tells the behind-the-scenes story of Armstrong's hiring at CHUM, that station's switch to the Drake format and Armstrong's departure from CHUM in early 1969. He also talks about several radio people, including Bill Drake, Dick Biondi and Cousin Brucie. (Note: the CHUM portion starts at 19:35).

Hear the Jackson Armstrong interview here.

(NOTE: CONTAINS COARSE LANGUAGE)

(The John Bisci Collection)

Talent: TOM RIVERS
Station: CHUM Toronto
Date: July, 1971
Time: 23:05

A summer weekend, and Tom Rivers on CHUM. What more could you ask for!

Shortly after this show, Rivers left CHUM for a rather famous station just down the 401, CKLW.

Hear Tom Rivers here.

(The Charlie Ritenburg Collection)

For more great CHUM airchecks, visit The CHUM Archives

(Courtesy Ted Wendland/radiowest.ca)

Be sure to visit radiowest.ca, a superb radio site hosted by Ted Wendland. Airchecks, jingles, photos, logos, history and forums - radiowest.ca has it all. Rock Radio Scrapbook thanks Ted for sharing this aircheck.

Talent: GUS GOSSERT
Station: WPIX-FM New York
Date: July 25, 1971
Time: 9:59

(Photo credit/The Gus Gossert Tribute Site)

Back before oldies were "cool", there was Gus Gossert, "the curly-headed kid in the second row." The deejay who took his nickname from the legendary Peter Tripp ("the curly-headed kid in the second row") is credited with helping revive interest in New York street music - a.k.a. doo wop - in the late '60s and early '70s.

The Pennsylvania-born Gossert studied law at the University of Tennessee, but his true love was radio and doo-wop. After stops at stations in Hawaii and San Francisco, Gossert was hired by New York's WCBS-FM in 1969 to host a Sunday night oldies show - long before that station switched to an all-oldies format in 1972. Gossert's WCBS-FM show, which focused on doo wop music of the 1950s, proved to be immensely popular. That popularity continued when his show switched to WPIX-FM in 1971 and 1972 (he also had a Saturday night show at WPIX-FM). At one time, Gossert's show was the highest-rated Sunday night program in New York radio.

Gossert had long since left the New York scene when he was shot to death in August, 1976. While his stay in the radio spotlight was brief, it was certainly significant.

Hear Gus Gossert on WPIX-FM here.

(Scrapbook archives)

Talent: HAL MARTIN
Station: CKLW Windsor, Ont.
Date: September 3, 1971
Time: 8:58

(Graphic courtesy Tom Howard)

As a youngster, Michael Spears did magic - he was Texas State Champion Magician at age 15. But we remember him for the magic he made on the airwaves.

Magic? How about a 61 share in his night show at Gordon McLendon's KLIF in the late '60s - the highest in the history of the Dallas market. He was Hal Martin there, and he also used that name at Motor City powerhouse CKLW from 1969 to 1971.

More magic: in 1972, Spears was chosen by McLendon to launch Dallas FM station KNUS. The station was number-one within 90 days. After turning WSFO Tampa Bay into successful news-talk station WPLP in 1978, Spears returned to Dallas in 1982 to program K-104 FM. It also went to #1 for the first time.

For his efforts, Spears won Billboard's "Station of the Year" award three times, and twice won that publication's "Program Director of the Year" award. He was inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame in 2004.

Spears also co-created "The Amber Plan," a radio alert system to aid in the search for missing children. In 2002, Spears won the Service to America award as bestowed by the National Association of Broadcasters.

All told, Spears consulted over 30 radio stations and groups in multiple formats, programming KHJ Los Angeles, KFRC San Francisco, WYSL Buffalo, N.Y., KKDA Dallas and WPNT Chicago. He produced literally hundreds of commercials and news segments for radio and television. Much in demand as public speaker and emcee, Spears was also a scuba diving and architecture enthusiast. He died of cancer October 25, 2005 at the age of 58.

Enjoy Spears - as Hal Martin - on CKLW here.

(The Tom Howard Collection)

Talent: JOHN RODE
Station: CHUM Toronto
Date: September 3, 1971
Time: 17:47

John Rode entertained at five different Toronto stations, numerous outlets south of the border and even did  stints in Vancouver and Alaska. But he's probably best remembered for the many years he spent at 1050 CHUM.

Rode arrived at CHUM in 1970 after a stint in mornings at rival CKFH. Prior to that, the Wisconsin native had appeared at several other stations, including WALT Tampa, Fla., WKLO and WINN Louisville, Ky., WSAI Cincinnati, WRKO Boston, WIBG Philadelphia and WDRC Hartford.

While Rode would spend much of the '70s, '80s and '90s at CHUM, he gained everlasting fame in 1977 when he become the first morning man at Q-107. He was also the morning personality at CHUM-FM in the early '80s and KEY 590 (CKEY) late in the decade. Rode also found time for 1970s stints at CFUN Vancouver and KFQD Anchorage, Alaska. He returned to CHUM in 1989 for swing work, often filling in on the morning show in the '90s.

Enjoy John Rode on CHUM here.

(The Gary J. Peterson and Donald Major Collections)

Audio editing by Marc Denis Productions

Talent: PETE GRIFFIN and DAVID PRITCHARD
Station: CHUM-FM Toronto
Date: October 21, 1971
Time: 13:37

(Graphic courtesy John Donabie)

(Larger view here)

It was a different time.

