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The Charlie Ritenburg
Treasury
A Rock Radio Scrapbook
Special Section
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I've been blissfully retired since January 2016 after finishing 35 1/2 years
with The Canadian National Railway. For the first half I was a Radio
Technician and then when that department downsized, I spent my final
nineteen as a Signals & Communications Tech. The radio job involved two-way
VHF and UHF radio systems and was somewhat close to my dream of being in the
broadcast industry, but as it turned out, I was much better off financially.
Prior to starting at CN in 1980, I worked part time for Dominion Grocery
Stores, first in London, Ontario, from 1972 to 1976 then in Toronto from
1976 to 1980. Previous to that I delivered newspapers for the London Free
Press from 1970 to 1973.
My elementary school years were spent at Sir Winston Churchill Public School
in London from 1960 to 1970. I then attended secondary school at H.B. Beal
from 1970 to 1975. After moving to Toronto in September of 1976 I attended
Ryerson University from 1976 to 1980.
After moving to Toronto, I had the privilege of working for one of Canada's
greatest radio stations, 1050 CHUM. In 1977 I applied for an operator's
position only to find that I was somewhat over-qualified for the job.
Production director Warren Cosford suggested that I stay with my electronics
program at Ryerson and aim for a more prestigious engineering position with
the company.
Shortly after meeting Warren, he became the program director for CHUM-FM.
While I continued at college, he gave me a number of part-time assignments
to assist him gather data on other stations that competed with CHUM-FM. He
attempted to get me into an engineering position in 1980 but unfortunately
for me, someone else with more experience got the job.
During my years at CN, I stayed in touch with Warren and by the turn of the
century, signed on as one of his e-mail list members. Warren's original "Radiopro"
list occasionally hosted dinners in which I met many of the CHUM veterans
such as Dick Smyth, Doug Thompson, J. Robert Wood plus many many more.
A few years before, in 1993 I started up "The Monday Nighter," a monthly
meeting that encompassed a few record collectors, radio buffs and
eventually, many broadcast veterans who loyally have been attending up to
present day. The meetings moved from the basement of my Mississauga house to
a nicer one in my present home in Richmond Hill. Between Warren's list and
word of mouth, many legendary radio personalities have been at The Monday
Nighter.
In my retirement, I hope to keep the Monday Nighter alive along with my
weekly partnership with Doug Thompson where we continue to work on the
CHUM
archives along with many other radio goodies from North America and around
the world. Along with travelling with my marvellous wife Janis and now owning
a cottage, being a bigger part of Dale Patterson's
Rock Radio Scrapbook will be another
fun challenge that I intend to focus on!
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Talent: DICK
WILLIAMS
Station: CFPL
London, Ont.
Date: January
7, 1965
Time: 47:30
(unscoped)
(Upgraded
3-8-13)
No one stood taller in London radio than The
Tall One.
Dick Williams spent nearly half a century on the air in the Forest City,
beginning in 1961 at CFPL.
Williams was only 16 years old when he started his radio career in 1956
as program host at
CKCR in
Kitchener, Ontario. He moved to
WSAI Cincinnati in 1958, and also jocked
at
KDEO San Diego and
KROY Sacramento, California, before bringing his quick wit and
masterful sense of timing to
CFPL.
A natural entertainer, Williams also did a dance show at
CFPL-TV called Dick
Williams Wing Ding
that featured live performances and appearances by the other
CFPL
``Lively Guys.``
Williams left
CFPL in 1969, and later jocked on London stations
CJBK,
Q 97.5 (CIQM) and
Oldies 1410 (CKSL). He left full-time radio in 2006 to
concentrate on voice work at
dickwilliamsvoice.com.
Enjoy
Dick "The
Tall One" Williams
on
CFPL here. 
(The Charlie Ritenburg
Collection)
RESTORATION by Charlie Ritenburg
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Talent: BRIAN
SKINNER
Station: CHUM
Toronto
Date: December,
1965
Time:
1:01:18 (unscoped)
(Montage courtesy Bill Dulmage)
Brian Skinner came over to
CHUM from cross-town rival
CKEY as a swing shift deejay in 1963. The Prez was
promoted to full-time duty when he replaced
Dave Johnson in the 7-10 p.m.
shift in the fall of 1965. Johnson had been doing the evening shift since the
station's Top 40 beginnings in 1957 so Skinner had big shoes to fill. But
CHUM listeners weren't
disappointed as Skinner combining his cornball sense of humour with a cacophony
of bells, whistles and tambourines to create an unforgettable listening
experience.
Nothing was too zany for Skinner, who brought
real-life
CHUM janitor
Jerry Kowalski onto the air to
tell corny jokes in his broken Polish accent.
The fun lasted until 1968, when
CHUM
tightened up its programming and Skinner was relegated to the all-night show.
