1050 CHUM MEMORIAL BLOG: CHUM HISTORICAL EVENT: Final Open House Saturday, November 15th, 2008

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).

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

CHUM HISTORICAL EVENT: Final Open House Saturday, November 15th, 2008

Past events…

Nov 15- Roger Abbott and Don Ferguson of The Air Farce to join Gord James, Roger Ashby, Bob Laine and the gang at CHUM Open House! The 1050 CHUM Open House for The CP24/CHUM Christmas Wish! For five decades 1331 Yonge Streethas been the home of 1050 CHUM.

But that’s about to change. Because CHUM is moving downtown. But before we pack up, we’re giving you one last chance to see CHUM’s historic studios, one final opportunity to walk the hallways, visit and photograph the historic studios and tour the CHUMMuseum. Join all of us for

The 1050 CHUM Open House for the CP24 “CHUM Christmas Wish!” Saturday, November 15th, live on air from Noon to 4PM, with the last tour at 3! You’ll be in CHUM’s famous on-air studio as CHUM greats past and present take turns behind the mic. Gord James, Bob Laine, Roger Ashby, Robbie Lane, Doug Beaumont, Stacey Thompson, Bob Summers, Amber Payie, Jeff Howatt, Kym Geddes, Regan Ashby and Sara Konings. Roger Abbott and Don Ferguson of the Royal Canadian Air Farce will be here too, fulfilling their dream of one day doing their own show on CHUM.

And Ron Hall will be dropping in with the last box of CHUM Chart Books to sign. When you come for the Open House, make a donation to the CP24 “CHUM Christmas Wish”. If you do, you’ll be given a special souvenir gift from CHUM. http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=95162

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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

