Rock Radio Scrapbook

AIRCHECK OF THE WEEK
For week of December 11, 2011
Weekly issue #659

Subject: BOB LAINE MONTAGE
Station: CHUM Toronto
Dates: Various
Time: 10:50

(Picture courtesy Doug Thompson/The CHUM Archives)

(Description by Doug Thompson)

Bob Laine was CHUM’s undisputed King of All Nights. Bob first came to CHUM in June of 1958 and spent the next 10 years entertaining Southern Ontario from midnight ‘til 6 a.m.

There was one slight break in that time line however. In early 1962, Bob left CHUM to become morning man at CFGM, the country music radio station in Richmond Hill, just north of Toronto. After a few months, Bob came back to host Craven A’s “Music Til Dawn.” CHUM built a huge promotion around ‘The Voice’ coming to CHUM. There was a contest to guess what ‘The Voice” would say first.  There were several CHUM charts promoting ‘The Voice’. But when ‘The Voice’ actually arrived (highlights of which appear in this montage), he didn’t say a word, not until the next night.

Bob remained the all-night maven of 1050 until 1968, when CHUM’s Program Director, J. Robert Wood moved him to the 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift. Then, two years later Bob took the reins as Program Director at CHUM-FM. His career in CHUM management began there.

(Picture courtesy Doug Thompson/The CHUM Archives)

In total, Bob spent 45 years at CHUM, retiring from day-to-day operations as Vice President in October of 2003. The very next week, Bob and I started the seemingly never-ending task of creating the CHUM Museum and working on the CHUM Archives (which continues to this day).

Bob passed away on August 31, 2011, but he won’t soon be forgotten. There are many Bob Laine CHUM airchecks to be found here on Rock Radio Scrapbook as well as written material about him.

This montage is a little different from any of my previous CHUM ones. Since Bob worked all night, he wasn’t available to record any promos, so I’ve combined the promos we do have with aircheck selections (including a hilarious People’s Credit Jewellers commercial that had Bob cracking up), plus a section from the 2001 CHUM wrap-up broadcast with Duff Roman and CHUM’s GM Fred Sherratt and it ends with a piece from October 2003 with Tom Rivers and Nanci Krant on Bob Laine Day on CHUM. In between are the various CHUM jingles that Bob used over the years.

Enjoy the Bob Laine "The Night Creature" montage here.

(l-r: John Spragge, Al Boliska, Pete Nordheimer, Mike Darow, Bob Laine, Dave Johnson)

(The Doug Thompson Collection)

Produced by Doug Thompson
 

More from Doug Thompson's Production Corner here!
 

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