Airchecks: 1972

Subject: WKBW COMPOSITE
Station: WKBW Buffalo, New York
Date: 1972
Time: 9:24 (Upgraded 2-8-13)

(Logo courtesy Bill Dulmage)

"KB had a magic and a charm." - Don Berns

In his narration of this 1972 Programmers Digest composite, program director Jefferson Kaye uses the term "predictable unpredictability" to describe WKBW. It's an apt description.

Personality radio seemed at a crossroads in the early '70s, with the trend toward less talk and more rock evident even then. But in 1972, 'KB was keeping personality radio alive with one of the greatest lineups in Top 40 history. And was it was both predictable and unpredictable as you'll read and hear later.

Much of 'KB's success had to do with Kaye, described by afternoon jock Don Berns as "the most innovative and creative" person he had ever worked for. Kaye let his jocks do their thing, not tying them up in a myriad of rules that restricted their freedom. The result was a station that - as Kaye put it - "break(s) all the rules. But then you think, who makes the rules?"

The following quote from Berns in Bob Paiva's The Program Director's Handbook perhaps describes WKBW best: "The station had a personality of its own, and within that personality each jock had a separate identity that fit within the overall framework of this non-formatted, highly visible radio station. Just about anything could happen on the air (and off) and normally did."

This composite, narrated by Kaye (with introduction by Tom Kennedy of WRKO Boston), looks at the 'KB jocks of 1972.

Hear it here.
 

(Scrapbook archives)

AUDIO ENHANCEMENT by Andy Rebscher

(The Bill Dulmage Collection)

Subject: TOP 40 DJ REWIND
Station: Various
Date: 1970s
Time: 31:36

We first came across this wonderful montage of 1970s Top 40 radio stations in the mid-'80s when Dan Haber made a copy for us. Somebody was busy with a razor blade!

Too many jocks and jingles to mention, but we've identified a number of them:
 

Enjoy the Top 40 DJ Rewind here. 

(The Dan Haber Collection)
 

Talent: MR. VEE
Station: WGRT Chicago
Date: February 11, 1972
Time: 29:23 (unscoped)

"Great Soul Radio" WGRT sprang from the ashes of WAAF, a jazz outlet that was one of the first radio stations licensed by the FCC in 1922. WAAF's alumni included Olympic legend Jesse Owens, who did an afternoon jazz show there. In 1967, the call letters were changed to WGRT with a full-time soul format. It lasted six years. Take a peak at this WGRT chart from August 23, 1971 and "feel the groove" of this truly great soul station. For more great '60s and '70s soul radio airchecks, check out Jason Stone's Stepfather of Soul blog.

Enjoy Mr. Vee here.


(The Don Shuttleworth Collection)

Talent: TERRY STEELE
Station: WNOR Norfolk, Virginia
Date: February 23, 1972
Time: 8:57

Talent: PAUL GODFREY
Station: CHAM Hamilton, Ontario
Date: May 1, 1972
Time: 1:01:06 (unscoped)

In the 1970s, long before Toronto became the "Mega-City", local mover and shaker Paul Godfrey was Metro Toronto chairman.

Coincidentally - at the same time - a deejay with the same name was also Toronto's MUSIC chairman.

While Paul Godfrey took care of the city's business at City Hall, the other Paul Godfrey was "takin' care of biz" at CFTR. Godfrey, who primarily worked midday shifts, was at 'TR during its formative period of the 1970s. His upbeat presentation was a delight, as was his sign-off "Shine on!"

Just prior to CFTR, Godfrey did middays at CHAM Hamilton. Other Ontario stops included CHEX Peterborough, CKLY Lindsay, CKWS Kingston, CFCO Chatham and CHYM Kitchener and CKJD and CHOK Sarnia (the latter as operations manager). Outside of Ontario he worked at CJCH Halifax and CFBC Saint John, New Brunswick. He also hosted CITY-TV's Boogie Dance Show and was a popular MC.

Godfrey died September 25, 2007 at the age of 61.

Rock Radio Scrapbook presents Paul Godfrey on CHAM here.
 

(The Bill Dulmage Collection)

Talent: NEVIN GRANT (In Touch With Today)
Station: CKRC Winnipeg
Date: May 16, 1972
Time: 1:10

They called him "The Hitmaker."

Nevin Grant arrived at CKOC as a copywriter in 1966 and left 35 years later as one of the icons of Canadian radio. The Hamilton native had an extensive musical knowledge and put it to great use, first as creative director, music director, assistant program director then program director at CKOC beginning in 1968 - only three years removed from the radio course at Ryerson. Over the next three-and-a-half decades, he helped vault CKOC into the upper pantheon of Canadian hit parade stations. A strong supporter of Canadian and local talent, Grant served two terms as chairman of the Maple Leaf Music System to help Canadian musicians get airplay in their own country, and was a big proponent of the Canadian content regulations that were first introduced in the early '70s. He developed cutting-edge music research systems and the integrity of CKOC's chart research was second-to-none. Grant helped mentor many disc jockeys who went on to success at other radio stations and created one of CKOC's hallmarks, the "Big 500" - a much-anticipated annual countdown of the biggest hits of all time.