This Week	Last Week	Artist	Track	Total Weeks

1	0	Presley, Elvis	All Shook Up	0

2	0	Boone, Pat	Love Letters In The Sand	0

3	0	Williams, Andy	I Like Your Kind Of Love	0

4	0	Everly Brothers, The	Bye Bye Love	0

5	0	Mineo, Sal	Start Movin' (In My Direction)	0

6	0	Storm, Gale	Dark Moon	0

7	0	Robbins, Marty	A White Sport Coat (And A Pink Carnation)	0

8	0	Gracie, Charlie	Fabulous	0

9	0	Como, Perry	Girl With The Golden Braids, The	0

10	0	Ray, Johnnie	Yes Tonight, Josephine	0

11	0	Diamonds, The	Little Darlin'	0

12	0	Dell-Vikings, The	Come Go With Me	0

13	0	Boone, Pat	Why Baby Why	0

14	0	Husky, Ferlin	Gone	0

15	0	Como, Perry	Round And Round	0

16	0	Berry, Chuck	School Day	0

17	0	Knox, Buddy	Party Doll	0

17	0	Lawrence, Steve	Party Doll	0

18	0	Dorsey Orchestra, Jimmy	So Rare	0

19	0	Domino, Fats	I'm Walkin'	0

19	0	Nelson, Ricky	I'm Walkin'	0

20	0	Gracie, Charlie	Butterfly	0

20	0	Williams, Andy	Butterfly	0

21	0	Belafonte, Harry	Mama Look At Bubu	0

22	0	Lowe, Jim	Four Walls	0

22	0	Reeves, Jim	Four Walls	0

23	0	Dee, Johnny	Sittin' In The Balcony	0

23	0	Cornell, Don	Sittin' In The Balcony	0

23	0	Cochran, Eddie	Sittin' In The Balcony	0

24	0	Mathis, Johnny	Wonderful! Wonderful!	0

25	0	Mello-Tones, The	Rosie Lee	0

25	0	Tune Drops, The	Rosie Lee	0

26	0	Coasters, The	Young Blood	0

27	0	Domino, Fats	Valley Of Tears	0

28	0	Draper, Rusty	Freight Train	0

29	0	Gilkyson, Terry & The Easy Riders	Marianne	0

29	0	Hilltoppers, The	Marianne	0

30	0	Bowen, Jimmy	I'm Stickin' With You	0

31	0	Laine, Frankie	Love Is A Golden Ring	0

32	0	Platters, The	I'm Sorry	0

33	0	Hunter, Ivory Joe	Empty Arms	0

33	0	Brewer, Teresa	Empty Arms	0

34	0	Sands, Tommy	Teen-Age Crush	0

35	0	Little Richard	Lucille	0

36	0	Sands, Tommy	My Love Song	0

37	0	Starr, Kay	Jamie Boy	0

38	0	Starr, Randy	After School	0

39	0	Johnson, Betty	Little White Lies	0

40	0	Bennett, Tony	One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)	0

41	0	Knox, Buddy	Rock Your Little Baby To Sleep	0

42	0	Clooney, Rosemary	Mangos	0

43	0	Cornell, Don	Mama Guitar	0

44	0	Belloc, Dan	Flip Top	0

45	0	Baker, Lavern	Jim Dandy Got Married	0

46	0	Boone, Pat	Bernardine	0

47	0	Copeland, Ken	Pledge Of Love	0

47	0	Torok, Mitchell	Pledge Of Love	0

48	0	Four Lads, The	I Just Don't Know	0

49	0	Armenian Jazz Sextet	Harem Dance	0

50	0	Williams, Billy	I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter	0

YOU CAN SEARCH BLOG POSTS USING THE SEARCH FEATURE ABOVE. USE PRECISE KEYWORDS

FOR CHUM CHART LISTINGS 1957 TO 1986, ENTER "CHUM CHART, MONTH, DAY, YEAR"

SEARCH ARTISTS FOR THEIR SONG LISTINGS, CHARTING DATES AND POSITIONS (Enter name of artist, CHUM Chart, songs) - eg: 'The Stylistics CHUM Chart songs') - Note: More artists to be added

TO VIEW ORIGINAL 1050 CHUM CHARTS FROM 1957 TO 1975 WE RECOMMEND "THE 1050 CHUM TRIBUTE SITE"

NOTE: OUTDATED POSTS ARE KEPT ON THIS SITE FOR HISTORICAL REFERENCE

CHUM CHART HISTORY

The CHUM Chart was a ranking of top 30 (and, until August 1968, the top 50) songs on Toronto, Canada, radio station CHUM 1050 AM, from 1957 to 1986, and was the longest-running Top 40 chart in the world produced by an individual radio station. In the early 2000s, sister station 104.5 CHUM FM, which airs a hot adult contemporary format, revived the CHUM Chart name for a new countdown show.

The CHUM Chart also aired as a television program on Citytv every Saturday at 2:00 p.m until January 2008 when the show was discontinued after Rogers Communications gained control of the Citytv stations. The program aired a list of the most popular songs in the countdown, starting from #30, playing approximately half of them.

History
The chart debuted on May 27, 1957, under the name CHUM's Weekly Hit Parade. The CHUM Chart name was adopted in 1961.

The chart was published for 1,512 consecutive weeks, and had 694 different #1 songs over the course of its original run. Its first #1 single was Elvis Presley's "All Shook Up", and its final #1 was Madonna's "Live to Tell".

From its inception until 1975, each week's CHUM Chart was published in a brochure format, with additional features promoting the station and its personalities. It was distributed to record stores and music venues across the city. In 1975, the brochure was discontinued, and each week's chart was instead published in the entertainment section of the Toronto Star. Mike Myers, Gordon Lightfoot, Dick Clark and Dave Thomas all reportedly own collections of CHUM Charts.

For the first 26 weeks in 1957, the chart published full information only for the top 10, listing only song titles for the remainder of the chart. On November 25, 1957, however, the chart began publishing information on all listed songs. Three minor hits from 1957, "I'm Gettin' the Message Alright", "Lonesome Heart" and "Teenage Heart", are still listed in the CHUM Chart archives as "Unknown Artist" as of 2007.

In 1959, the chart briefly added a Top 10 albums list, which was discontinued in 1960, revived in 1963 and discontinued again in 1967.

Author Ron Hall published The CHUM chart book (ISBN 0920325157) in 1983, listing every song that had appeared in the CHUM Charts to that point. Following the discontinuation of the chart, he published an updated edition in 1990 listing every charted song and profiling the history of the chart. The final chart, for the week of June 14, 1986, was never published until Hall's 1990 book. A commemorative list of all the chart's number one songs was also published in poster format by CHUM in 2007 to commemorate the station's 50th anniversary.

1050 CHUM MEMORIAL BLOG

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Wednesday, November 18, 2009

CHUM HISTORICAL EVENT: Final Open House Saturday, November 15th, 2008

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Chart #1 - Monday, May 27, 1957 - TOP 50

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