A time when announcers programmed their own music. A time when a song was played because the deejay or music director - or even the listeners - liked it, not because some focus group thousands of miles away "approved it". A time when you could hear a rock tune, a jazz piece, a classical opus, and maybe some folk music all in the same set. A time of long music sets, rather than lengthy commercial sets.

It was a time when announcers just talked to the audience - one-on-one - rather than regurgitating liner notes. A time when one skilled communicator could carry an entire show, rather than a team of self-described "zany" types known as a "Morning Zoo." A time of intelligent rap and gentle wit, rather than shouting. A time when there was an actual living and breathing person in the studio all the time, not a machine. A time when stations were programmed locally, not from head office.

This was progressive rock radio in its early days. Back in the late '60s, this new brand of radio emerged - one that broke all the rules. And one of the first stations to program this "album rock" format - some called it "underground" radio - was Toronto's CHUM-FM. Debuting on July 1, 1968 it was truly memorable in its early days, playing album cuts not heard anywhere else and with outstanding personalities like Pete Griffin, Walter Michaels, Larry Green, Tim Thomas, Kim Calloway, Hugh Currie, David Pritchard, Benji Karsh, Reiner Schwartz, Dave Marsden and John Donabie.

Pritchard was CHUM-FM's all-night man in the early years of that station's progressive rock format. He later went on to become program director of yet another legendary progressive rock station, Toronto's CFNY. His death on February 27, 2005 was sad news for all of those who remembered him, either on or off the air.

On October 21, 1971, Pritchard hung around after his shift to talk on-air to CHUM-FM morning man Pete Griffin and you can hear the results here.

(The Gary Pfieffer Collection)

Talent: JACK ARMSTRONG
Station: WKBW Buffalo, N.Y.
Date: November, 1971
Times: 14:01/10:05

Rarely do all the elements that made Top 40 radio so memorable come together as they do on this aircheck.

First, there's the jock. Jack Armstrong is without question one of the best Top 40 jocks of all time - some would say THE best (they'd get no arguments from us.) By the time he arrived at 'KB in 1971, Armstrong had already appeared on several Top 40 giants, including WKYC, WMEX, WIXY, CHUM and WPOP. And there were plenty more to come. But we believe Jack shone brightest at 'KB - the combination of energy and enthusiasm he displayed there is without peer.

As for the station, 'KB's consistently epitomized the excellence that was Top 40 radio from its launch as FutureSonic Radio in 1958, to its end as a locally-programmed music station in 1988. 'KB might have at its very best during the Jeff Kaye years, from 1966 to 1973, and this aircheck shows why.

The jingles are fabulous (how about those Pop-Tops!), the music outstanding, the presentation tight and bright ... need we say more? If you're wondering why some of us love classic Top 40 radio so much, just listen.

Enjoy Part One of Jack Armstrong on 'KB here. (14:01)

Enjoy Part Two of Jack Armstrong on 'KB here. (10:05)

(The Don Shuttleworth Collection)

Talent: JOHNNY WILLIAMS
Station: KHJ Los Angeles
Date: November 26, 1971
Time: 13:22

(KHJ Chart/December 21, 1971)

Johnny Williams outlasted them all at KHJ.

When KHJ debuted Boss Radio in April, 1965, the lineup was Robert W. Morgan (6-9 a.m.), Roger Christian (9 a.m.-noon), Gary Mack (noon-3 p.m.), The Real Don Steele (3-6 p.m.), Dave Diamond (6-9 p.m.) and Sam Riddle (9 p.m.-midnight) and Williams (midnight-6 a.m.)

One by one the originals left. Diamond was the first to go, just a couple of months after the launch. Christian went in 1966, Mack left in 1967, Riddle departed in 1970 and Steele said goodbye in 1973. Morgan left KHJ in 1970, returned in 1972 and departed for good in 1973. That left Williams as the last of the original Boss Jocks, and he finally departed in the fall of 1974.

Williams started in radio in 1959 at KBOL Boulder, Col. He jocked at KIMN and KBTR Denver, KISN Portland, Ore., WABB Mobile, Ala., KRIZ Phoenix, KCBQ San Diego, KRLA Los Angeles and a few others before arriving at KHJ in the spring of 1965. After KHJ, he went to WTAE Pittsburgh for a decade beginning in 1975. Williams was in Honolulu radio in the 1990s at KHVH and KHNR before launching one of the first radio web sites, 440:Satisfaction, in 1995 (he gave us our first link in 1996!)

Hear Johnny Williams on KHJ here.

(The Tom Howard Collection)

Talent: LEE MURRAY
Station: CKGM Montréal
Date: December 28, 1971
Time: 9:37

The climb to number-one was short and sweet for CKGM in the early 1970s.

CKGM signed on December 7, 1959 and was a hit music station in the 1960s. But things really took off for the Montréal station after it revamped its format January 1, 1970.  By December of that year CKGM had overtaken rival 1470-CFOX to become the number-one rocker in Montréal. It would hold that position until December, 1979, when it was overtaken by sister station CHOM-FM.

Lee Murray jocked at CKGM in the early '70s.

Enjoy Lee Murray here.

(Scrapbook archives)

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