1050 CHUM CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF ROCK AND ROLL - HISTORICAL ARTICLE
YouTube LINK: YouTube - 1050 CHUM-AM 50th Anniversary 0:15 sec
1050 CHUM Celebrates 50 Years Of Rock
When this happened, the subway only ran along Yonge St. downtown, the 78 was still selling alongside 45 rpm records, and Ford was on the verge of introducing its biggest blunder ever, the Edsel. It was May 27, 1957 and Allan Waters was in a bind. His radio station with the terrific call letters CHUM wasn't doing so well. Times were tight, advertisers were few and bill collectors were calling with the kind of requests you couldn't put on the air.
It was on that date that Waters, the founder and owner of what would become broadcasting giant CHUM Ltd., decided to make his station the first to play nothing but rock and roll in Canada. It was a milestone act, and it came complete with people he knew calling him crazy and phoning him at all hours of the day and night pleading with him to 'take that noise off the air'. He refused and the rest, as they say is history.
And now that history is officially 50 years old. This weekend marked half a century since Waters took that bold step. Since then, many have followed in those footsteps. But few have met the success he pioneered with 1050 CHUM. The station has been celebrating itself all week, something it's taken far too long to do. ..
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AN EXCELLENT BLOG ON 1050 CHUM HISTORY
CHUM’s 50th Anniversary of Rock and Roll
LINK: Baby-Boomer « Holiday, everyday!
CLIP FROM THE SITE: 'GREG QUILL
ENTERTAINMENT COLUMNIST
Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be.
As Toronto’s once-formidable hit-making powerhouse, now the classic “oldies” Top 40 station, 1050 CHUM, gears up for its 50th anniversary bash today, a big question hangs over this key event and, indeed, over the station’s year-long celebration of its humble beginnings...' Read more: http://guesswhoaho.hyperboards.com/index.php?action=view_topic&topic_id=2086
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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).
Chart #1 - Monday, May 27, 1957 - TOP 50
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Monday, May 27, 1957 |
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