***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.

Two long clips featuring DJ Joe Kelly on San Jose’s KOME FM. The date of the clips is 1979 but most of the music featured is a throwback to the first wave of progressive free form radio. A veritable who’s who from the progressive era, including cuts by Dylan, Donovan, Moby Grape, The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield. Kooper-Stills Super Session, Spooky Tooth, King Crimson and more . Listen for the Who’s version of Baby Don’t Do It, an outtake from their Live at Leeds album. David Peel and The Lower East Side provide some comic relief with  “I like Marijuana.”

Stay tuned for more uploads from KOME FM’s weekend special “The LBJ Years.” Many more hours yet to come.

I will be uploading several hours worth of air checks from KOME FM 98.5 from San Jose, California.  These were recorded during a weekend special called the LBJ Years featuring music from the time when Lyndon Johnson was president. The music played however stretches the boundaries well past December 1968 and some of it veers deep into the Nixon era. In fact the track Mexico by the Jefferson Airplane, heard on the first clip, is about Richard’s war against drugs.

KOME started as a Free Form station in 1971 and by the mid 70’s the format had tightened and morphed into AOR. The Free Form ethos was however revived at the station in 1978  continued during the time of these air checks and beyond.

The music featured on the air checks includes favorites from the original free form era plus many well known classic rock staples and some top 40 pop rock.  These are complete air checks which include period piece commercials,  clips from LBJ era TV and movies plus a resurrected president Johnson. Some of the extras will be heard on later uploads.

The first DJ is Dennis Erectus and he sounds at times like a shock Jock well before the genre came into being. He can be heard pushing the envelope of rock radio in 1979.  The take off of the Berkeley Barb ads on the second clip for example. Jim Seagull takes over from him on the second clip.

Please note that the goblins that invade during the Janis Ian and Cowsill tracks are intentional interruptions.

Two new clips. The first is a fabulous set of oldies played by Dick Bartley on Solid Gold Saturday Night and the second, a compilation of radio contests from 1050 CHUM and CHUM FM. Uploaded to the Radio Miscellany Section – Scroll to the bottom of the page.

***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 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.

More WMMR FM from early 1974. The DJ featured during the first two breaks is the late Ed Sciaky. Some great music and interesting commercials are heard.  WMMR was one of the early supporters of Bruce Springsteen and you will hear a  bit of the Boss recorded live at the Main Point club  in Philadelphia. The full concert was originally aired on the station in 1973 and may have been one of the first  live broadcasts featuring Springsteen.

One of the ads is for Canadian singer-songwriter Murray McLaughlin’s album Sweeping The Spotlight Away which was given some promotion in the US.

***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