Listen to 1050 CHUM from the summer of 1975 and WRIT 1340 Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1974.

Clips can be heard in the Radio Miscellany Section

The original version of Searchin`by the Coasters is played  on WRIT and below is a version by the Grateful Dead when the Beach Boys Joined them at the Fillmore East on April 27, 1972.

https://youtu.be/RayLqqOV8gU

***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 last post on the site, David Pritchard on CHUM FM from 1971,  was a great example of experimental FM underground radio.  This air check from Chicago station WXFM  is in a somewhat similar vein. During the time of this air check, WXFM was a multi format station and the program Triad Radio aired during weekday evenings from 8 to midnight. The show was on the station from 1969 to 1977 and featured a lot of experimental and progressive rock, particularly of the European variety. Mr Pritchard and Gary Storm’s Oil of Dog (also featured on this site) highlighted some of the same on their programs.

There are other air checks from Triad radio available on the web but this is one of the longer ones and it’s a gem featuring a number of commercial breaks with some very interesting ads and other  content.

The name of the host was Saul Smaizys and he took the program to other stations after the show ended on WXFM.. Here’s Facebook link for the program: Triad Radio

I am very pleased to present an air check of Toronto media legend David Pritchard courtesy of radio super fan Kal Raudoja . I have posted a number of air checks from CHUM FM that I recorded myself. Unfortunately I do not have that much tape from CHUM FM during their peak in the early 1970’s and I was ecstatic when I found out that Kal had quite the collection of these vintage air checks. These are certified radio treasures and I want to thank Kal for sharing them on this site.

This clip consists of various segments that may have been recorded on or around January 4, 1971. David was a fan of experimental electronic music and also an artist in his own right, releasing the album Nocturnal Earthworm Stew in 1976. He sounds way ahead of his time here in 1971 as a DJ performance artist experimenting with tape loops and other techniques.

During the first part of the clip David is playing the debut album by Emerson, Lake and Palmer which had not yet been released in North America.  You will hear him first at 15:35 in between album sides and then again at 34:50 after side two is played. After that the clip consists of various segments and David can be heard sporadically throughout. I’m a purist when it comes to air checks and rarely tamper with the original presentation but I had to make some edits to the ELP, Phil Ochs and Pentangle musical selections.  All of the other audio comes from the original source tape and the quality improves during the second half. Some of the other music fragments found on the tape which I did not edit in any way include  bits and songs by The Jeff Beck Group, Frank Zappa, Muddy Waters and Lenny Breau at the very end with his version of Cannonball Adderley’s Mercy, Mercy, Mercy.

This is the first of what I hope will be several early 70’s CHUM FM air checks from Kal’s collection. I will let Kal give you some background below about his interest in radio and CHUM FM.

What we have here is an example of progressive rock/ free form radio at it’s weirdest, wackiest and best. This was before the “suits” and the still-wet-behind-the-ears MBA’s got their hands on rock radio formats and removed any innovation, spontaneity and personality dj’s. This was when radio dj’s were able to play whatever they pleased, and say whatever they wanted, especially late at night. Frank Zappa made a point of listening to CHUM FM whenever he was in Toronto and even HE was freaked out by the zanyness!

I’ve been lucky to find three large collections of CHUM FM airchecks on reel-to-reel audio tapes, all dating from the early 1970’s. The largest collection came from Dave Pritchard himself. I met him about 20 years ago and, to make a long story short, he lent me his collection of his own air checks for me to log and catalog. Needless to say I did not hesitate to help him out and with his blessing made cassette copies for myself to expedite the logging process using my trusty Sony Walkman.

Another collection was from someone who made a point of recording the British “Goon” shows on CHUM FM. He used extra thin, long 7″ tapes and may have used timers, since he caught regular CHUM FM broadcasts at the end of some shows and even much longer shows when the Goon show was cancelled here and there. Fortunately he didn’t erase anything.

The other collection was from a guy called Steve Buck who was into the late 1960’s and early 1970’s music and radio scene and recorded all kinds of great stuff like Dave Pritchard’s Beatles documentaries, The Ugly Ducklings “live” on CHUM AM , interviews with the Paupers and the Quiet Jungle and many CHUM FM air checks.

Fortunately I’m of the generation that was on board when CHUM AM became Canada’s first 24 hour rock and roll radio station in May 1957 AND was on board when progressive CHUM FM went on air in 1968. I was also lucky to get familiar with reel to reel tape recorders at an early age since my father had bought one in 1955 and I was required to learn how to operate it for various reasons. As well as buying records back then I also started to record songs, and then realized that recording not only songs but also the dj’s, newscasts, jingles etc. (ie air checks) would be neat and nice to keep. I was recording air checks 20 years before I even knew there was such a word as “air check”.

My claim to fame was recording what now appears to be the first known CHUM AM air check from July 1957 and catching the CHUM and CKEY newscasts of the Buddy Holly plane crash from February 1959. The latter has been used in many documentaries.

I distinctly remember in the summer of 1968 word around town of a new radio station playing interesting songs not being played on AM stations. A friend was enthralled about hearing the long version of You Keep Me Hanging On by Vanilla Fudge and I with the long version of Light My Fire by the Doors. I didn’t even know there were long versions of these and many other songs. The only long rock and roll song that I had known until then was Going Home by the Rolling Stones which I still love. Other long songs that I’ve loved since, were things like In A Gadda Da Vida, Time Has Come Today,Black Magic Woman, Magic Carpet Ride, Jump in the Fire, Baby Please Don’t Go ( Beacon Street Union), and my all-time favorite, I Heard it Through the Grapevine by CCR. Anyway, in the summer of 1968 I remember talking to someone on the phone and telling them about all the great  music on the new CHUM FM. Hearing the long version of Light My Fire made me an instant fan of CHUM FM!