The Prez did his last
CHUM show July 15, 1969 and
later went into teaching in Seattle.
Hear
Brian Skinner on
CHUM in
December, 1965 (UNSCOPED)
here.
(The Charlie Ritenburg
Collection)
RESTORATION by Charlie Ritenburg
For more classic CHUM airchecks, visit The
CHUM Archives
Talent: JOHNNY
WILLIAMS
Station: CKLW
Windsor, Ontario
Date: October
27, 1968
Time: 49:42
(unscoped)
8:33 (scoped)
(Photo courtesy Jay Golden)
Johnny Williams (not to be confused with
the
KHJ jock of the same name) was a Michigan radio mainstay. He spent many
years at
CKLW and also appeared on
WNIC-FM (his nightly "Pillow
Talk" show was the number-one
rated night-time show six years in a row.)
Williams also jocked at
WTRX-FM Flint, Michigan,
WOHO-FM Toledo, Ohio,
WYSL-FM Buffalo, New York, and
WQXL-FM Cleveland.
He has also served as Program Director of
"The Heart,", the love channel station on
XM Satellite Radio, and has been an
imaging voice for
XM's 50's Channel,
Kids Channel,
Radio Classics and
Vox
Channels.
Williams died April 16, 2020.
Enjoy
Johnny Williams on
CKLW (UNSCOPED) here.
Enjoy
Johnny
Williams on CKLW (SCOPED) here.
(The Tom Howard Collection)
RESTORATION by Charlie
Ritenburg
More of the Big 8 at The
CKLW Years
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Talent: TED
RICHARDS
Station: CKLW
Windsor, Ontario
Date: June
29, 1973
Time: 30:14
(unscoped)
8:42 (scoped)
Photo courtesy Charlie O'Brien
Hound Dog Lorenz ...
Wolfman Jack ...
Charlie Tuna ... Top 40 radio
was full of great nicknames in its glory days. And many of those nom de plumes
had to do with animals, fish and fowl.
There was
Ralph "Birdman" Lockwood,
Hoss Allen,
Joe "The Rockin' Bird" Niagara,
Johnny Rabbit (and
Jimmy Rabbit and
Wonder Rabbit),
Alison "The Nightbird" Steele,
Russ "The Moose" Syracuse,
Jim "The Vanilla Gorilla" Wood,
Coyote McCloud (and
Rufus Coyote),
Bob Robin,
Tiger Bob Raleigh and
Terry "The
Bear" Steele. To name a few.
There was another "Bear" -
Ted "Teddy
Bear" Richards. Enjoy him on
CKLW
(UNSCOPED) here.
There was another "Bear" -
Ted "Teddy Bear" Richards.
Enjoy him on
CKLW (SCOPED)
here.
(The Charlie Ritenburg Collection)
RESTORATION by Charlie
Ritenburg
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Rock Radio Scrapbook
pays
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Society of Composers, Authors and Music
Publishers of Canada (License 22-F)
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Talent: WAYNE
McATEER
Station: CJBK
London, Ontario
Date: March 11, 1974
Time: 58:37
(unscoped) (Upgraded 5-1-17)
16:31 (scoped) (Upgraded
5-3-17)
Ever wonder how radio stations get their call letters?
The story behind
CJBK's calls is an interesting one indeed. It starts in 1967, when
CJOE went on the air at 1290kc. They took over the frequency vacated by
CKSL,
which moved to 1410 in 1964.
CJOE began airing rock music from 7 p.m.-midnight
in 1970, and by 1971 was rock all day and night.
Rick Richardson purchased
CJOE in 1972 and
decided to change the call letters. Bill Dulmage of the
Canadian Communications Foundation
tells
Rock Radio Scrapbook the story behind
that.
"On September 6 at 12:00 a.m., "The Big Switch" took place in conjunction with
the opening of the Western Fair ... CJOE became CJBK. Why CJBK? Richardson
wanted call letters that began with "CJ" to differentiate the station as much as
possible from competitors CFPL and CKSL. Otherwise, the call letters did not
have any specific meaning. Some however believe that Mr. Richardson was a fan of
WJBK-AM Detroit when he was working at a Windsor radio station. As a result, he
might have chosen the "JBK" from WJBK for CJBK."
And that's how CJBK came to be!
Enjoy Wayne McAteer on CJBK (UNSCOPED)
here.
Enjoy Wayne McAteer on CJBK (SCOPED)
here.
(The Don Shuttleworth Collection)
RESTORATION by Charlie
Ritenburg
Talent: TRUCKIN'
LENNIE & SKIP O'BRIEN
Station: WGCL
Cleveland
Date: June,
1974
Times: 49:19 (unscoped)
13:40 (scoped)
(Pictures courtesy Charlie Ritenburg)
It's one thing to hear the aircheck.
It's another to hear the story behind the
aircheck.
