AIRCHECK OF THE WEEK

          - Edition #959 - October 15, 2017 -   


Subject: SUNDAY SUNDAY
Station: CFTR Toronto
Dates:
Various
Times: Various

(Logo courtesy Dan Haber)

When we think of Top 40 radio, we tend to focus on the music programming. But back in the day, Top 40 stations had a strong news and sports staffs, and took their public service programming seriously. Case in point: CFTR's acclaimed show "Sunday Sunday."

"Sunday Sunday" was the brainchild of veteran broadcaster Clint Nickerson and CFTR news director Robert Holiday. The show was the successor to "Time Frame", a documentary-like hour-long program carried on CFTR only. "Sunday Sunday" ran from January 1980 to February 14, 1982. It was, in the words of contributor Dan Haber, "a bold experiment and there have been few things like it before or since in the realm of private radio. Ultimately, it was just too expensive to produce and eventually was cancelled."

"Sunday Sunday" was before satellite and each show had to be done by mid-week so tapes could be sent via to stations across Canada for weekend broadcast. At one point, the show aired on 52 stations in 48 markets across the country.

The show was normally hosted by Holiday, though Nickerson took over in the final days. Bev Bowman sometimes co-hosted. The program featured weekly contributions from 'TR newsroom regulars like John Wilson, Bev Bowman, Melanie Reffes and of course the main producer, the late Clint Nickerson. Other 680 types also were expected to play an occasional role and names like Corey Galbraith, Roger Ward, Dana Lewis, Arlene Bynon and Ben Steinfeld did a few bits.

(Picture courtesy Dan Haber)

We have four "Sunday Sunday" segments for you, with descriptions by Dan Haber:

- Mel Blanc is a broadcasting legend. If you’re not familiar with the name, you certainly know the voice. Blanc was the actor behind dozens, if not hundreds, of the most famous cartoon characters in history, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Yosemite Sam, Tweety Bird, Barney Rubble and too many more to list. He also did characters and sound effects for Jack Benny for decades on radio and TV. When I called him way back in the 80s, I thought I might coax him to do a voice or two for me. I was overjoyed when he did just about everything I asked for. Plus, I came away from it with one of my most prized possessions – the original voice of Bugs Bunny saying, “Eh, what’s up Dan?” Blanc was a genius and to this day, no one has been able to replace him. I’m grateful I had the chance to talk to him and that's why this is one of my all-time favourite interviews.

- Melanie Reffes' story on Steve Karman is a gem. He's the jingle writer who created dozens of famous commercial classics, including "When you say Budweiser, you've said all," "Sooner or later, you'll own General," "At Beneficial you're good for more,"  and his most famous, "I Love New York." Just to name a few. All of them and more are featured in the piece, with their composer musing on how he came up with them.

- The Ed Sullivan piece, featuring the author of a book on the show called "A Thousand Sundays" is one of the rare items voiced by Robert Holiday and is based on my interview with the author. What I like best about it is that Sullivan's people refused to let us use any clips from his show without charging us outrageous rates, but I found a way to make it work without them.

- John Wilson's story on Rock Lyrics has lotsa music and lots of slick editing. It took us days and days to put it together.

- And I went to New York to interview the now late Sid Bernstein. If the name isn't familiar, his enterprise will never be forgotten. He's the promoter who brought the Beatles to the U.S. and impressed Brian Epstein by insisting he'd play them at Carnegie Hall. His stories remain entertaining all these years later, even if he was mostly wrong about his latest discovery, Laura Branigan.

Dan Haber adds, "For a year and a bit, the staff was flying all over the world to do radio that only the CBC was capable of offering. Our difference was we did the show with a rock and roll news sense and a highly produced style (courtesy of yours truly!)"

Enjoy the Mel Blanc segment from September 2, 1980 here. (9:38)

Enjoy the Mel Blanc segment from September 2, 1980 here. (9:38)
 

Enjoy the Steve Karman segment from November 23, 1980 here. (9:38)

Enjoy the Steve Karman segment from November 23, 1980 here. (9:38)


Enjoy the Ed Sullivan segment from February 8, 1981 here. (15:32)

Enjoy the Ed Sullivan segment from February 8, 1981 here. (15:32)
 

Enjoy the Rock Lyrics segment from April 6, 1981 here. (14:57)

Enjoy the Rock Lyrics segment from April 6, 1981 here. (14:57)
 

Enjoy the Sid Bernstein segment from May 17, 1981 here. (12:47)

Enjoy the Sid Bernstein segment from May 17, 1981 here. (12:47)
 

(The Dan Haber Collection)
 

More 1981 airchecks here!
 




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