***A note to air check traders. Please do not record these air checks and try and trade. I have the original tapes many of which I recorded myself and thus the authenticity can not be in doubt and can be easily traced.

The first clip features a bit of Benjy Karch on CHUM FM from the summer of 1975. He was the music director at the station and also did on-air fill in work. The station had tightened it’s format and some of the eclecticism of the free form days was gone.

This clip features mostly music and artists such as The Amazing Rhythm Aces, Free Beer, King Crimson, 10 CC and Robert Palmer provide a window into the state of the station at the time. The format had tightened but some musical diversity could still be heard. There’s a bit of dial twisting and I eventually end up on WBUF FM and you will hear the great voice of Yola, who also worked at WGRQ FM and WKBW AM later in her career. I also seem to recall her on WPHD FM for a period before her stint at WBUF. BUF was at the peak of their free form format at the time but all you hear on this air check is  a brief segment from Yola. I have other longer air checks from WBUF posted on the site.

Benjy Karch can be heard at 5:56 and Yola at 28:03. I had previously posted the bit from Yola in another section but include it here as it’s part of the source tape for this aircheck.

The date of the second air check is unknown but is likely from the late 80’s or early 90’s and features a segment from Roger Ashby’s Sunday Morning Oldies show. The show ran from 1980 to 2009 and was heard on CHUM AM for most of it’s run but it switched to CHUM FM for a period. This clip should be of interest to fans of Steve Winwood and The Spencer David group.  Group leader Davis describes the inspiration for their signature hit Gimme Some Lovin’ and also how  the cover of I’m A Man by Chicago probably came to be. Unfortunately very little of Mr Ashby is heard on the clip.