Rock Radio Scrapbook

Airchecks: 1976

Subject: CFLS COMPOSITE/CFLS JINGLES
Station: CFLS Quebec City
Date: 1970s
Time: 2:46/0:48

(Description by Pierre Tremblay)

Back in the '70s and '80s, Quebec City radio fans were treated to some powerful French-language Top 40 radio in the form of CFLS. Pierre Tremblay tells us its story...

"CFLS went on the air in December 1967 and was licensed to the city of Lévis located just across Quebec City. At the beginning, CFLS was a variety station with news, music and programs of local interest to the citizens of Lévis. It broadcast on 1240 Khz with a power of 250 watts. For a short period of time in the early seventies, the station dropped its normal programming and became a community station. Even though the station was still licensed as a commercial radio station most of the sponsors abandoned it and only a few sponsors who fit in its new format advertised on the station. That was the era of LS radio. The experience did not go too far and it paved the way to the most successful era of CFLS - the top 40 years - stretching from 1973 to 1983.

CFLS was without any doubt the most Americanized French-speaking radio station. A power increase to 1,000 allowed the station to reach a larger audience but its coverage could not compare to CHRC and CJRP with their 50,000 watts signals. CFLS had a furious competitor: English-speaking CFOM.

CFOM did not have to play French songs and it had an edge on CFLS. When CFOM was ordered off the air by the CRTC in 1975, CFLS became the undisputed rock station in the Quebec City market. In the late seventies the station was second overall in the ratings behind CHRC.

When CFLS was on top it took three decisions that were to be fatal to the station:

1. - Its owners strongly believed in AM Stereo and invested a fortune in it.

2. - The station did not take its FM competitors seriously.

3. - The owners did not even try to secure one of the FM frequencies allotted to the Quebec City market from 1979 to 1982: 93.3 (CJMF), 98.9 (CHIK) and 107.5 (CITF).

A frequency shift to 920 and a power increase to 10,000 watts on August 26, 1977 did not keep CFLS from losing its listeners. In 1988, CFLS filed an application to the CRTC to get FM frequency 106.3. Its application was rejected and 106.3 was later  allocated to Radio-Canada (CBV-980). CFLS finally found its place on the FM band as a country station on 102.9 and on September 8, 1995 the station reinstated the call letters CFOM. Its slogan was Radio Flashback with an oldies-oriented format. Ironically, CFOM was CFLS' fierce competitor in the 1970s. CFOM-FM is Quebec's only full-time oldies station.

For some 35 years, CFLS and later CFOM-FM was owned by the Coulombe family and also bottlers of Pepsi-Cola and Seven-Up for Quebec City."

To hear a composite of CFLS programming in the 1970s, click here. (2:46)

To hear some CFLS jingles from the '70s, click here. (0:48)

(The Pierre Tremblay Collection)

* Our thanks to both Pierre Tremblay and Marc Denis for their great help in assembling this feature!

Talent: GORD ROBSON
Station: CKLG Vancouver
Date: March 3, 1976
Time: 8:05

In a career that has taken him from Montreal to Vancouver and several points in between, Gord Robson was been a mainstay in Canadian rock radio for four decades. It all started for Robson in 1968 at CKXL Calgary and continued in the 2000s with his duties as PD and morning host at "The River" in Lethbridge, Alta. His career has taken him to such legendary stations as CFOX Montreal, CKRA and CHED Edmonton and CKLG Vancouver.

Robson tells Rock Radio Scrapbook about the CKLG years...

"It was a great radio station with fantastic talent that all went on to great careers. The battle was intense with CFUN. CKNW was #1 and both of us said we were the number-one rock stations and we were both right. Great talent, great programming ... Chuck McCoy at CFUN and his brother Gary Russell at CKLG. Great PD's ... a great time in radio in Vancouver."

Robson died March 21, 2008 at the age of 56.

Enjoy Gord Robson on CKLG here.

