Halloween airchecks

 

Subject: WAR OF THE WORLDS
Station: WKBW Buffalo, New York
Date: October 31, 1968
Time:
 1:16:41 (unscoped)
 
          1:09:33 (scoped)

It was theatre of the mind, on one of radio's biggest stages.

On Halloween Night 1968, Buffalo's 50,000-watt blowtorch WKBW did an updated version of Orson Welles' War of the Worlds, about a Martian invasion of Earth. The brainchild of WKBW program director Jeff Kaye, the show faithfully followed the script of the Welles' original, but added local references and used reporting technology that did not exist in 1938, when the original aired on CBSMercury Theatre of the Air. The 1968 version was presented as if it were part of the station's Top 40 format, complete with the tunes. If you weren't paying attention to WKBW's numerous disclaimers, you would have thought it was real.

The cast included newscaster Joe Downey, deejay Sandy Beach, studio anchors Downey, Henry Brach and Kaye, and reporters Jim Fagan and Don Lancer from WKBW-AM, and John Irving and Irv Weinstein from WKBW-TV. Dan Neaverth reads the disclaimer at the beginning of the broadcast.

The show started at 11 p.m. Calls from concerned listeners became so frequent that Kaye demanded director Dan Kriegler let him break into the pre-taped programming with the following announcement: "What you are listening to is a dramatization of H.G. Welles' War of the Worlds on WKBW radio, 1520 on your Buffalo dial. I repeat, it is a dramatization; it is a play. It is not happening in any way, shape or form. What you are listening to is a dramatization of H.G. Welles' War of the Worlds as being portrayed on WKBW 1520 Buffalo. The time is two and one half minutes before twelve o'clock." The show was reprised three times on WKBW with different disc jockeys (Jack Armstrong in 1971, Shane in 1973 and Jim Quinn in 1975.

Enjoy WKBW's 1968 dramatization of H.G. Welles' "War of The Worlds"  (UNSCOPED) here .

Enjoy WKBW's 1968 dramatization of H.G. Welles' "War of The Worlds" (SCOPED) here. 
 

(Scrapbook archives)


Subject: WAR OF THE WORLDS
Station: WKBW Buffalo, New York
Date: October 31, 1971
Time:
 1:13:26 (unscoped)
 
         1:01:17 (scoped)

Three years after the original broadcast, WKBW reprised it.

Jack Armstrong is the disc jockey this time. Program director Jeff Kaye reads the disclaimer at the beginning of the broadcast.

Enjoy WKBW's 1971 dramatization of H.G. Welles' "War of The Worlds"  (UNSCOPED) here .

Enjoy WKBW's 1971 dramatization of H.G. Welles' "War of The Worlds" (SCOPED) here. 
 

(Scrapbook archives)


Subject: WAR OF THE WORLDS
Station: WKBW Buffalo, N.Y.
Date: October 31, 1973
Time:
 1:25:25 (unscoped)
 
          1:13:02 (scoped)

WKBW did a third dramatization of "War of The Worlds" in 1973, this time with Shane as the jock.

Enjoy WKBW's 1973 dramatization of H.G. Welles' "War of The Worlds" (UNSCOPED) here .

Enjoy WKBW's 1973 dramatization of H.G. Welles' "War of The Worlds" (SCOPED) here. 
 

(Scrapbook archives)


Talent: BOB SHANNON w/FREDDY CANNON
Station:  WCBS-FM New York
Date: October 31, 2002
Time: 36:26 (Pt. 1 - unscoped)
            21:03 (Pt. 1 - scoped)



It's a Hollywood Halloween.

Bob Shannon - broadcasting from Hollywood - spins a few Halloween hits in Part 1 of this gem from 2002.

The legendary Al Meredith, who spent 28 years at WCBS-FM, gets things started with a newscast then it's on to music with Shannon and special guest Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon. Check out the great "Pop-Top" done by Mr. Cannon himself over the intro to "Palisades Park." Laurie Jordan has traffic.

Enjoy Bob Shannon on WCBS-FM from October 31, 2002 (UNSCOPED) here. 
 

