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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
Sunday, August 8, 2010
1966 CHUM'S PLAYLIST INCLUDED...
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Toronto's Top 66 Singles of 1966
SOURCE: Craig's M. Smith's 1050 CHUM Chart fan site
COMPLETE CHART: Toronto's Top 66 Singles of 1966
1 We Can Work It Out/Day Tripper - Beatles
2 Nowhere Man - Beatles
3 These Boots Are Made For Walking - Nancy Sinatra
4 Last Train To Clarksville - Monkees
5 My Love - Petula Clark
6 Wipeout - Surfaris
7 A Must To Avoid - Hermans' Hermits
8 Sounds Of Silence - Simon & Garfunkel
9 Winchester Cathedral - New Vaudville Band
10 When A Man Loves A Woman - Percy Sledge
11 19th Nervous Breakdown - Rolling Stones
12 Eleanor Rigby/Yellow Submarine - Beatles
13 Fever - McCoys
14 Listen People - Hermans' Hermits
15 Pied Piper - Christian St. Peters
16 Paint It Black - Rolling Stones
17 Mellow Yellow - Donovan
18 Monday Monday - Mamas & Papas
19 Good Vibrations Beach Boys
20 Sunshine Superman - Donovan
21 Paperback Writer/Rain - Beatles
22 Secret Agent Man Johnny Rivers
23 You Can't Hurry Love - Supremes
24 Barbara Ann - Beach Boys
T-25 Dublin In The Green - Abby Tavern Singers
T-25 The Merry Ploughboy - Carlton Showband
26 I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry - B.J. Thomas
27 Kicks - Paul Revere & The Raiders
28 Wild Thing - Troggs
29 Cherish - Association
30 Walk Away Renee - Left Banke
31 Hanky Panky - Tommy James & The Shondells
32 Psychotic Reaction - Count Five
33 You Keep Me Hangin' On - Supremes
34 Devil With A Blue Dress/Good Golly Miss Molly - Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels
35 (You're My) Soul & Inspiration) - Righteous Brothers
36 (Clear The Track)Here Comes Shack - Douglas Rankin & The Secrets *
37 I Saw Her Again - Mamas & The Papas
38 Lil' Red Riding Hood - Sam The Sham & The Pharoes
39 Strangers In The Night - Frank Sinatra
40 96 Tears - ? & The Mysterians
41 See You In September - Happenings
42 Sugar Town - Nancy Sinatra
43 Lady Godiva - Peter & Gordon
44 Summer In The City - Lovin' Spoonfull
45 Over & Over - Dave Clark Five
46 California Dreamin' - Mamas & The Papas
47 I'm A Believer/I'm Not Your Stepping Stone - Monkees
48 See See Rider - Eric Burdon & The Animals
49 Bus Stop - Hollies
50 Leaning On A Lampost - Herman's Hermits
51 Well Respected Man - Kinks
52 Daydream - Lovin' Spoonfull
53 Sloop John B. - Beach Boys
54 That's Life - Frank Sinatra
55 Lovedrops Barry Allen
56 Elusive Butterfly - Bob Lind
57 Woman - Peter & Gordon
58 It's A Man's Man's World - James Brown
59 Green Grass - Gary Lewis & The Playboys
60 Red Rubber - Ball Cyrkle
61 Sweet Dreams - Tommy McLain
62 Dandy - Hermans' Hermits
63 Stop Stop Stop - Hollies
64 Sunny - Bobby Hebb
65 Poor Side Of Town - Johnny Rivers
66 Groovy Kind Of Love - Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders
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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