(The Gord Robson Collection)

Talent: MIKE COOPER
Station: CHUM Toronto
Date: April 1, 1976
Time: 3:41 (Upgraded 10-21-08)

In his quarter-century in Toronto radio, Mike Cooper has established himself as one of the city's top program hosts. But he'll also be remembered for two of the most outrageous stunts of the 1970s.

On April 1, 1976, Cooper and a colleague played an April Fool's joke on the all-night show on CHUM. Cooper took a call on the air from a threatening-sounding person and joked about the call to his listeners. Then, right in the middle of a live read for a Knob Hill Farms spot, the "caller" came into the studio and pretended to shoot him! All went well - it sounded realistic - maybe too realistic! Police - thinking there had been a real shooting - rushed to the CHUM studios. Cooper had a little explaining to do. CHUM management then found out about it. More explaining. Well, it was a good idea at the time. (I always wondered if Knob Hill complained about having their live read interrupted).

Cooper also made headlines in the 1970s when he set a record for time on a ferris wheel. He went round and round for several days before climbing down, earning a line in Guinness and solidifying his reputation as a funster.

We don't have video of the ferris wheel ride, but we do have audio of Cooper's April Fool's prank. Hear it here.

(The Andrew Consky and Ross Carlin Collections)

For more classic CHUM airchecks, visit The CHUM Archives

Subject: 'WE'RE GONNA WIN THAT CUP'
Station: WGR Buffalo, N.Y.
Date: April 2, 1976
Time: 3:44

Back in the late '70s and early '80s, the Buffalo Sabres games were on WGR and the on-air support extended way past the game broadcasts. All the WGR music personalities unabashedly and with enthusiasm promoted the Sabres throughout the regular season. It reached a fever pitch during the playoffs when WGR became Sabres Central. Such was the intensity of interest that the Sabres even had a theme song that popped up on WGR every year during the playoffs. It was called "We're Gonna Win That Cup" - with excerpts from broadcasts by Sabres legendary play-by-play man Rick Jeannaret. It really captures the essence of "Sabre Fever." You can hear it here.

(Scrapbook archives)

Talent: TERRY STEELE
Station: CHUM Toronto
Date: April 14, 1976
Time: 21:32

You don't mess with a bear, and in Toronto radio for two decades nobody messed with THE Bear, Terry Steele. The Washington, D.C.-born deejay - whose real name was James Stromberg - rocked the Toronto airwaves from the early '70s at CHUM to the early '90s at CJEZ. In between, there was a stop at CKEY in the '80s. But it was at CHUM, Steele really established himself. Arguably, he was the CHUM deejay who best suited the Drake-style format first introduced to CHUM in 1968. Tragically, Steele's life ended August 13, 1993, the result of a fall in a bathtub. He was taken far too soon and is remembered here.

Hear the Terry Steele aircheck here.

(Man from Mars Productions)

Talent: JIM HAULT
Station: CFUN Vancouver
Date: June, 1976
Time: 16:15

The voice of Jim Hault has long been a familiar one to those on the Canadian west coast.

After gaining fame at CJCA Edmonton in the mid-1960s, Hault moved to Vancouver's CKLG in 1968. By the early 1970s, he was at CJOR and from 1974 to 1978 he was morning man at CFUN.

Hault was doing weekends at CKNW Vancouver in the early '90s and more recently has been the voice of news bumpers and promos at Global Vancouver.

Hear Jim Hault on CFUN from 1976 here.

(The Charlie Ritenburg Collection)

Thanks to the Vancouver Broadcasters site for background information

Talent: RED KNIGHT
Station: CFTR Toronto
Date: June, 1976
Time: 14:36

For sheer high-energy fun, there were few better than Red Knight.

Knight's deep baritone and mischievous wit alone would have made for a memorable listening experience. Blend that with his razor-sharp timing and energetic performance level and you had an unforgettable Top 40 jock.

Knight - whose real name is Peter Thompson - spent three years in afternoon drive at Toronto's CFTR before departing for other radio challenges (he spent two decades at Quinte Broadcasting in Belleville, Ont., before retiring in December, 2006.)

Hear Red Knight on CFTR here.

