Have a listen to a long and early slice of WCBS FM’s Oldies format in the Radio Miscellany section of the site.
Category Archives: Radio
Toronto’s Q 107 & 1050 CHUM
Today marks the 60th anniversary of the day 1050 CHUM switched to top 40 Rock and May 22 was the 40th anniversary of the launch of Q 107 FM in Toronto. Here’s some audio celebrating both stations.
The first clip is from Q 107 from August 1982 and it is the prequel to audio that I uploaded earlier from the station. I believe the DJ is Eric Westin but he does not say his name.
The second clip consists of radio contests and features 1050 CHUM alumni Tom Rivers ( May 1, 1995) and Terry Steele ( July 28,1993) on Toronto station Z 97.3. Plus Bob Magee on 1050 CHUM ( July 29, 1993) and Al Joynes on Q 107 ( March 6, 1993).
The third clip is a tribute to 1050 CHUM that I recorded on my cell phone on July 15, 2015. This was a mystery broadcast. I was off site, attending a work conference, and I heard all this old CHUM audio as I was twisting the radio dial. I was coming home in the car and the only way I could record was on my cell phone. I was seriously thinking of going back with a cassette player and getting a better quality recording but had family commitments. This was a very low power broadcast and it died out as I was driving home.
Listen for former CHUM FM and CFNY legend David Marsden near the beginning of the clip. Quality is as to be expected on such a recording but I did enhance the tracks that were played in full.
The fourth clip is mostly a repeat of the cell phone recording but it has a bit of content which is not on the third clip and parts are a little cleaner.
https://youtu.be/7CrkAD6l7Es
WCBS Rock’n Roll Hall of Fame Show 88 & Humble Harve KHJ Boss Radio 67
***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.
A great twin spin spanning 21 years.
The first clip is of a WCBS FM broadcast during the Rock’n Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies from The Waldorf Astoria in 1988. The Show was hosted by Bob Shannon and Don K Reed. This was a night when The Beatles, The Supremes, The Beach Boys and Bob Dylan were inducted.
I have more tape of this show but have edited the broadcast and kept only the Beach Boys and Bob Dylan segments plus a newscast near the end and a brief segment after that.
The second clip comes from Los Angeles station KHJ and features DJ Humble Harve from January 1967. The station was referred to as Boss Radio at the time and had become a Drake formatted station since 1965. Generally that format had narrowed playlists and muted DJ’s but there were exceptions and Humble Harve was one. The playlist is quite interesting. Album cuts are played along with 45’s by The Peanut Butter Conspiracy, The Seeds and Love. The Beatles sitar laden Love You Too gets an airing along with a Dylan track not normally played on Top 40 radio. I have another hour of the KHJ tape that I will upload in the future.
WNEW FM Rain-forest Benefit 1988 and Some 1978 ADS
The first clip is from 1988 and includes some content from the the Grateful Dead Rain-forest benefit. The clip does not include any part of the actual concert but has some music played by DJ Harris Allen. There is also a short interview with Hall and Oates conducted by Pat St John. The duo played at the benefit.
The second clip consists of mostly ads recorded during the airing of a Dead concert and a Who special in 1978 . You will hear Richard Neer, Alison Steele and also Al Bernstein near the end playing the Eagles Hotel California.
WQBK FM Oct 18, 1976 Part Three
***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.
Going deeper into the night with Gary Santucci on Albany NY’s free form WQBK FM. The eclecticism of the format still apparent on this air check as more and more FM stations on the continent were tightening their playlists. I still have more of this night to upload in the future.
Note: Parts one and two of this broadcast were in stereo but this is mono.
WBBF, WCMF and More-Rochester NY Radio
***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 have a an interesting lot of tapes which seem to have been made by recording from microphone to radio and not direct via patch cords. The quality is not great. They include some content from WBBF AM which was Rochester NY’s first and most successful Top 40 station. The first clip includes that and may have been recorded in late 1963 and early 1964. The DJ patter is short but the highlight is the intro to the Trashmen’s Surfin Bird.
The first clip also has a few ads recorded in 1972 during the airing of a Beatles special in 1972 on WAXC AM. The station went onto competition with WBBF as a top 40 outlet in 1972. The special was produced by CHUM radio in Toronto and you can hear the CHUM production credit near the end of the clip.
The second clip consists of ads and other content that was recorded during the airing of a BBC Beatles special in April 1973 on WCMF FM. WCMF at the time was a free form station that I would tune into when I could get it in Toronto. The clip includes a few different versions of ads for a Frank Zappa and John McLaughlin concert and a Ten Years After, Strawbs and Eagles show. There’s also stereo store ads and a PSA for the Wounded Knee reservation plus some other WCMF content about the Beatles special. The CMF DJ sounds like Buffalo and Rochester radio legend “Unkle” Roger. The only thing I have copied from the Beatles special is a Murray the K intro to the Beatles song Happy to Dance With You and a part of a WABC jingle.
WCMF was a wonderful station during the free form era and it’s the first station I heard Lothar and The Hand People and I think it may have been the only station I heard that group other than perhaps WZIR and WUWU from Buffalo. The third clip has CMF during the tail end of the free form years in 1975. I recorded this myself and have uploaded it previously. Musical highlight for me is near the end when The Beach Boys free form era classic Feel Flows is played. The DJ on the clip is Bernie Kimblel I believe.
Corrections and input welcome.
Steve Harris, David Pritchard and Reiner Schwarz CHUM FM 1971
Check out this great clip from one of the best free form stations in North America. CHUM FM in Toronto from 1971. Clip uploaded to the section of the site devoted to contributions from radio archivist Kal Raudoja: KAL’S COLOSSAL KORNER
KOME FM San Jose 1977
These air checks were contributed to the web site by Terry Alexander. He transferred them himself from a reel to reel tape and it’s a great quality transfer,
The air checks are from 1977 and like the 1979 air checks from KOME on the site, they also feature music from the “Johnson Years.” Music from when LBJ was president . The clip features a great set of music which includes free form era favorites as well as some Top 40 nuggets. Great to here less known San Francisco bands such as the Vejtables. The DJ featured on the air checks is Jona Denz-Hamilton who still works in the San Jose area on KBAY FM.
Thank you Terry for these excellent recordings and I have more tape from the set to upload in the future.
https://youtu.be/r0s7zqYF8NU
Carl Banas on CKFM Sept 9, 1972
Listen to a great trip down memory lane on Canada’s top rated FM station from September 9, 1972. Almost 90 minute, can be heard here: Radio Miscellany
Los Angeles Triple Play
Here is more from KPPC FM, KMET FM and KROQ. The three stations were an important part of the free form and alternative broadcast history of Los Angeles and California.
In a sense the clips chart the history of free form in the city. KPPC FM was the first major free form outlet in the area and then the mantle was passed to KMET. K Rock or KROQ became one of the premiere alternative rock stations on the continent but at the beginning they had the attitude and a free form ethos which is evident on this clip featuring Jimmy Rabbit from November 1976.
Cosmos is the DJ on the KPPC clip from September 1971 and B Mitchell Reed is heard once again on on KMET from June 11, 1975. I have more to upload from these great stations in the future.
Have a listen to more vintage KMET at the Past Daily site and use the search function at the site to find more than what is on the link.
https://youtu.be/-9QVNbUPzgM