Talent: DICK CLARK with JOHN SPRAGGE
Station: CHUM Toronto
Date: May 27, 1963
Time: 26:43

(l-r: Dave Johnson, Dick Clark, Alan Slaight, unknown/The CHUM Archives)

It was the spring of 1963 and the heat was on.

Dave Mickie's new night-time show on rival CKEY was gaining in popularity and CHUM needed to do something big.

So they brought in the biggest name of them all.

On May 27, 1963, CHUM began carrying The Dick Clark Radio Show. The American Bandstand host had been making the program available to radio stations since the beginning of the year via Mars Broadcasting of Stamford, Connecticut. The first CHUM show was broadcast live from The Terrace,  a now-demolished curling club and roller skating rink in downtown Toronto. Subsequent editions had Clark on tape and regular host Dave Johnson live.

Production whiz Claude Deschamps - who had the job of making the entire 7-9 p.m. show sound live - encouraged Clark's production company to send personalized bits, time checks covering every possible time, and more "interaction" with Johnson. Clark's people were so impressed with Deschamps' work that they offered him a job (he ultimately stayed at CHUM).

Mickie, who started in the 7-11 p.m. shift at CKEY in April 1963, left the station in September. Clark's CHUM show continued until the end of the year. The Dick Clark Radio Show was only picked up by few dozen stations - including CJCA Edmonton - and appears to have ended sometime in 1964.

A few hours before Clark's first CHUM show, he appeared on the station with late morning jock John Spragge. The American Bandstand host bantered with Spragge and took a few calls from listeners (it's interesting to hear women give their names as Mrs. (insert husband's name) - a practice that thankfully ended long ago). A few hours later, Clark went to The Terrace to do his first CHUM show, which you can hear in our 1963 section.

Enjoy Dick Clark and John Spragge on CHUM here. 

(Larger view here)

(L-r: Dick's in the middle by the long white balloon, Bob McAdorey is to Dick's right and Dave Johnson to Bob's right. That's CHUM board operator/producer George Nicholson "Just Plain George" sitting at the desk doing the live engineering./The CHUM Archives)

(The CHUM Archives/Doug Thompson)

More from the CHUM Archives here!