(The Bill Dulmage Collection)

Talent: DAN McLEAN
Station: CFOX Montreal
Date: July 11, 1976
Time: 7:23

(Logo courtesy Marc Denis)

What's in a name? In the case of Dan O'Neil/McLean, a good story.

Dan O'Neil first came to our attention in 1967, when he spent the year doing middays at CKFH. In a time when radio jobs were plentiful and demand for a jock of O'Neil's calibre high, he also worked in such markets as Baltimore, Washington, Philadelphia, Denver and Windsor-Detroit. O'Neil had several stops in Central New York, and also jocked at four Montreal stations: CJAD, CJFM, CKGM and CFOX.

It was upon arriving at CFOX in 1975 that Dan O'Neil became Dan McLean. There was already an Andy Neil and an Andy K. on board at CFOX, so Dan decided to use another name to avoid confusion. He chose McLean, the name of his former PD at CKGM.

CFOX was on its last legs as a Top 40 station by the mid-'70s. Founded by Gord Sinclair, Jr., in 1960, the CFOX call-letters were in Montréal (Pointe-Claire) from 1960 to 1977 (they are now used by a Vancouver station).

Sinclair converted CFOX from country music to Top 40 in 1965. What followed was a golden era at 1470-CFOX, with great talents like Dean Hagopian, Bob Baker (a.k.a. Duke Roberts), Ralph Lockwood, Charles P. Rodney Chandler, Roger Scott, Bob Gibbons, "Big Daddy" Bob Ancell and many more. The Top 40 years ended at CFOX in 1977 when the station switched to news as part of the now-defunct CKO network.

Enjoy Dan McLean on 1470-CFOX here.

(The Marc Denis Collection)

(1470 CFOX Dan McLean July 11, 1976 aircheck reproduced and posted here through permission by marcdenis.com (Marc Denis' CKGM Super 70s Tribute Page / 1470 CFOX Montreal Radio Archive, c/o J. Geleick). This aircheck cannot be duplicated or distributed without prior written permission and consent by the proprietor(s)*)

Talent: BOB McADOREY
Station: CFGM Richmond Hill, Ont.
Date: 1976
Time: 3:24

Bob McAdorey always sounded like a chum on the air, so it's fitting that the radio station he's most identified with is CHUM.

McAdorey joined CHUM in 1961 in the 1-4 p.m. shift, after earlier stops at CJCD Dawson Creek, B.C.,   CHVC Niagara Falls, Ont., and CKOC Hamilton. Later he moved into the 4-7 slot.

McAdorey's seven years at CHUM (1961 to 1968) coincided with that station's early heydays as a Top 40 station. It was a wild and unpredictable time of contests, promotions, and fun times on-and-off the radio. McAdorey told the Toronto Star "I could have written five books about what happened at CHUM. There'd be one book if I saved my memos. The most frightening thing was the British invasion. There weren't enough cops to handle the crowds - it was out of control."

After leaving CHUM in 1968, McAdorey moved to middays at country-formatted CFGM. He joined easy-listening CHFI in 1970, leaving that station after the station went to a rock format in 1972. Then it was back to CFGM where he stayed until he joined the fledgling Global TV as an entertainment reporter in the mid-1970s. He was at Global for over 20 years, and his funny, off-beat entertainment reports were a classic.

McAdorey's on-air funnyman personna masked some great personal tragedy - he was predeceased by his wife, and a son and a daughter. But our memory of him will always be that cheery voice on the radio, or the smiling face on TV. He died February 5, 2005 in St. Catharines, Ont., after a long illness.

Hear Bob McAdorey on CFGM here.

(The Bill Dulmage Collection)

Talent: TOM LUCAS
Station: CFUN Vancouver
Date: August, 1976
Time: 3:41

Montreal-born and Vancouver-raised, Tom Lucas has had a long and varied career in radio. He has been heard on many stations, including CFGO Ottawa, CKOC Hamilton, CJKL Kirkland, Ont., and a quartet of Vancouver stations: CFUN, CHRX, CKWX and CISL. He's also been heard in B.C. at CKAY Duncan, CJJC Langley, CKOK Penticton and CKGF Grand Forks.

