FOREWORD: FOR THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN ANYTHING TO DO WITH HIT PARADE/TOP 40 RADIO OF THE 1950s AND 1960s (ESPECIALLY TORONTO,BUFFALO,DETROIT AND BOSTON), AND DON'T HAVE HIGH SPEED MODEMS, IT WILL BE WORTH WAITING TO DOWNLOAD THE IMAGES WHILE YOU READ THE TEXT. THANK YOU.
Toronto Hit Parade//Top 40 Radio 1950s and 1960s
NEW (April 7, 2001) - 1961 CHUM - THE BLACK FLAGS ARE FLYING! - AL BOLISKA
Black Flags are flying with the imminent demise of music on 1050 AM CHUM radio on May 7, 2001. In 1961 Toronto Police and CHUM cruisers flew Black Flags every time there was a new traffic fatality in Toronto - You have to hear this aircheck from 1961 to believe it!!! CLICK HERE
NEW (December 8, 2000)-April 1958 - Red Robinson - CKWX(Vancouver, British Columbia)- Very early aircheck - See further down page
Welcome to my new (and first )web
page, first unleashed onto an unsuspecting cyberworld in October 1999. This site was created and designed by your's truly, therefore the lack of the usual "bells and whistles". "Just the facts ma'am"! I couldn't have accomplished any of this without the help of a company called "maranGraphics" which puts out the very best computer books, bar none.
This site will be devoted to the music and
radio stations that many baby boomers grew up
with. I will be featuring memorabilia dealing with
the above, such as printed material, photos,
radio station charts or surveys( such as CHUM
CHARTS, CKEY surveys, WHIL record surveys),and audio clips of actual
radio broadcasts from that era (ie.airchecks). I hope to even show some old home movies
of some of the old disc jockeys and musical
groups of the era(ie. Al Boliska, Richie Knight and the Mid-nights of Charlena fame).
While this site will be primarily
dealing with the Toronto radio scene, I will also
include airchecks, surveys, vintage interviews
with singers etc. from other radio stations, such
as WKBW, CKLW, CKY, WHIL, WCOP etc. that I happen to
have in my collection. Some of the exclusive, uncirculated new material from my collection that I plan on adding in the near future are:
1. Highlights from the earliest known CHUM aircheck, made by yours truly in July 1957, with Harvey Dobbs and Josh King, the "dean" of Canadian country and western and rockabilly music.
2. Brian Skinner's popular Grooveyard show on CHUM in the early 60's.
3. Norm Perry on CKEY in early 60's, spinning records
4. Duff Roman on CHUM with an exclusive interview with Mickey Dolenz of the Monkees in 1967. Duff asks Mickey tough questions about whether or not the Monkees write any of their own material. Very interesting!
5. An exclusive interview by a Manitoba radio station with Neil Young in 1967. I doubt if anyone else has this interview.
6. An interview with Elvis Presley in Germany in 1959. I don't know if this has ever been officially released.
7. Some of the CHUM "Maple Leafs Forever" radio cartoons and other such radio cartoons by CHUM in the early 60's. These were made by using bits and pieces of current songs at the time, just like The Flying Saucer and Mr. Jaws by Dickie Goodman.
9. "The Black Flag is Flying". CHUM's amazingly grisly and macabre announcements of the latest traffic fatalities in Toronto, accompanied by sombre music and grisly details. These early 60's announcements were unbelievable!!!!
10. Late 1950's and early 1960's Detroit airchecks of Paul Winter. Also, Paul Winter at a New Mexico radio station in the early 1960's. These came from his personal archives and are uncirculated!
11. WKBW's Sound Spectacular in 1961, playing all the oldies from the golden age of rock and roll in the 1950's. This may be one of the earliest "golden oldie weekend" specials known to mankind!
12. A recently-discovered aircheck of the famous Jackson Armstrong on CHUM in July 1968. No one else has a copy of this so far!
13. Some early CHUM-FM airchecks from 1972 and 1973. This was in the days when CHUM-FM
had a totally free-form format, and was right over the edge. Frank Zappa used to listen to CHUM-FM when he was in Toronto, and HE was freaked out listening to the out-of-control format and music! Imagine that!
14. Some early CFRB airchecks from the early and late 1960's, and an amazing cold-war editorial by CFRB's legendary John Collingwood Reade in 1956! CFRB doesn't have any of this material! 15. An early 1960's aircheck from Scandinavia, probably Sweden or Denmark, where some American artists like Bobby Rydell and Chubby Checker are played.