The pinnacle of Grant's career came in 2019, when it was announced he was going to be inducted into the Canadian Broadcast Industry Hall of Fame while also receiving the Allan Waters Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2020 Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Awards. He never lived to see it, as the event was postponed because of COVID/19. He died May 6, 2020 at the age of 80.

For several years, Grant did a weekly syndicated program called "In Touch With Today" , which dealt with current music happenings (later the name was changed to "In Touch With Yesterday.") One of the stations to carry it was CKRC Winnipeg, and we have a clip for you as aired on the station on May 16, 1972.

Enjoy Nevin Grant with "In Touch With Today" here. 

On a personal note, Nevin always had time for your curator and Rock Radio Scrapbook. In the mid-'90s - before the site even existed - yours truly would call CKOC asking for information on lineups, and he was always eager to help. We kept in touch and Nevin not once but twice gave me a tour of his CKOC Museum at his home in Cobourg. He and Heather were great hosts. Thanks Nevin, for all you did and Rest In Peace.

(The Don Shuttleworth Collection)

Subject: JOCK COMPOSITE
Station: CJRC 1150 Ottawa-Hull (Gatineau)
Date: June 3, 1972
Time: 8:00

CJRC 60s-70s ace morningman Richard Proulx

Cliquez ici pour la description en français.

CJRC 1150 is the powerful voice of the French-speaking Outaouais region, launched on June 3rd, 1968 by businessmen Raymond Crépeau, Marcel Joyal, Robert Campeau and Gérard Moreau in the presence of then-Canadian Prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau.

The station’s offices and studios are originally located on Ottawa’s Sparks Street Mall in the 60s, then on Belfast Road in the Nations’ Capital during the 70s, finally settling in the old city of Gatineau, Québec, in the 1980s. CJRC is part of the legendary multi-station Radio-Mutuel radio network of the day across Québec, with CJMS Montréal as the flagship station. CJRC is granted a power boost to 50,000 watts (daytime), 5,000 watts nighttime in the spring of 1972 and remains as such until the spring of 2007 when the station and the call letters are moved to the FM band as 104.7 CJRC.

In order of jock appearance on this classic composite from 1972 are zany morning man Richard Proulx followed by Jacques Lavoie, Marc-André (Théberge), Yvon Morissette, Yvon Fortin and Martial Brideau.

Enjoy French-Canadian Top 40 complete with American hits and Québécois cover versions and originals of the era, along with breezy PAMS and other assorted jingle packages à la française, here.
 

(Description: Marc Denis, CJRC 1970-71 (marcdenis.com)

(The Marc Denis Collection)

Subject: THE BEGINNING OF WRVQ
Station: WRVQ Richmond, Virgina
Date: June 30, 1972
Time: 12:43 (Upgraded 2-8-13)

One of North America's longest-running Top 40 stations, WRVQ started playing hit music in the summer of 1972. The Richmond, Virginia, station at 94.5 on the FM dial debuted shortly after midnight on June 30, 1972, with all-night deejay Doug Riddell playing Rare Earth's I Just Want to Celebrate. Since then, the station has always programmed some variant of Top 40, and was going strong with the format well into the 2000s.

WRVQ traces its roots to August, 1948 when WRVA-FM signed on at 94.5. It simulcast full service WRVA-AM most of the time, but in the late-'60s began broadcasting an automated mono country music format in the evenings. When WRVQ debuted in 1972, it was the first FM station in Richmond to broadcast 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The original WRVQ lineup included Bob McNeill in mornings, Jim Edwards in mid-mornings and program director Bill Garcia in afternoon drive. Lee Grant did evenings and Chuck Woodson was the late-night jock. Doug Riddell, who launches WRVQ on this aircheck, did the all-night show.

Enjoy the beginning of WRVQ here.
 

(The Mike Rivers Collection)

AUDIO ENHANCEMENT by Andy Rebscher

Talent: ED WILLIAMS
Station: WCBS-FM New York
Date: July 10, 1972
Time: 8:59

Runaround Sue was WCBS-FM's first oldie

Oldies was a relatively new - and untested - format when WCBS-FM began its oldies era in 1972.

In those days, it was more commonplace for Top 40 stations to play hit music during the week - with a smattering of oldies - and then increase the gold rotation on weekends. There were specialty oldies show in those days of course, but for a station to devote its entire schedule 24/7 to oldies was rare at the time.

That began to change on July 7, 1972 when WCBS-FM began a full-time oldies format. Johnny Michaels kicked off the format when he signed the station on at 6 a.m. that day with Dion's Runaround Sue. Don K. Reed had signed off the station earlier that morning at 1 a.m. with When the Music's Over by The Doors (in between formats they were silent for five hours, believe it or not!).

The original lineup was Johnny Michaels 6-10 a.m., Ed Williams 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Bobby Wayne 2-6 p.m., Bill Brown 6-10 p.m., Don K. Reed 10 p.m.-2 a.m. and John Vidavar 2-6 a.m.

