BRINGING BACK THE MEMORIES OF CANADA'S FIRST ROCK AND ROLL AM RADIO STATION
ADVERTISEMENT
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).
December 1959 Marty Robbins topped the CHUM Chart with ' El Paso'
"El Paso" is a country and western ballad written and originally recorded by Marty Robbins, and first released on Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs in September 1959. It was released as a single the following month, and became a major hit on both the country and pop music charts, reaching number one in both at the start of 1960. It won the Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording in 1961, and remains Robbins' best-known song. It is widely considered a genre classic for its gripping narrative, haunting harmonies by vocalists Bobby Sykes and Jim Glaser (of the Glaser Brothers) and the eloquent Spanish guitar accompaniment by Grady Martin that lends the recording a distinctive Tex-Mex feel. ... Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Paso_(song)
............................................
CHART NUMBER 136
Monday, December 14, 1959
This Week/Last Week/Artist/Track/Total Weeks
1 20 Robbins, Marty El Paso 1
2 1 Mitchell, Guy Heartaches By The Number 8
3 7 Price, Lloyd Come Into My Heart 7
3 7 Price, Lloyd Won'tcha Come Home 2
4 2 Fields Orchestra, Ernie In The Mood 7
5 11 Anka, Paul It's Time To Cry 3
6 18 Fabian Hound Dog Man 4
6 18 Fabian This Friendly World 4
7 8 Browns, The Scarlet Ribbons (For Her Hair) 5
8 27 Francis, Connie Among My Souvenirs 3
9 10 Nutty Squirrels, The Uh! Oh! 4
10 12 Granata, Rocco Marina 5
11 5 Rydell, Bobby We Got Love 7
12 6 Domino, Fats Be My Guest 6
12 6 Domino, Fats I've Been Around 3
13 15 Fuller, Bobby Tennessee Waltz 6
13 15 Comstock, Bobby Tennessee Waltz 6
14 4 Islanders, The Enchanted Sea, The 9
15 30 Morgan, Jane Happy Anniversary 5
16 9 Avalon, Frankie Just Ask Your Heart 13
17 23 Spacemen, The Clouds, The 4
18 24 Avalon, Frankie Swingin' On A Rainbow 2
18 24 Avalon, Frankie Why 2
19 3 Fleetwoods, The Mr. Blue 11
20 41 Fisher, Toni Big Hurt, The 1
21 19 Sinatra, Frank Talk To Me 7
22 0 Cannon, Freddy Way Down Yonder In New Orleans 0
23 13 Mathis, Johnny Misty 9
24 34 Nelson, Ricky I Wanna Be Loved 3
25 14 Rock-A-Teens, The Woo-Hoo 7
26 16 Drifters, The Dance With Me 6
26 16 Drifters, The (If You Cry) True Love, True Love 2
27 31 Beckham, Bob Just As Much As Ever 7
28 45 Bell, Leigh & The Chimes Terry 2
29 0 Dancer, Prancer & Nervous Happy Reindeer, The 0
30 32 Peterson Quintet, Bobby Hunch, The 4
31 25 Royal Teens, The Believe Me 5
32 17 Evans, Paul Seven Little Girls Siting In The Back Seat 11
33 38 Johnson, Marv You Got What It Takes 2
34 26 Darin, Bobby Mack The Knife 15
35 20 Benton, Brook So Many Ways 7
36 36 Turner, Sammy Always 3
37 21 Sedaka, Neil Oh! Carol 9
38 44 Vaughan, Sarah Smooth Operator 1
39 40 Johnny & The Hurricanes Reveille Rock 4
40 47 Joyce, Shelley Heaven Knows I Love Him 2
41 43 Santo & Johnny Tear Drop 2
42 46 Lawrence, Steve Pretty Blue Eyes 1
43 39 Hall, Larry Sandy 12
44 48 Black's Combo, Bill Smokie (Part 2) 1
45 0 Coasters, The What About Us 0
46 49 DeMarco, Ralph Old Shep 1
47 50 Hugo & Luigi Just Come Home 1
48 0 Hawkins, Ronnie Southern Love 0
49 0 Hames Sisters, The I Promise 0
50 35 London, Joe It Might Have Been 5
"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.
No comments:
Post a Comment