16. An early interview with Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones on Canadian TV in 1964.
This has never seen the light of day as far as I can tell!
17. The World's Worst Jokes by Al Boliska on CHUM in the early 1960's. These were recorded off the air and not from the record album from 1963 when Boliska was working at CKEY. Al Boliska and his sidekick "Just Plain George".
18. I've got tons and tons of more material from all over and hope to share a lot of it here, so keep posted. Once I get more capacity, courtesy of a web host such as NBCi(formerly known as Xoom), I'll be able to have longer airchecks on my web site.
This will hopefully be an
interactive site, featuring not only material from
my collection , but also material that some of the
viewers may have and want to share with
everyone. I'm particularly interested in finding
any old airchecks that people may have made
with their old reel-to-reel or even wire recorders
back in the 50s and 60s. I have learned over
the years that most people who had these
machines back then probably recorded music
off the air and may have deliberately or
inadvertantly recorded the voices of the disc
jockeys, newscasts, commercials, weather
reports etc. etc. These types of recordings
(airchecks) allow us "old-timers" to relive those
old, great radio days and also others who were
not around then to hear what real top 40 radio
sounded like back then. Unfortunately, contrary to popular opinion, most
radio stations did not keep much in the way of
their old radio broadcasts, so that's why I'm
appealing to the general public for this type of
material.
Fortunately, there is a network of
other people in Toronto and even across North
America interested in similar archival radio
material from their own home towns and
elsewhere. Therefore, if you're interested in a
particular radio station or disc jockey or time
period, there may be some airchecks etc. that
other people have searched out and made
available on web pages or can be obtained via
cassettes. I have some links to other
similar web pages at the bottom of the page.
For those that
may have in their posession some old
reel-to-reel audio tapes or wire recordings, and
don't know what's on those tapes or don't have
the machines to play them on, I and others who
do have these machines, can listen to and
transcribe and even make cassette or CD copies
for you if you wish.
I will launch my web page
with a tribute to Buddy Holly, and adding new
material as time allows (and deleting items
possibly depending on the allowable storage on
my web page, presently only 10 megs), so you may want to check
periodically to make sure you're not missing
anything of interest. Alternately, you can send me an Email and I'll notify you when I have added new material,
TRIBUTE TO BUDDY HOLLY, RITCHIE VALENS AND THE BIG BOPPER
OCTOBER 1999-- February 3
was of course the 40th anniversary of the tragic
plane crash that took the lives of Buddy Holly,
Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper. I remember
that fateful day, for on that day I happened to be
using the family reel-to-reel tape recorder,
taping songs off the air, as I was wont to do
even back in 1957, taping songs off Canada's
first all-rock and roll radio station, namely
CHUM 1050 AM. Though I had already
realized that it was neat to record not only the
songs but also the voices of the disc jockeys,
newscasts etc., on this fateful day I was just
hoping to record certain songs for my tape
collection. My memory may be playing tricks on
me, but I thought I remember taping a Chuck
Berry song, when in the middle of the song I
heard a news bulletin interrupting the song. My
first reaction was to stop the machine and to
curse because my song was being ruined by a
news bulletin. Needless to say, when I started to
pay attention to what the news bulletin was
about, namely the plane crash, I was quite
shocked, since I had already been a fan of all
three, especially Buddy. Fortunately, I had the
foresight to record the next news reports on
both CHUM and CKEY 580 AM.
My CHUM
newsclip has been used on several radio and TV
documentaries, namely CHUM's award
-winning Evolution of Rock and lately a TV
documentary called Rock 'N Roll Invaders. In
both cases the entire clip was not used, so if
there is enough interest I may put the entire clip
on this website, along with some of the tribute
songs and commentaries that CHUM played
that very night. My CKEY newsclip, which is in
fact a lot longer than the CHUM newsclip, can
be heard here. I believe the news announcer may have been Howard Cooney. PRESS HERE TO HEAR OR
PRESS HERE TO HEAR (This MAY work faster with SOME computers because you may not have to download the audio clip. Ignore the funny-looking display with the large PLAY, STOP etc. buttons and maximize the Real Audio window from the Taskbar at the bottom of the screen. Then press the PLAY button on the Real Audio window that has popped up on the screen. I've had problems with these audio clips, so until someone can explain how to do all this better, I'll have to go with what seems to work) (PS. Oct 17, 1999 If you're having problems playing the audio clip, you may also want to check into upgrading your browser just like I had to do. The good folks at Real Audio's tech support suggested that I upgrade my Netscape Navigator 3.01 to 3.04 or even better, to Netscape Communicator 4.7. I have now upgraded to the latter, and am now able to play my own audio clip as well as audio clips on other web sites that I had been unable to do so previously)
I have also included here
photocopies of the Boston Daily Record newspaper article,
WHIL surveys feauturing Ritchie Valens and
The Big Bopper, and a CHUM Chart with a
tribute to all three. Incidently, I'm looking for
copies or photocopies of WHIL surveys( from Medford, Massachusetts( Boston area)) from
1956 and 1957. I have a few from these years,
and have most from 1958 to 1963. In general,
I'm looking for any radio station suveys or charts
from the 50's and early 60's, especially WHIL,
WGH, CHED and any others that feauture
photos of artists, disc jockies, celebrities etc.