Lucas has had Canada-wide exposure on the Satellite Radio Network's "Goldline" and has also done television at the CKVU-TV "Vancouver Show & TGIF."

Enjoy Lucas on CFUN here.

(The Charlie Ritenburg Collection)

Talent: DARYL B.
Station: CHUM Toronto
Date: August, 1976
Time: 7:33

Daryl B.'s story is both an inspiration and a tragedy. One of Canada's most popular deejays, the man born Daryl Burlingame was heard on many of this country's leading rock radio stations. But his career was cut short by post-polio syndrome, and his life ended prematurely by a stroke.

The list of stations Daryl B. worked at reads like a who's who of Canadian rock radio. Included are stints at CKLG and CFUN Vancouver, CKY and CKRC Winnipeg, CFQC Saskatoon, CKLW Windsor and CHUM Toronto. Daryl actually had two stints each at CKLG, CFUN and CHUM in a well-travelled career that was far too short.

Daryl B. died of a stroke in Winnipeg Feb. 27, 2001, shortly after learning of the death of long-time friend and fellow broadcaster Rick Honey. He was 58.

Daryl B. was on CHUM in 1976. Hear him here.

(The Don Shuttleworth Collection)

Talent: BOB SIRROTT with DICK CLARK
Station: WLS Chicago
Date: Late summer or fall 1976
Time: 9:04

Dick Clark appears elsewhere on this site from 1963, when he co-hosted (on tape) a weeknight show on CHUM Toronto. His co-host then was the late Dave Johnson.

But in 1976, he was live on the air at another legendary station, WLS Chicago. This time he co-hosted a show with Bob Sirrott.

Rock Radio Scrapbook presents Bob Sirrott with Dick Clark here.

(The Don Shuttleworth Collection)

Talent: RACCOON CARNEY
Station: CFUN Vancouver
Date: November, 1976
Time: 8:54 (Upgraded 12-13-09)

This aircheck should be turned up loud. No, really LOUD. No, LOUDER!

Few deejays in rock radio history rocked the mike quite the way Raccoon Carney did in the '70s and '80s. To be sure, there are many other great screamers, Jackson Armstrong, Terry Young, Bill Lee and Truckin' Tom Kent to name a few. But the Raccoon had his own distinct style that probably had the engineers worried about whether the transmitter would still be standing after his shift!

Raccoon Carney was actually Ralph Carney Albani. He got his start at CFAR Flin Flon, Man., in 1974, then moved to CKRC Winnipeg from 1974 to 1976. He was at CFUN from 1976 to 1978, then Vancouver rival CKLG from 1978 to 1983. Taking a break from on-air work, Carney was with Palmer Jarvis Advertising Winnipeg in 1988, then was president of Ralph Carney Communications Winnipeg from 1989 to 1997. Carney returned to radio as morning man at CFWM Winnipeg from 1997 to 1998. He started at CFRW Winnipeg in 2006, while continuing his work as managing partner of AdManagement Canada.

To hear Raccoon Carney, click here.

(The Charlie Ritenburg Collection)

Talent: RUSS McCLOUD
Station: CFUN Vancouver
Date: December, 1976
Time: 1:54

Over the years, Russ McCloud had lots of "CFUN" on the air and was a "CHUM" to his listeners. OK, enough of the bad humour. What is certain is that McCloud was a very good jock for more than a-quarter century in B.C. and Ontario radio.

After getting his start at stations in Prince George and Kelowna, B.C., McCloud moved to the big time at west coast powerhouse CFUN Vancouver in 1975. His style, which mixed excitement with personality, made him a favourite at CFUN for nearly a decade. Russ talks about his years at CFUN...

"What a great time it was to be at Western Canada's Music Leader during the heyday of Top 40 radio back in the '70s. I was in complete awe when I arrived there in November, 1976, almost having to pinch myself to realize that the station I grew up listening to, under the pillow and in the car radio at night in remote British Columbia ... was where I now worked, at the unadulterated age of 18. The energy, inspiration and originality was fundamental for radio at the time, and we used to HONK on every break. The reverb was cool, not to mention KISS records that weren't dayparted.

