***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.

I rarely repeat content on the site but I have combined two previous clips from WUWU FM into one post and both feature Gary Storm  on air during the day and not on his all night Oil of Dog program. The clip also highlights two fantastic station ID’s which can be heard at 3:13 and 14:40. Gary Storm can be heard in between two off-kilter Led Zeppelin covers recorded on two separate broadcasts. You will also hear the late Bob Allen at 19:16 promoting his talk program called the Town Crier. There’s also a small snippet from Buffalo’s 97 Rock. All the content is from 1982.

WUWU was a truly gonzo outfit and legend has it that Bob Allen took over the station without authorization on it’s last day as a free form station. Some have said that was a stunt but I was listening that night and Mr. Allen sounded like a man who had become unhinged and more so when I called him up on the studio line when I heard what he was saying on air.

Search the site for a lot more content from WUWU and the earlier but related  free form stations WZIR and WBUF.

***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.

This is a clip from WMMR FM Philadelphia. MMR was one of the best free form stations in America. The clip features DJ’s Michael Tearson and Ed Sciaky briefly. You will also hear some creative station ID’s and promos, plus comedy by Lenny Bruce and an  eclectic music mix. I have a bit more from the station to post in the future but there are many hours of vintage air checks from WMMR available on the net. Google and you shall find.

New clips from CKOC, CHEX & CKPT uploaded here. Scroll to the bottom of the linked page

The Boston area was fertile ground for Top 40 stations on FM during the early 70’s. There were a number of them experimenting with the format. Experimenting is the right word as these Top 40 stations and others throughout the country featured wider playlists and were more influenced by the FM Free Form and AOR stations than their AM counterparts. Hallelujah by Sweathog and Starman by Bowie are two of the tracks featured and they did not get much AM airplay.

There were also stations playing oldies and a hip version of soft rock with artists such as Jackson Browne and Buffalo Springfield

The clip above features:

WBZ FM ( station ID at 7:48).

WEEI FM ( DJ at 10:11).

I believe  one of the automated versions of  WROR FM ( DJ at 2:36 and 11:44).

You will also hear a bit of WHDH AM ( ID at 11:54) which had a MOR format and WEZE ( DJ at 12:18).

https://youtu.be/a2uq_rTNBmU

***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 Peter Griffin on CHUM FM from May 1975. The free form format was tightening and some hits had been placed into the rotation but the station had still not converted to a pure album rock format and what you will hear on this air check is  an outlet in transition from a progressive free form format to something more structured.

One interesting side note about this air check. The announcers featured on the commercials were all there during the free form heyday. You will hear David Marsden promoting a club during the first break and also Walter Michaels right after him and both of them were no longer at the station. David Marsden had left just two months before. Jim Bauer is featured during the second break and Brian Master is heard on the last break.

The second clip features Dani Elwell and Steve Jackson on CKFM from December 1985, A big thanks to Dani for identifying her partner on this clip. The clip is from a Saturday night dance music show.  There is some overlap with the music heard on CFNY at the time. A long clip with some “Hot Spot” updates from clubs around the city. This was early in Dani’s  professional career while she was still attending Ryerson College.

Part one from both these air checks can be heard here

Hamilton Ontario’s 1150 CKOC is Canada’s oldest continuously operating radio station. The station has been playing Top 40 rock and oldies since 1960. That is about to come to an end next month when the station will switch to a all sports format. The memories and the magic will live on via the clips posted to the Radio Miscellany section of this site. Two new  clips have just been uploaded.

https://youtu.be/w9dpv-bDFQQ

***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.

WBZ FM switched to a automated Top 40 format in June 1973. This is a countdown show taped shortly after the switch. The voice over work seems to be by student listeners. There’s some humorous  patter between most of the songs played. Later in the year the station employed some pros to do voice tracks.

This was a good time for Top 40 rock and there are some great tracks on the countdown. You will hear a few one or two hit wonders such as Albert Hammond’s Free Electric Band ( on clip one) and  Gunhill Road, The Mighty Tom Cats and Andy Pratt ( on clip two).

Avenging Annie by Pratt was a big regional hit in parts of the east coast, including New England. The song was inspired by The Byrd’s version of Woody Guthrie’s Pretty Boy Floyd. Initially featured on free form progressive rock stations, the track eventually crossed over to Top 40. Soul Moussaka by by the Mighty Tom Cats  can be described as either proto-disco or world music.

A most interesting playlist and a reminder that the early Top 40 stations on FM were more experimental than their AM counterparts.

***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.

***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.

WBZ FM switched to an automated top 40 rock format in June of 1973. This aircheck is from their first week with the new format. Most of the voice over work on this aircheck seems to be by students or amateurs. Later in the year the station did hire some pros to do the voice-overs.

The history of FM rock in Boston at the time is a bit convoluted. Free Form WBCN was the most stable station but in addition to WBZ, a number of other FM stations introduced some variation of a rock format around this time including WVBF, WROR and others.

Top 40 stations on FM during the early 70’s were more album oriented than their AM counterparts and generally gave greater exposure to songs which were receiving airplay on the free form stations. One such example, Roll Over Beethoven by The Electric Light Orchestra, is heard on this clip. The track is from the second ELO album and is perhaps their most adventurous hit  record. The song charted on the Billboard Hot 100 thanks largely to FM airplay. There is a truncated version of a song by the Glass Harp called Can`t You See Me that I don`t think was played on many AM top 40 stations.  A brief instrumental section of the song is heard just after I`m Doing Fine Now by New York City.

You will also hear a few minutes of WVBF after the Osmonds are announced and then back to WBZ FM. The aircheck ends with a record by novelty artist Dickie Goodman called Watergrate. One of Dickie’s usual spoofs using small bits from  hit records of the day in between his comedic comments. Also note that The Monster Mash was played not as an oldie but a current hit as it was riding the charts upon it`s re-release during the summer of 1973.

I have more tape from this broadcast, a continuation of their Top 40 countdown, Stay tuned.

https://youtu.be/a-80S9gGdB0