Rock Radio Scrapbook

AIRCHECK OF THE WEEK
For week of July 31, 2005
Weekly issue #336

Subject: THE TOP 20 SHOW with WILLIE Q.
Station: CKCW Moncton, N.B.
Date: July 31, 1965
Time: 17:12

CKCW-AM is gone from the airwaves, but it had a long history that dates back to the early days of radio.

CKCW-AM signed as a 100-watter on December 4, 1934. It was at 1370kc then, and would move to 1400kc in 1941 and 1220kc by 1952 while increasing its power to 5,000 watts. It was at 10,000 watts when it signed off the AM band on April 11, 2001, having moved to FM as CKCW-FM.

In 1965, CKCW offered a mixed bag of programming, some rock 'n' roll, some middle-of-the-road, some country, not uncommon for stations at that time.

On this aircheck, we drop in on CKCW on a Saturday afternoon in 1965. It's the Top 20 Show, with all the top hits of the day. Oddly enough, the deejay never identifies himself even though Scrapbook viewer Geoff Campbell tells us he is really "Willie Q", whose real name is Bill McFadden.

Hear the Top 20 Show here.

(The Dan Steeves Collection)

Talent: JOHN R (RICHBOURG)
Station: WLAC Nashville, Tenn.
Date: Spring 1967
Time: 4:15

In today's high-tech world, it's hard to imagine a time when radio listeners tuned in through static and fading signals to hear the music they loved.

But that was indeed the case with the high-powered AM stations of yesteryear. Their nighttime signals reached places faraway from their transmitters.

This long-distance reception made national stars out of nighttime personalities who - had they been on during the day - might have been local stars only. One man who benefitted from this was John R.

John Richbourg - he called himself John R. on-air - did a nighttime R&B show on WLAC Nashville for many years ending in 1973. Thanks to WLAC's powerful signal, he and fellow announcers Gene Nobles, Hoss Allen and Herm Grizzard could he heard throughout North America, depending on how the signal was performing that night.

Thanks to the Internet, we can relive those days - and you don't even need an antenna. Enjoy John R. on WLAC here.

(Scrapbook archives)

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