Charlie Ritenburg tells us "the rest of
the story" behind this classic 'check.
"These pictures (above) are the two radios that I listened to WGCL (G-98)
Cleveland from London Ontario with. I first heard G-98 on the Sony clock radio
in early 1974 after discovering the existence of WDRQ-FM Detroit only days
before while travelling close to the Motor City.
The "circuit board" radio was a high school project that also received
G-98
along with "Rock 102" from Buffalo and many other FM stations from Cleveland,
Detroit, Kitchener, Hamilton, Buffalo and occasionally Toronto in stereo. This
was the receiver which the G-98 air check from 1974 was recorded from onto a
medium quality, non dolbilized cassette deck with a low bias "Audio Magnetics"
brand tape.
Both radios were connected to the "rabbit ears" TV antenna that are shown with
the "circuit board" radio to receive these distant signals. I still use these
very same rabbit ears today with my home sound system in Richmond Hill and the
Sony clock radio is still working and waking me up from my night table after
nearly 38 years of reliable operation."
Enjoy
Truckin' Lennie and
Skip O'Brien on
WGCL (UNSCOPED)
here.
Enjoy
Truckin' Lennie and
Skip O'Brien on
WGCL (SCOPED)
here.
(The Charlie Ritenburg
Collection)
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Talent: STEVE
ELLIOTT
Station: CHUM
Toronto
Date: August 28, 1976
Time: Pt. 1 - 1:02:31 (unscoped)
Pt. 1 - 14:26 (scoped)
Pt. 2 - 59:03 (unscoped)
Pt. 2
- 14:26 (scoped)
It's Steve Elliott's last show on CHUM and he goes out in style.
After a rousing send-off by Pat Riley, Elliott gives his listeners a show
to remember him by, with a non-stop energetic performance despite the late hour.
Luckily his entire show - the first of five parts - has survived and you can
hear the first hour below.
Elliot cut his teeth at CKCY Sault Ste. Marie in the early '70s, went to
CHUM, then embarked on a four-decade career in radio and TV in the
Canadian west as Terry Reid. His radio stops have included CKLG,
CKKS-FM and CHQM-FM Vancouver and CISF-FM Surrey, B.C.
Reid/Elliott has also been heard as the commercial announcer for Global TV
Vancouver, and imaging/commercial announcer at CTV/BellMedia Alberta. His
list of credits include president of Voicewerks.
Enjoy Steve
Elliott on CHUM
(Pt. 1 - UNSCOPED)
here.
Enjoy Steve
Elliott on CHUM
(Pt. 2 - SCOPED)
here.
Enjoy Steve
Elliott on CHUM (Pt.
2 - UNSCOPED) here.
Enjoy Steve
Elliott on CHUM (Pt.
2 - SCOPED) here.
(The Charlie Ritenburg
Collection)
Talent: BIG
JIM
Station: CHAB
Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
Date: September
1, 1976
Time: 30:55
(unscoped)
8:05
(scoped)
CHAB rose from the ashes of
one of Canada's first non-commercial radio stations.
CHAB's forerunner -
10AB - went on the air April
23, 1922, broadcasting from the Moose Jaw YMCA. Originally at 1200 KHz, it was
licenced as a non-commercial station with 50 watts of power. The station was
originally supposed to have been run by the Moose Jaw Amateur Radio Association,
but they couldn't afford it. The Kiwanis Club took over until handing it back to
the Moose Jaw Amateur Radio Association in 1924.
Lack of financial support led to
10AB's demise on November 11,
1933, as the station signed off with Rudy Vallee's
"I'm Heading to the Last Round-up." But five weeks later, on December 17, 10AM
returned to the air as a commercial station, CHAB,
and the station grew from there. One of its first major hires was
Elwood Glover, who left in
1938 for a storied career at the CBC.
It later became a Top 40 station, as we hear in this mid-'70s aircheck of "Big
Jim" at CHAB.
Just who was "Big Jim?" After this aircheck was
posted we got an e-mail from a viewer saying that he was pretty sure "Big Jim"
was Jim Ripley,
a.k.a. the Bionic Ripley. He later went to CKY
in Winnipeg before moving to C-JAY
and CKIK in Calgary.
Ripley also hosted "Home Cookin'", a TV show on CFCN-TV
Calgary simulcast on C-JAY
which also featured local acts.
Hear
"Big Jim" (UNSCOPED)
here.
Hear
"Big Jim" (SCOPED)
here.
(The Charlie
Ritenburg
Collection)
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Publishers of Canada (License 22-F)
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Talent:
MIKE
COOPER, DAVE WILLIAMS
Station:
CHUM Toronto
Date:
October 7, 1976
Time:
1:01:24 (unscoped)
18:50 (scoped)
His relief is late, so Mike Cooper has
a little fun with it.