TRIBUTE TO DON DAYNARD OF CHFI 98.1 FM
Veteran radio personality Don Daynard retired from his morning show On December 11, 1999 and we wish him all the best. For those who may not know, Don had been the long-time morning man at the very popular morning show on CHFI-FM for many years , as well as the host of the Saturday night and Sunday morning oldies shows on the same station.
The accompaning photo of the CFGM 1310 AM radio survey from November 27, 1964 shows a youthful Don as one of the "Country Gentlemen" on the country music station. He was known as Don "Danard" back then, the original spelling, but changed it to "Daynard" later so that people would not mis-pronounce his name. This bit of information was kindly supplied by L-VS. So folks, "now you know the REST of the story!"
The aircheck that you're about to hear is from November 1964 and starts off with the end of a song by Tommy Collins and then with Tommy himself introducing Don Danard. This clip
(PRESS HERE TO HEAR) is made possible thanks to an old friend from Leaside, namely Martyn McKinney who also had an early interest in tape recorders etc. and made some great airchecks back in the late 1950s and early 1960s. One gem which I will be featuring soon is of the legendary Ray Starr on CKEY in 1962 with his Royal Order of the Purple Candle Club show. This may very well be the only known aircheck of this amazing show. The first person who can correctly tell me what his theme song was will win a mint CHUM Chart from 1958. People who I know are not eligible, since I've probably mentioned the song to them a million times.
NEW YEARS COUNTDOWN ON DECEMBER 31, 1958 ON CHUM 1050 AM
DECEMBER 19, 1999- As we all now await the grandaddy of all New Years countdowns to 2000, let me take you back to an even more important countdown, during the golden age of rock and roll, namely the end of 1958 and the start of 1959. This is probably one of the more unusual type of airchecks that we used to make with our tape recorder. What we have here is the last 3 minutes of 1958 and a few seconds of the beginning of 1959.
(PRESS HERE TO HEAR) OR
(PRESS HERE TO HEAR)(This MAY work faster with SOME computers because you may not have to download the audio clip. Ignore the funny-looking display with the large PLAY, STOP etc. buttons and maximize the Real Audio window from the Taskbar at the bottom of the screen. Then press the PLAY button on the Real Audio window that has popped up on the screen. I've had problems with these audio clips, so until someone can explain how to do all this better, I'll have to go with what seems to work) I have also included a photo of the back cover of the CHUM Chart of January 5, 1959 wishing everyone a Happy New Year. Those of you who were around back then can try and remember what you were doing back then, and the rest can let their imaginations run wild. Enjoy.
TRIBUTE TO RED ROBINSON- APRIL 1958- CKWX- VANCOUVER
My contribution is a CKWX survey from December 1958 and a cover of Music World magazine showing Red at the Vancouver press conference with Elvis Presley in 1957. Also, I've got part of what could be the earliest known aircheck of Red, on CKWX in early April, 1958, doing a remote broadcast from the Hudson Bay Company in Vancouver. As well as playing songs like Book of Love and Pink Petal Pushers by Carl Perkins, Red displays his quick humour and charm talking to the teenage girls about pink petal pushers and slim jims. This amazing broadcast was found on a reel-to-reel tape at a thrift store by one Alex Taylor. Many thanks to Alex for saving this precious recording from what could have been a one-way trip into a garbage bin or erasure. I've included a picture of the box that the tape came in for those who might be interested.
