This clip from CHUM FM from early 1970 offers a fantastic window into the world of free form radio from the early 70’s. The opening foreshadows some of the new music that CFNY would play later in the decade. A off kilter hybrid jazz-rock track.
Reiner debuts the new Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young album Deja Vu and you will also hear a bit of the great David Pritchard taking about his Beatles special which was just debuting on the station.
This is the third contribution on the site from Kal Raudoja and please write to him at mailto://50sradio@istar.ca and let him know you want more as I know he has more CHUM FM from the early 1970’s. I also encourage you to visit his web site at http://radio50s60s.com/
You can use the search function on the site to listen to more Reiner and David Pritchard most of which I recorded myself but there’s more from Kal as well.
ENCORE PRESENTATION OF ONE OF THE EARLY UPLOADS TO THE SITE. THIS ONE DESERVES A REPEAT !
The CBC FM Network was producing some of the most cutting edge radio during the 1980’s. There was “Brave New Waves” all night and it was the place to hear cutting edge new wave rock. There was also Nightlines on the weekend and that show was hosted all too briefly by a veteran of Winnipeg free form named Ron Robinson who you will hear on this clip. The show’s last host was the one of the preeminent musicologists on Canadian radio ever David Wisdom. His show was as eclectic as David Pritchard’s old show on CHUM FM.
Ron Robinson is the host on this clip and things begin with Frankie Goes to Hollywood, The Talking Heads and Bill Nelson. After that there is a fascinating interview with John Cale of the Velvet Underground and you will also hear two tracks by the Velvets.
More of the great B Mitchell Reed on KMET from June 1975 and the ever irreverent Jimmy Rabbit on KROQ from 1976.
Listen for the brief ad for and by Dr. Demento and a promo for Harry Shearer’s show on the KMET clip.
Like CFNY in Toronto during the late 1970’s KROQ was important for the development of new music and like NY it was also so much more in those early days. when a free form ethos ruled at the station. Rodney Bingenheimer had started his show on on the Q at the time of this air check. That show did a lot to kick start the punk phenomena in North America. This was at a time when the station had reset after being off air for two years. The frequency used by KROQ was the same one used by KPPC FM earlier,
Take a trip back in time when radio mattered and enjoy these clips. There’s more from both stations that will be uploaded in the future.
Still squeezing out the sparks from my Oil of Dog tapes and have just uploaded a new Oil of Dog segment. Plus the latest upload to the Radio Miscellany section has some vintage CKFM from 1974.
***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 24 minute slice of WVBF FM from 1973. The Top 40/AOR Hybrid station from Framingham, Massachusetts. There are speed issues with the tape and it’s a bit wobbly in spots but still makes for a good listen.
This is the fifth vintage WVBF FM air check posted to this site. You can use the search function on the site to find the others but here’s the fourth.
***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.
Three hours plus of B Mitchell Reed on KMET from June 10, 1975. The station may have been past it’s prime but the creativity and irreverence is still apparent.
Most of the music played is from the “Johnson Years.“ Now I know where KOME FM got their idea for the LBJ years.
You will hear an interesting and recurrent station ID using a bit from the Firesign Theater. A diverse set of music particularly on the third clip where you will hear The Rainy Daze, Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks, Count Basie and more. BMR at one point asks listeners to tune in to a competing radio station. Listen to Shadoe Steven`s reaction to that as he takes over near the end of the third clip.
More to come from KMET and other L.A. stations. Watch this space.
Two vintage air checks from The Los Angeles area featuring KPPC and KMET FM.
KPPC FM was the second progressive rock station in California, the first being KMPX in San Francisco. Both stations were founded by ex San Francisco top 40 jock Tom Donahue in 1967. Donahue brought another ex top 40 legend, B Mitchell Reed, to the station. KPPC ‘s initial progressive lineup left the station in a dispute with management and many of them including Donahue and B Mitchell Reed soon found a new home at Metromedia station KMET.
Both stations employed a number of well known free form era jocks including Charles Laquidara who worked at KPPC before joining WBCN.
The first clip features DJ Cosmos Topper on KPPC from September 1971 and though the founders of the station had left by this time, the station retained a free form format. You will hear plugs for shows by The Firesign Theater and Dr Demento and both of these acts also worked with KMET. The history and personnel from the two stations are intertwined.
