Rock Radio Scrapbook
Airchecks: 1960
Talent:
BOB HALE
Station: WLS Chicago
Date: June 8, 1960
Time: 10:05
"Mid-America's Bright New Sound!"
It's not rock 'n' roll, but we still like it.
The Ames Brothers, Nat King Cole, Pat Boone ... even Artie Shaw (!) are featured on this aircheck of Bob Hale's all-night show just a month into the Top 40 format at WLS. Where's the rock? Evidently playing in other day parts. We guess they figured the kids would be in bed at that hour, and it would be best to program to adults.
Hale had his place in history before coming to WLS in May 1960 as one of its original Top 40 jocks. On February 2, 1959, he was the Master of Ceremonies at the infamous last concert of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper in Clear Lake, Iowa, just hours before the trio died in a plane crash. Hale moved to WMAQ Chicago in 1964 and continued to work in radio and television, mostly in Chicago, until his retirement in 1996.
Hear Bob Hale on WLS here.
(The Don Shuttleworth Collection)
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Talent: ALAN FREED
Station: KDAY Los Angeles
Date: November, 1960
Time: 9:05
Alan Freed's radio career didn't end with the payola scandals of the late '50s. After leaving his last New York radio gig at WABC in 1959, Freed travelled west and wound up at one of L.A.'s legendary radio stations, KDAY. Holding down the 3-7 p.m. shift there in November, 1960, Freed really didn't sound much different than he did in his heyday at WINS New York and WJW Cleveland in the '50s. In fact, the station went from number-22 in a 24-station market to number-three while Freed was there. However, Freed was eventually let go from KDAY for promoting local concerts in conflict with station policy.
After his KDAY gig ended, Freed moved to WQAM Miami in 1962 where spent two months. In 1964, Freed worked briefly as an all-night deejay at an FM jazz station, KNOB.
Freed died January 20, 1965 in Palm Springs, Calif., officially of uremia, some say of a broken heart. He was 43.
Freed was part of the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame's first class of inductees in 1986. He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1988.
Enjoy Alan Freed here.
(Scrapbook archives)
Subject: FASTER FOSTER
Station: CHUM Toronto
Date: Early '60s
Times: 3:21/2:24
"Faster Foster" was one of those many little things that set CHUM apart from the rest. I'll let Craig Smith of the CHUM Chart Page tell you the rest of the story...
"CHUM's Faster Foster segments were the brainchild of Allen Farrell, the promotion director of the station and much later the author of "The CHUM Story". They were based on the break-in records popularized by Buchanan and Goodman (The Flying Saucer). Farrell provided the "voice" of Faster Foster, which was intended as a take off on Bill Hewitt, the Toronto Maple Leaf TV broadcaster. The next year, Garry Ferrier joined Allen as "Faster Foster's Father" (as in legendary Leaf broadcaster Foster Hewitt.)
According to what Farrell writes in his book, these features set long-time records for positive response. It certainly drew me in to be a CHUM Bug in 1964 as a tender eight-year-old. It was early '64 and it didn't get any better: the Beatles, the Leafs winning the Stanley Cup and discovering CHUM, not to mention the CHUM 'witch.'
In 1967, CHUM added one more 'Faster Foster' to the collection and played all those old clips again, which I was able to record."
We have two clips of Faster Foster from the early '60s:
Clip number one (3:21)
Clip number two (2:24)
(The Craig Smith Collection)