(PRESS HERE TO HEAR) OR
(PRESS HERE TO HEAR)(This MAY work faster with SOME computers because you may not have to download the audio clip. Ignore the funny-looking display with the large PLAY, STOP etc. buttons and maximize the Real Audio window from the Taskbar at the bottom of the screen. Then press the PLAY button on the Real Audio window that has popped up on the screen. I've had problems with these audio clips, so until someone can explain how to do all this better, I'll have to go with what seems to work)
The disc jockey here is the legendary Al Boliska, and we're also treated to a nice CHUM jingle here and an introduction to a new Frankie Avalon record.
I've got many more interesting audio clips from CHUM and other stations from the 50's and early 60's, so keep posted. You won't hear audio clips like these anywhere else!
Hopefully, my first effort with this web page will
be successful, and I will be featuring other
memorabilia as time allows. Keep checking to
see what new material has been added, or send me an Email for updates. Kal
NOTHING TO DO WITH MUSIC OR RADIO - One of my other interest is 8mm and 16mm home movies. I have amassed a large collection of same from various estate sales etc. over many years. I will be offering VHS copies for sale in the near future of some interesting stuff on ebay.
One will be a beautiful 8mm colour home movie shot in Toronto after Hurricane Hazel on October 16, 1954, showing the destruction along the Humber River from Lakeshore Boulevard or Lakeshore Road up to the Old Mill area and Dundas Street. We see a large steam shovel operating, the destroyed marina at lakeshore, a body being carried away, a car buried in mud, rescue workers, raging river etc. etc.
Another film, on 16mm colour, shows the victory parade in Toronto after the Toronto Maple Leafs had won the Stanley Cup in the 1960's. They won the cup 4 times in the 1960's, but I'm not sure which year this was, possibly 1962. This is great, clear film footage shot from close to the passing cars. We see about 15 convertibles passing by, each car with several players in them. The players that I can readily identify are Armstrong, Kelly, Eddie Shack (clowning around of course), Mahovolich, Pulford, etc. etc. Also seen are the Stanley Cup in one car, and Punch Imlach and Harold Ballard. This would be of great interest to long-suffering Maple Leafs fans.
Another colour 16mm film has a short clip of a kid trying out his new table top hockey game during Christmas of 1958. I know there are many table top hockey fans out there.
Most of the following are in glorious Kodachrome colour.This is just a sampling of some of the films in my collection.
Kids playing street hockey, mid 1950's in winter with vintage car in background
CNE (Canadian National Exhibition)1940's, 1950's, 1960's
Toronto Sportmens' show mid 1950's, 16mm, boat display section with crowds
Yonge Street, mid 1950's, from moving car, at night, with all the neon signs, movie marquees etc. etc.
Toronto Eaton's Santa Claus Parades, several from 1950's and 1960's. This upcoming parade will be the 100th annual parade!
Eaton's Christmas window displays for kids, 1950's and 1960's
Honest Ed's (Honest Eds) store-front shots, one around 1957 and one long clip from around 1970
Large collection from a wealthy Buffalo family, from 1930's, showing oppulent homes, dazzling vintage luxury
cars from the early 1930's, cruises in the "West Indies";
beautiful black and white, scratch-free films
Jan. 1, 1948 Philadelphia's Mummer's (Mummers) Parade. Nice shots of floats, bands, cars with signs for Avalon and Moth and the Flame. Guy reading Philadelphia Enquirer Sunday Funnies showing clearly full-page Dick Tracy and Steve Canyon comics.
steam engine trains in Toronto in 1950's
teenage party early 1960's, kids dancing, dressed in sportscoats!
teenage party, mid-1940's, couple on couch, groping each other!!!!!!!!!!! b+w
16mm SOUND home movies from the 50's!!!!!!! I have watched some of these, but so far don't have a
magnetic 16mm projector to be able to hear the contents.
Great footage from behind home plate at Maple Leaf Stadium in Toronto during 1950's. Nice footage of the crowds and infield and outfield showing all the ads on the walls. This stadium is where Babe Ruth hit his first home run as a professional!
A 16mm film of a TV show dealing with wrestler Dick Bulldog Brower, made around 1963. This
30 minute black and white sound film is of the wrestler that wrestling fans loved to hate in the 1960's and 1970's. Once I've gotten a VHS copy for myself, I may be selling the original film on eBay, so check eBay or send me an email. TESTING
I have transferred these to digital mini DV format and can make VHS copies readily. Email me with any questions.
