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EULOGY
Born: October 28, 1945, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
After a few reincarnations 1050 CHUM quietly passed away on March 26, 2009
1050 CHUM was a legendary Top 40 powerhouse from the late 1950s through to the early 1980s.
The station had a formula no other station has been able to duplicate.
Through the formative ‘50s, the unforgettable ‘60s and the interesting ‘70s, 1050 CHUM played a major role in shaping the radio landscape in Toronto. Recording acts from Elvis Presley, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Guess Who, Elton John, The Eagles, The Doobie Brothers and Bob Seger not only graced the airwaves but walked the halls of 1050 CHUM.
The radio station was famous for the CHUM Chart. From 1957 to 1986, 1,512 consecutive weekly charts were published, making it the longest-running chart of its kind in the world.
Also, 1050 CHUM was noteworthy for hosting many famous rock concerts including, among others, visits to Maple Leaf Gardens by Elvis Presley (1957) and The Beatles (1964, '65, and '66).
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RECENT POSTS
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
1979 CHUM'S PLAYLIST INCLUDED....
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TOP 100 BASED ON CHUM CHARTS FOR 1979
SOURCE: Craig's M. Smith's 1050 CHUM Chart fan site
http://craig.sowny.ca/www/www3.sympatico.ca/craig.smith/chumi.htm
1 The Logical Song - Supertramp
2 Da Ya Think I'm Sexy - Rod Stewart
3 What A Fool Believes - Doobie Brothers
4 My Life - Billy Joel
5 My Sharona - The Knack
6 Goodbye Stranger - Supertramp
7 Heartache Tonight - Eagles
8 Babe - Styx
9 Tragedy - Bee Gees
10 Heart Of Glass - Blondie
11 Let's Go - Cars
12 Sultans Of Swing - Dire Straits
13 Too Much Heaven - Bee Gees
14 Good Girls Don't - Knack
15 Fire - Pointer Sisters
16 Bad Case Of Loving You - Robert Palmer
17 I Want You To Want Me - Cheap Trick
18 All Of My Love (LP Cut) - Led Zeppelin
19 Shine A Little Love - Electric Light Orchestra
20 You Don't Bring Me Flowers - Streisand & Diamond
21 Take The Long Way Home - Supertramp
22 I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor
23 Reunited - Peaches & Herb
24 MacArthur Park - Donna Summer
25 Don't Bring Me Down - Electric Light Orchestra
26 Le Freak - Chic
27 Sharing The Night Together - Dr. Hook
28 Y.M.C.A. - Village People
29 Dream Police - Cheap Trick
30 Ain't Love A Bitch - Rod Stewart
31 Goodnight Tonight Paul McCartney & Wings
32 Hot Stuff - Donna Summer
33 Sail On - Commodores
34 I Was Made For Lovin' You - Kiss
35 Lonesome Loser - Little River Band
36 Getting Closer - Paul McCartney & Wings
37 Soul Man - Blues Brothers
38 I Don't Like Mondays - Boomtown Rats
39 Chuck E's In Love - Rickie Lee Jones
40 Days Gone Down - Gerry Rafferty
41 Dreaming - Blondie
42 Pop Muzik - M
43 Bad Girls - Donna Summer
44 Hold The Line - Toto
45 Message In A Bottle- Police
46 Cruel To Be Kind - Nick Lowe
47 Knock On Wood - Amii Stewart
48 Rolene - Moon Martin
49 After The Love Has Gone - Earth Wind & Fire
50 We Are Family - Sister Sledge
51 Dirty White Boy - Foreigner
52 When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman - Dr. Hook
53 Sad Eyes - Robert John
54 Heaven Knows - Donna Summer
55 Lady - Little River Band
56 It's All I Can Do - Cars
57 We've Got Tonight - Bob Seger
58 Blow Away - George Harrison
59 Somewhere In The Night - Barry Manilow
60 Strange Way - Firefall
61 Gold - John Stewart
62 Paradise By The Dashbord Light - Meatloaf
63 Rise - Herb Alpert
64 Depending On You - Doobie Brothers
65 Weekend - Wet Willie
66 September - Earth Wind & Fire
67 Minute By Minute - Doobie Brothers
68 Honesty - Billy Joel
69 Arrow Through Me - Paul McCartney & Wings
70 Tusk - Fleetwood Mac
71 I Just Wanna Stop - Gino Vanelli
72 Love Takes Time - Orleans
73 Ring My Bell - Anita Ward
74 Get It Right The Next Time - Gerry Rafferty
75 Is She Really Going Out With Him - Joe Jackson
76 Cool Change - Little River Band
77 The Devil Went Down To Georgia - Charlie Daniels Band
78 The Main Event/Fight - Barabra Streisand
79 Lead Me On - Maxine Nighingale
80 I'm The Man - Joe Jackson
81 Ooh Baby Baby - Linda Ronstadt
82 Still- Commodores
83 Every 1's A Winner - Hot Chocolate
84 I'll Never Love This Way Again - Dionne Warwick
85 Just When I Needed You Most - Randy Vanwarmer
86 Lotta Love - Nicolette Larson
87 Double Vision - Foreigner
88 Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin' - Journey
89 Stumblin' In - Suzi Quatro & Chris Norman
90 Music Box Dancer Frank Mills
91 Driver's Seat - Sniff & The Tears
92 Time Passages - Al Stewart
93 I Just Fall In Love Again - Anne Murray
94 One Way Or Another - Blondie
95 Armageddon - Prism
96 Stillsane - Carolyne Mas
97 Crazy Love - Poco
98 Mama Can't Buy You Love - Elton John
99 Fool In The Rain - Led Zeppelin
100 Ain't That A Shame - Cheap Trick
Craig's M. Smith's 1050 CHUM Chart fan site
http://craig.sowny.ca/www/www3.sympatico.ca/craig.smith/chumi.htm
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CHUM HISTORY
"1050 CHUM" was a legendary Top 40 powerhouse during the late 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s.