The switch proved to be an astute one: WCBS-FM played oldies for 33 years and it consistently was one of New York's highest-rated and top-billing stations.

This aircheck from WCBS-FM's fourth day of oldies features Ed Williams spinning the hits and Bill Gilliam with the news.

Hear Ed Williams here.
 

(Scrapbook archives)

Where were you in '72?

The same question would soon be asked about 1962 in connection with the 1973 George Lucas film American Graffiti, but we're taking it a decade later, and focusing on the summer.

July, 1972. Details of the Watergate break-in were just beginning to emerge, but it would be a while before the full extent of President Nixon's involvement in what White House Press Secretary Ron Ziegler called a "third-rate burglary" would be known. Ultimately, Nixon would resign in disgrace in August, 1974 but not before winning the 1972 election over his newly-minted but overmatched Democratic challenger, George McGovern.

Controversy was brewing over Bobby Hull's exclusion from Team Canada, as it prepared to face the Soviet Union in the Summit Series (or as it is known in French La Série du Siècle - The Series of the Century). Despite strong public support in favour of his participation, Hull would not play, but Canada would win the series by the narrowest of margins in September.

Pierre Trudeau was Canada's prime minister; he would win the barest of minorities in a federal election that year but ultimately serve for some 16 years as Canada's leader. One political dynasty - that of Joey Smallwood in Newfoundland - ended earlier in 1972 and another - W.A.C. Bennett's 20-year reign as B.C. premier - would end later in the year. William Dennison was in his final months of a six-year run as Toronto mayor.

Locally, Godspell was beginning a smash run at the Royal Alexandria Theatre. The nuclear plant in nearby Pickering had recently opened. Toronto theatres were showing movies like The Godfather (in Technicolor and listed as "Adult Entertainment"), Clockwork Orange (now at "regular prices"), Dirty Harry, The French Connection and Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. You could shop at now departed retailers like Shoppers Bazaar, Mr. Broadloom, Collegiate Sports and Woolco. You could still Ramble into Rumble to buy a car and - after safely parking it and putting away the keys - enjoy a Calgary Export. Sam the Record Man was advertising for franchise dealers and promising "exceptional potential."

Want a house? Homes in Bramalea were going for $26,500 "only a few left" and there was an ad for six-room house at Eglinton and Mount Pleasant in Toronto for $33,900 "with private drive." How about some air conditioning for your brand-new '72 Pinto, Maverick or Torino? Elgin on Bay was offering that for $199. And for $89.95 you could buy a "radio cassette" - complete with AM-FM radio and a microphone - at Kelly's Stereo Mart.

In July, 1972, the rock world was buzzing about the Rolling Stones tour. It stopped in 31 cities including three in Canada - Vancouver (June 3), Toronto (July 15) and Montreal (July 17). The Stones did two Toronto shows - at 5 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. - and a ticket could be had for just $4.95. Or - as mentioned in the Toronto Star - you could get one from a scalper for $40 to $65.

The Toronto Maple Leafs' Stanley Cup drought reached five years - their longest in over a decade - but for Leaf fans the misery was just beginning. The Munich Olympics - which would be marred by the murder of 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team - were a couple of months away. The Montreal Expos were in the middle of a season that would see them finish fifth in the National League East while the Oakland A's won their first of three consecutive World Series.

On television, the top-rated U.S. shows according to Nielson were All in the Family, The Flip Wilson Show, Marcus Welby, M.D. and Gunsmoke. Canada A.M. debuted on CTV in 1972 - the original co-hosts were Carole Taylor and Percy Saltzman - and Toronto would get a new station - CITY-TV (Channel 79) - in the fall.

CHUM was flying high in July of 1972, thanks to an all-star jock lineup. There was Jay Nelson with Dick Smyth news (5-9 a.m.), John Rode (9-11 a.m.), Roger Ashby (11 a.m.-3 p.m.) and Duke Roberts (3-6 p.m.). Also behind the CHUM mic were Terry Steele (6-9 p.m.), Scott Carpenter (9 p.m.-midnight) and Mark Edwards - a.k.a. Bob Magee - (midnight-5 a.m.). As for the tunes, here's a look at the CHUM Chart from July 15, 1972.

Thanks to Bob Seed (who originally recorded them) and Don Shuttleworth (who sent them to us) we have a nice collection of CHUM airchecks from July, 1972.

Hear Scott Carpenter on CHUM from July 12, 1972, Part 1 here. (30:57)

Hear Scott Carpenter on CHUM from July 12, 1972, Part 2 here. (31:18)

Hear Jay Nelson on CHUM from July 14, 1972 here. (31:35)

Hear John Rode on CHUM from July 14, 1972 here. (31:39)

Hear Roger Ashby on CHUM from July 16, 1972 here. (21:12)

Hear Duke Roberts on CHUM from July 16, 1972 here. (21:50) 
 

(The Bob Seed Collection)

* These airchecks were sent to Rock Radio Scrapbook by Don Shuttleworth