KPPC’s time as a progressive station came to an end during the fall of 1971 but KMET carried on with the format. The second clip features B Mitchell Reed on KMET FM from June 1975. The station’s format was beginning to tighten and you can hear mainstream AOR creeping in but there was still some creativity and eclecticism left to make for an interesting listen. KMET, during this era, featured Shadoe Stevens and Jimmy Rabbit who also worked at the a third interesting LA station KROQ FM.
KMET was broadcasting a Quadraphonic signal at the time of this air check.
I have more tape from KPPC and KMET that I will upload in the future.
The third clip consists of one song that I found on a a tape that may be recorded off a Canadian radio station sometime in 1973. Can someone ID the artist ?
A fantastic clip featuring Peter Griffin on CHUM FM from the summer of 1973. The clip helps me accomplish something that I have aimed for since I saw the picture linked below ( from The Rock Radio Scrapbook site) and that is to have audio on the site of all of the DJ’s shown. This clip has Tim Thomas on an ad at 13:38 and he was one DJ who was missing on the site. Audio of all of the others is available via previous air checks from CHUM FM and/or other stations.
The DJ’s pictured on the link are Brian Master, Pete Griffin, John Donabie, Benji Karsh, Tim Thomas, David Marsden, Jim Bauer. David Pritchard and Geets Romo ( David Haydu).
The clip is from CHUM FM’s free summer of 1973 as referenced by Pete Griffin at 2:11 . My fandom for the station was at a peak. They played fantastic music and I loved their diverse and multi genre play list. This clip is just a small peek into that musical wonderland.
The free summer featured trivia contests all summer long with great concert tickets and albums as the prize. The second picture below is of the sheet I kept to record the contests that I had entered and won during that summer. Wins included Jethro Tull tickets and albums by identifying Stephen Stills and Manassas , Santana and John McLaughlin tickets and LP’s by answering the question who designed the album cover of Revolver by the Beatles and more music trivia. I spoke to almost of all of the DJ’s pictured plus Larry Green during these summer trivia contests.
This air check is the second on the site contributed by Kal Raudoja. Please visit his web site http://radio50s60s.com/ and send him an email of appreciation mailto://50sradio@istar.ca Clip was apparently taped by a fan of the Goon show who left the tape running before and after the show ran on CHUM FM on a number of occasions. Kal has more from the same source plus a veritable treasure trove of other radio air checks and memorabilia. He has also given me a air check on the great Reiner Schwarz on CHUM FM from Feb, 1970 that I will be uploading in the future.
***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.
Over 3 hours of music taped during the weekend special called the LBJ years on San Jose’s KOME FM. The idea was to revisit the musical past during LBJ’s time as president. Some of the tracks are actually from the period after LBJ. The music is varied featuring a number of top 40 hits, a few songs which were staples on the first wave of progressive free form stations, for example, Groovin Is Easy by the Electric Flag and tracks by Country Joe and The Fish, Frank Zappa, Cold Blood, Love, Moby Grape and others. The music featured is certainly more varied than what you hear on a typical classic rock station today.
One of my favorite tracks featured comes from country rock pioneers Poco and their first album from 1969. There’s also appearances by LBJ via a medium and some contemporary ads for albums and concerts by The Jam, Poco ( they had veered towards a more commercial sound by 1979) , Jack Scott and others. The station’s regular format still retained some semblance of the free form format.
The clip includes segments from the following stations. Low on talk but some great music is included. Most of the recordings were made on my Sanyo reel to reel sourced off a Marantz receiver. Dates of recordings range from the early 70’s to late 80’s.
A brief segment with The All Night Andre. Best known for his time at CFNY but this clip is from Q107 and the program The Wax Museum which was the predecessor to Psychedelic Sunday
Two short clips from 1050 CHUM. Not 100 % sure who the first DJ is ( Darrel B ?) but the second one is Bob Magee
A briefl clip from CHUM FM from the early 70’s and you will hear a bit of David Pritchard and an ad
The great and multi-talented Steve Winwood playing DJ recorded off Buffalo’s 97 Rock. I think the program was syndicated
Some Live selections recorded off WMMR FM in Philadelphia. I believe the DJ featured is Ed Sciaky
The second to last music segment in the above clip is a live snippet from this great track by The Flying Burrito Brothers and here is the studio original from their classic album The Gilded Palace of Sin