Early history and Top 40 format
CHUM AM was launched as a dawn-to-dusk radio station on October 28, 1945 by Jack Q'Part, an entrepreneur in the business of patent medicines. The station, then operating from studios in the Mutual Street Arena, was taken over in December 1954 by Allan Waters, a salesman from Q'Parts' patent medicine business. Waters' first major move was to secure a license for 24-hour-a-day broadcasting for CHUM, along with a power increase to 5,000 watts. Less than three years after Waters acquired the station, and soon after bringing the new fulltime transmitter online, a major programming change was made. On May 27 1957, Waters switched to a "Top 50" format that had proven itself popular in some U.S. cities; Elvis Presley's "All Shook Up" was the first song played. "1050 CHUM" pioneered rock and roll radio in Toronto, and was noteworthy for hosting many noteworthy rock concerts including, among others, visits to Maple Leaf Gardens by Elvis Presley (1957) and The Beatles (1964, '65, and '66). While the station was rising to the top of the popularity ratings in Toronto in the early 1960s, it also built yet another new transmitter in Mississauga, Ontario (a few miles west of the current Toronto city line) along the Lake Ontario shoreline, and raised its power once again to its current 50,000 watts around the clock.
CHUM DJs of the 1960s were zany morning man Al Boliska, who quit in late 1963 to go 'across the street' to CKEY.He was replaced by WKBW, Buffalo radio & TV personality Jay Nelson, popularly known as "Jungle Jay" from his role as host of a children's show on Buffalo's Channel 7 which was also popular among Toronto youngsters. He would be followed by housewives' jock John Spragge; singer/DJ Mike Darow; Pete Nordheimer, replaced in 1961 by witty Bob McAdorey; teen DJ Dave Johnson; and all night maven Bob Laine. Later additions to the CHUM DJ lineup included Duff Roman and Brian Skinner, both of whom came over from CKEY (then owned by Jack Kent Cooke). In the late 1960s, early 1970s, CHUM DJ's included Duke Roberts (also known as Gary Duke for a time), Johnny Mitchell (better known today as Sonny Fox), J. Michael Wilson, Tom Rivers, Scott Carpenter, Jim Van Horne, John Rode, Don Reagan, Terry Steele and Roger Ashby. Among their later mighttime hosts was John D. Roberts, who joined CHUM in 1977 and would eventually become known across North America as White House correspondent for CBS-TV and host of CNN's morning program "American Morning."
CHUM was also well known for its contests, like the 1970s' "I Listen to CHUM" promotion, in which DJs would dial phone numbers at random and award $1,000 to anyone who answered the phone with that phrase.
From gold-based to oldies
By the mid-1980s, CHUM had lost ground in the Toronto ratings to competitor Top 40 station CFTR and FM-based music stations. On June 6, 1986, CHUM dropped its Top 40 format for a heavily gold-based adult contemporary format ("Favourites of Yesterday and Today"). By 1989, CHUM adopted an oldies format, drawing heavily on its previous Top 40 reputation to cater to the fans of that era's music.
Chart #1 - Monday, May 27, 1957 - TOP 50
CHART NUMBER 1 |
Monday, May 27, 1957 |
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1050 CHUM ORIGINAL AUDIO
John Gilbert "No Charge"
Mike Cooper's April Fools Joke
80's PROMO
Bob Sam Robbie - 1050 CHUM Morning Show - 1992
Tom Rivers 1982