Enjoy Bob Shannon on WCBS-FM from October 31, 2002 (SCOPED) here. 

 

(The Don Shuttleworth Collection)


Subject: LOOKING BACK AGAIN HALLOWEEN "SPOOKTACULAR" with SAM WARD
Source: audioldies.net
Date: October 26, 2008
Times: Part 1 - 1:00:59 (unscoped)
             Part 2 - 59:21 (unscoped)
             Part 3 - 59:48 (unscoped)
             Part 4 - 58:08 (unscoped)
 

Now and then you discover a radio talent that just knocks you off your feet.

Such is the case with Sam Ward.

Sam, a long-time radio buff with an encyclopaedic knowledge of music, first came to our attention in 1996 when we were introduced by a mutual friend. The depth of Sam's knowledge of radio and music totally awed us, and we were pleased several years ago when he started web site (now defunct) devoted to these twin topics.

Sam's theme-driven show, Looking Back Again, a tribute to Don Daynard's long-running Looking Back program on CKFM Toronto, is pure radio magic. Few announcers connect one-on-one with the listener like Sam does, and even fewer have his knowledge and passion for music. What's truly amazing is that does all the production, announcing and research on his show, including finding the tunes, despite the fact he's totally blind.

One of our favourite Looking Back Again shows is Sam's Halloween "Spooktacular" in 2008.

Enjoy Part 1 here. (1:00:59)

Enjoy Part 2 here. (59:21)

Enjoy Part 3 here. (59:48)

Enjoy Part 4 here. (58:08)
 

(The Sam Ward Collection)




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Talent: FREDDY VETTE
Station: CJBQ Belleville, Ont.
Date: October 31, 2014
Time: 50:58 (unscoped)

OK, boys and ghouls, listen in.

Using his best Count Dracula voice, Freddy Vette spins some spooky sounds from his dreadful dungeon of dusty discs on his 2014 Halloween special.

It's nearly an hour of alarming audio, hair-raising hits and terrifying tunes from the deepest and dungiest regions of music's mustiest mausoleum.
 

Enjoy Freddy Vette on CJBQ here.  

 

(The Freddy Vette Collection)




Rock Radio Scrapbook pays
online streaming fees to the
Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (License 22-F)
 


Talent: FREDDY VETTE
Station: CJBQ Belleville, Ont.
Date: October 30, 2015
Time: 54:13 (unscoped)

The Wolfman returns (well at least his ghost does!)

Freddy Vette brings back Wolfman Jack in this great special from Halloween 2015. Deftly switching between his own voice and his Wolfman Jack character, Vette delivers a stellar performance. It's the type of entertainment that makes Vette's Monday-Friday CJBQ program so special!

Enjoy Freddy Vette as "The Ghost of the Wolfman" on CJBQ here.  

 

(The Freddy Vette Collection)


Talent: JIM GLOVER and JODI LOSEE w/THE DOO WOP CHOP SHOP
Station: NORTHUMBERLAND 89.7
Date: October 26, 2019
Time: 1:04:40 (unscoped)
              20:07 (scoped)

It's a trip back to the time when street-corner harmonies filled the air and the airwaves. It's "The Doo Wop Chop Shop" onNorthumberland897.

The show - founded in 2016 by program director Jim Glover (Jodi Losee and the late Jon Holland co-hosted) - was started "as a way to introduce listeners to early rock and roll. So I thought what better way to do than than with a great Alan Freed-type rock show. Really it's a Saturday night dance party."

And where did the name of the show come from? Jim told us, "I like names that rhyme and thinking about classic car shops. I knew as we all know about chop shops. So that was the name - Doo Wop Chop Shop. It also allowed us to play some great car songs in the show."

Jim (l) and Jodi (Pic courtesy Jim Glover)

Hear Jim, Jodi and others on the "Halloween Howl" for October 26, 2019 (UNSCOPED) here .


Hear Jim, Jodi and others on the "Halloween Howl" for October 26, 2019 (SCOPED) here. 


(The Jim Glover Collection)


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