I'm always interested in contacting other people interested in home movies and in trading same. What I'm especially looking for is
1. 8mm or super8 or 16mm film footage of the CHUM booth at the CNE during the 1950's or 1960's. I know that CHUM was able to find some home movies of the CHUM booth at the CNE for their 40th anniversary TV show, and I do have this on tape. However, I'm looking for any other footage that anyone has. In fact, any film footage to do with CHUM or even CKEY from the 1950's or 1960's, either at the CNE or at the stations or at other remote broadcasts.
2. Amateur film footage of Canada"s world-famous Avro Arrow jet from 1957-1959.Other than
personal memories of the whole saga of the Avro and memories of jets flying over Toronto
at supersonic speeds and leaving awesome sonic booms in their wake, I have found Avro
Arrow collector items at garage sales, estate sales etc. Namely, a pile of in-house
magazines published by the factory where the jet was built(1957-1958) and a beautiful
cast iron scale model of the Avro which was probably given to important people such as
dignitaries, politicians etc. This model weighs about 2 pounds and measures 12" by 18"
and was meant to be supported on a base as evidenced by a threaded hole on the bottom.
If anyone can shed any light on these models, please contact me. I have a collegue who
did find an amateur 8mm home movie of the Avro. The film is quite dark but could be of
interest to Avro Arrow enthusiasts.
3. Film footage or photos of Estonian childrens' camp Jõekääru (Joekaaru) from the 1950's.
I was a camper myself, hence my interest. The camp is in Udora, Ontario just south of
Lake Simcoe.
On a personal note, I'm looking for a remote control for our old Hitachi floor-model TV bought in 1982! ( model TS 5110). This old gem is still working beautifully and the colours are perfect. Raudoja. I haven't had to make any adjustments or touch any controls for 10-20 years! If this isn't a ringing endorsement for Hitachi I don't what is! Kalev. The only problem is the remote control which no longer works after years of abuse. I've contacted Hitachi and searched all over the internet for a remote control but with no luck so far.
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March 2014
Update May 2014
I recently came into possession of some interesting 8mm Kodak black and white home movie films (a few clips in Kodachrome colour)
made by a young man from Minnesota or Wisconsin in the late 1930's and 1940's. He was either from Duluth or Superior. This guy was a virtual Indiana Jones
and James Bond, engaging in flying, horseback riding, skiing, motorcycling (racing, hill climbing, stunt driving), motorboating, sport's car driving,
play-fighting,
camping, target practise, partying (film label says "Solo Party"), drinking, hi jinx etc., usually in the company of attractive young ladies and
filming all of these activities at the same time. There are many scenes of the Superior Airways and Flying School and the Superior Air Service,
showing vintage and antique planes and the buildings and hangar.
I've posted a collage of his film clips on this website and have done the same on YouTube(shorter
clips). The 6 minute collage is in the mpeg4 format but should be viewable with all browsers. If not, send me an email
and tell what other format (ie ogg, webM etc.) I should convert to.
Perhaps the most interesting and most historic clips are footage of
the famous US dive bomber from World War 2, the Douglas SBD Dauntless. This plane was
credited with helping to win the war in the Pacific arena and more precisely the Battle of Midway.
The Dauntless clips could be from 1943 or so. I'm hoping some viewers may
be able to help date and shed light on this. The coding on the side of the film indicates the film was
manufactured in 1937 and the "develop before" date would have been the late 1930's. It's hard to understand
why or how he would have used an expired film for this important footage.
On the previous reel a man(our man?) is reading an October 1937
issue of Aero Digest. The numbering 3-S on the plane should mean something to World War
2 aviation experts and buffs. He had a lot to do with the Superior Airways and Flying School( in
Duluth, Superior or even Ontario?) and filmed what appears to be a scrapyard for military
aircraft where one of the planes has the numbers T 387 on it. He may have been the
passenger on another Dauntless while filming the other pilot flying and doing aerobatics. This
young man ended up serving in the Korean War where he also filmed local life there
(no military footage). Perhaps he was in the military in 1943 where he may have had the
opportunity to film the SBD Dauntless clips.
I'm no aviation expert and am only going by what I've googled. There was a Naval Air Station
in Glenview next to Chicago where they had set up a mock aircraft carrier deck for training
purposes so maybe this is where the Dauntless film footage took place.
The good folks at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Florida confirm that this is
a SBD Dauntless but can't identify the particular model nor the nose markings. The insignia
with the star and side bars only came into use in June of 1943, replacing the insignia of just
a star with a red circle in the middle of the star. The "S" stands for a scout aircraft, and they
wonder if the "3" stands for Squadron BV3? Can anyone else provide any further information?
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