What an exciting time for radio and I am grateful to have played a role and to have contributed to a key radio era."

In 1984, McCloud moved to CHUM Toronto and an entertained listeners there for 17 years, starting with the evening shift and later moving to afternoon drive and then mornings. He was doing afternoon drive when he left CHUM in January, 2001 - just three months before that station's switch to a sports format. He then moved to Calgary, and in July 2008 started doing middays at AM 940, Montreal's Greatest Hits.

Hear Russ McCloud on CFUN here.

(The Charlie Ritenburg Collection)

Talent: DOC HARRIS
Station: CKLG Vancouver
Date: December 1, 1976
Time: 15:14

Doc Harris is one of those announcers who put a smile on your face everytime you listened to him. His off-beat sense of humour and relaxed delivery has charmed listeners since the mid-'60s.

Harris started his career at CKDA/CFMS Victoria. Known on-air as Gil Harris, he was there from 1966 to 1969, then moved to CJAT Trail, B.C., from 1969 to 1970. CKOM in Saskatoon was his next stop in 1970. His next two gigs were in Ontario at CKSO Sudbury and CHAM in Hamilton. He was one of CFTR's first rock jocks - as Doc Holliday - in 1972.

In 1973, Holliday moved to Vancouver - changed his on-air name to Doc Harris - and began a long and successful career at stations like CKLG, CFMI-FM, CKKS, CKST, CKNW, CFUN and CISL.

Harris was also one of the first radio personalities to get his own web site. His site at www.docharris.com has been on the web since 1994.

Harris spent 11 years (1973-84) at highly-rated CKLG, and we hear him from 1976 here.

(The Bill Dulmage Collection)

Talent: JIM HAULT
Station: CFUN Vancouver
Date: December 3, 1976
Time: 7:44

For a generation of Vancouverites, fun was spelled CFUN.

The CFUN story began in 1955 when the station adopted those call letters from the former CKMO. In 1960, CFUN switched to a rock format and the real "fun" began.

Deejays such as Red Robinson, Dave McCormick and Fred Latremouille made the 1960s a special time for CFUN listeners. A glimpse of what it sounded like in 1962 can be heard here.

In 1969, CFUN made a dramatic switch to a news format as CKVN (The Voice of News). The all-news format lasted less than a year; music returned by the spring of 1970.  The CFUN call letters returned in 1973. Deejays like J.B. Shane, Daryl B., Russ McCloud, Tom Lucas and Brother Benson entertained throughout the '70s and '80s.

In 1985, CFUN dropped Top 40 for a "Favourites of Yesterday and Today" format. The music era ended for good on March 27, 1996 with the switch to talk.

Jim Hault was CFUN's morning man in 1976. Enjoy him here.

(Scrapbook archives)

Subject: ROCK 102
Station: WBEN-FM Buffalo, N.Y.
Date: Mid-1970s
Time: 1:31

Do you remember John Borders? You probably do, if not the name certainly the voice. Borders, a Dallas-area jock, was the voice of TM Production's Stereo Rock, the automated programming that appeared on Buffalo's WBEN-FM (Rock 102) and about 100 other U.S. stations in the '70s and '80s.

The format was quite straightforward - two current songs would be played and then Borders - on tape - would say "that was (name of artist), and before that (name of artist)" or a variation on the same. That would be followed by an oldie and a recurrent and then a station ID and-or jingle.  The programming could be run from two reel-to-reel machines and could go 24/7, if necessary.

Rock 102 had a live morning show with Roger Christian during this period, but the rest of the day was automated with 'Stereo Rock.' It was the antithesis of personality radio. Needless to say, it was a precursor of things to come.

Rock 102 ran 'Stereo Rock' from 1974 to 1984, before switching to full-time live and local programming. We have a brief aircheck of Rock 102 from around 1976. Hear it here.

(The Don Shuttleworth Collection)

(Rock 102 logos courtesy Bill Dulmage)

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