Since our family didn’t have an FM radio at the time I went out and bought a cheap table model radio with FM on it and had it playing in my room in the background most times. My main interest was to hear songs you wouldn’t hear on AM radio and of course songs with long instrumental breaks.

Anyway, our plan is to post some more CHUM FM air checks here and for me to post some on YouTube and on my own website which is at : http://radio50s60s.com/ . My first YouTube posting may be a great aircheck of WKNR FM (Detroit/Dearborn) from the summer of 1968 on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Monterey Pop Festival, with dj Jerry Taylor. Great songs and a great ad for the THE Pink Floyd concert July 12 and with the WHO on July 13! Tickets were $2.00 and $4.50 respectively! My main goal is to find any CHUM FM airchecks from 1968 and 1969 and will pay or trade from my vast collection of air checks from the 1950’s to the 1980’s.

Kal(Kalev) Raudoja

***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.

One of the charms of listening to old radio air checks is the period piece commercials . These two air checks do not have those but are interesting none the less. The first clip features the great David Wisdom on the show Nightlines on CBC  Stereo. He had a unique sense of humor and a broad knowledge of music. Just about anything could be heard on his show.  He featured a lot of indie artists on the most obscure labels but also great pop and rock music from all eras. He  came up with some great contests and this is one where he plays small bits from 100 of his favorite songs. Some are relatively easy and others may be a bit more challenging. Have a go and guess the songs and artists. Contest starts at 5:34.

The second clip features Lee Rosevere on CBC Radio Two on a night when he’s playing covers and you will hear a couple of obscure Beach Boys covers and then another contest. He plays bits from various artists doing Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now. The 2001 air date of this clips makes it the most recent featured on this site. Contest starts at 13:34.

Both these air checks are from a time when creative rock radio programming was disappearing from the commercial air waves but CBC Radio Two continued to carry the torch of the free form era.

I have a follow up tape from the first clip where David Wisdom announces all of the songs and artists played and will upload that at some point in the future.  You can search the site for some tape from Nightlines from the early 1980’s when it was hosted by Ron Robinson.

More from the 1979 weekend special on San Jose’s KOME FM. This clip features DJ’s Laurie Roberts and Gary T ( Torresani) The music played is stellar and includes a number of free form era and classic rock nuggets with a smattering of top 40 hits. A full air check with no edits or interruptions.

https://youtu.be/Zh9Gx6dPgaw

These clips were uploaded to the site earlier  but I have been able to improve the quality of the digital transfer and have included some additional content. Time permitting I may post updated and improved versions of other early uploads to the site.

The first clip provides a good look into the rock radio dial in Western New York during the summer of 1982. Things get started with selections played on the Import/Export show on WCMF FM – Rochester, New York with Unkle Roger hosting. Alternative rock and some of it never played in Toronto (cuts by The Dream Syndicate, Fleshtones, The Cramps and Chesterfield Kings). CFNY was not big on this type of garage rock but WCMF’s Import Export and WUWU gave well deserved exposure to the genre.

You also hear a bit of mainstream AOR by way of WCMF and 97 Rock from Buffalo All of the tracks are recorded off the radio but the announcements for some are missing unfortunately,

The best part of the clip is near the end when we hear Jeff Gordon on WUWU playing a comedy cut by George Carlin and a special dance mix of Our House by Madness called Madhouse.  Creative programming could still be heard in some quarters in 1982 and Jeff Gordon’s segment is a great example.

Listen also for a syndicated segment from Pete Fornatale of WNEW FM. He was one of the legendary free form Jocks and in later years hosted the “Mixed Bag” program on WNEW and WFUV.

The second clip features an interview on CFNY by Jim Reid with the Mael Brothers of Sparks during their 1983 tour with Rick Springfield. Their single Cool Places had been released recently and they discuss how they got together with Jane Weidlin of the Go Go’s and their work with the Belgian group Telex. Some interesting and prescient comments about rock videos at the start of the MTV revolution.

An XMAS set taped off Toronto’s Q107 and CFNY during December 1982. Taken from the same tape and the quality is not great. The CFNY segment was taken off two separate broadcasts.

You can listen to a longer and better quality CFNY XMAS broadcast on the site here and I still have part two of that one to post in the future.

Here’s a clean and longer segment of Q 107 from 1982 and some long stretches from the early 90’s here and here. There a bit more Q content on the site with more to come.

***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.

Another interesting air check from the Boston area AOR/Top 40 Hybrid WVBF FM from 1973. The first 17 minutes are all from one air check but the remainder consists of fragments. DJ’s featured include Ron Robin, Big John Gillis and Bud Ballou.

Listen for the commercial break starting at 9:30. I think that’s the Fortunes singing for coke and right after that you will hear an ad for the current Sly and The Family Stone album.

***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 third installment from San Jose’s KOME FM features DJ Laurie Roberts who is still flying the free form flag in the San Francisco Bay area on KPIG FM.  You will hear a stellar set of music including some FM and Top 40 hits. Plus a few of the top San Francisco bands from the late 1960’s such as The Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, County Joe and The Fish and The Steve Miller Band.

Listen for a syndicated  Direct News segment about The Police featuring WNEW FM’s Scott Muni. The bands’s first album had just taken off at the time of this broadcast from May 1979. The segment is heard at 11:48 on the second clip.