With Dave Williams running a little late, Coop amps up the energy big-time in this
highly entertaining aircheck from the fall of '76.
Williams eventually arrives with his own
special brand of radio magic, but not before Cooper literally sets the
transmitter on fire with an electrifying performance.
Cooper left CHUM a month after this
aircheck, then moved to CKGM Montreal before returning to Toronto at
CFTR. He would later jock in Toronto with morning shows at Key-590
and CHFI-FM, co-hosting with Erin Davis at the latter.
Dave Williams (Doug Thompson/CHUM Archives)
Dave Williams (real name David Wolfe)
also jocked at CHUM stations CJCH and ATV Halifax, and
MuchMusic. He was program director in the mid-80s at CKGM Montreal,
where he had previously been a jock.
Also heard on this aircheck: Brian Marter
with the news.
Enjoy Mike Cooper and Dave Williams
at CHUM (UNSCOPED)
here.
Enjoy Mike Cooper and Dave Williams
at CHUM (SCOPED)
here.
(The Charlie Ritenburg Collection)
Talent: TOM
KENT
Station:
96X (WMJX) Miami
Date: May,
1978
Time:
49:12 (unscoped)
14:16 (scoped)
Description by Charlie Ritenburg
I first discovered 96X-FM in Canada of all places! After a heavy afternoon rain
storm in late June of 1976, a few friends and I were in my car in a field
outside of London Ontario dialing around the FM band on my under dash "Roberts"
FM-cassette car stereo. Next to London's 179,000 watt FM96 on 95.9 MHz (CFPL-FM)
was a station booming in that was playing "Ball Room Blitz" by Sweet. Then a
few commercials ran that mentioned numbered street names like New York City has.
Once the music was back, a high energy jock introduced "Oh What A Night (Dec
'63)" by the 4 Seasons with the call letters WMJX. The signal was very strong
but intermittently switched in and out and eventually disappeared altogether. A
few months later I explained this freak reception to Pat Riley, a CHUM DJ who
used to work at the 100,000 watt 96X. From that point I knew that this phantom
signal had actually come from Miami Florida which was over 1500 miles to the
South of me! Truly amazing, especially on the FM band!
Knowing this, I had a friend (Brian Pietrzyk) record some 96X air checks when he
traveled to Florida in December of 1977. But in May of 1978, Brian and I
returned to Hollywood Florida where I had the chance to record my own stereo air
checks of 96X on my Toshiba reel to reel machine. At the time he had a Pioneer
KP-500 car stereo with the FM Super Tuner so we used that with a power supply to
record a great sounding signal on 96.3 MHz in our trailer. I recorded a reel of
Y100 along with a number of other South Florida stations but WMJX was my main
focus after that most amazing day when it made the long haul to London Ontario
Canada!
Tom Kent was a high energy disc jockey who worked at many great radio stations
like WHBQ Memphis, WIXY & WGCL Cleveland, WMJX Miami,
KLIF Dallas, WLS Chicago,
WAVA Washington and later became the program director of WBZZ Pittsburgh. He
also hosted many syndicated radio shows and started out like I did with his very
own pirate radio station. You can appreciate the energy and excitement.
Enjoy
Tom
Kent on
96X (UNSCOPED)
here.
Enjoy
Tom
Kent on 96X (SCOPED)
here.
(The Charlie Ritenburg Collection)
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Talent: DAVE
SAWYER
Station: CJME
Regina
Date:
June 25, 1984
Time: 47:04 (unscoped)
15:28 (scoped)
You've heard of ideas that
were ahead of their time?
This idea was behind its time.
AM stereo was thought to
be the saviour of AM radio in Canada and the U.S. when it came out in the '80s.
Many stations adopted one of the four technologies - C-QUAM,
Harris Corporation,
Magnavox and the
Kahn-Hazeltine System.
But there were a multitude of problems. First, the competing technologies proved
to be a problem as it confused consumers. Also, AM stereo was adopted too late as many listeners had moved to FM and
weren't about to come back to AM, which was moving into news-talk sports
programming anyway. Interest in the technology faded and by the early 2000s
hardly any stations were using it. What started out with so much promise was a
forgotten relic.
One of the Canadian
stations to use the
C-QUAM system - which became the standard in Canada - was
CJME. The Regina
station went on the air in 1959 with an easy-listening format, however it soon
went Top 40. By the '90s they were an oldies outlet. The music died for
CJME at midnight on September
7, 1998, when the station played its final song - "American Pie" by
Don McLean. The next day they
went to a news-talk format.
Enjoy
Dave Sawyer on CJME
in
C-QUAM
AM stereo
(UNSCOPED)
here.
Enjoy
Dave Sawyer on CJME
in
C-QUAM
AM stereo
(SCOPED) here.
(The Charlie Ritenburg Collection)
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Publishers of Canada (License 22-F)
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