'Jay Nelson (a.k.a. Frank Coxe and Jungle Jay Nelson) (July 12, 1936 – February 18, 1994) spent most of his career in radio, although he did a brief stint on television in the early 1960s. He was married twice and had four children. His son Kevin was one of the morning hosts on Majic 100 in Ottawa, Ontario. - update: (2011) Kevin is presently on sick leave with a severe ailment.
He started in radio at WRIT in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1955. He then moved on to WARM in Scranton, Pennsylvania in 1956; WHLO in Akron, Ohio in 1957; and WBNY in Buffalo, New York in 1960. He switched briefly to television, appearing on WKBW-TV, also in Buffalo, where he hosted an afternoon children's show in 1963.
On this show he appeared wearing a pith helmet and a faux leopard-skin costume, often working with a chimpanzee. It was at this time that he took the professional name Jungle Jay Nelson, a name that stuck for the rest of his career.
In the fall of 1963, CHUM radio in Toronto was looking for a new morning host. It has been reported that Irene Ryan also auditioned for this position. However, CHUM selected Jay Nelson for the job.
From May 27, 1957 until June 6, 1986, CHUM printed a weekly list of top songs and distributed it through local record stores. Jay Nelson's picture first appeared on the cover of a CHUM Chart in issue Number 351 on Monday, December 2, 1963. By coincidence, the first Beatles song ever to appear on a CHUM Chart, She Loves You, was listed at position 42 in that very same issue. However, Jay Nelson did not actually start working at CHUM until the following Monday, December 9 and the Beatles did not appear on the Ed Sullivan Show that made them famous in America until February 9, 1964.
Jay Nelson remained at CHUM for the next 17 years. Nelson did his last morning show at 1050 CHUM on December 24, 1980. His last show featured many tributes by current and former co-workers including Brian Williams. The mayor of Toronto declared Nelson's final day, Jay Nelson Day. The final song he played was Nobody Does It Better by Carly Simon. He briefly worked as a weatherman at CITY-TV, a television station owned by CHUM Ltd.
He returned to radio at CKFM-FM from 1982 to 1985; became CHFI morning man on August 1, 1985; switched to CHUM's old rival CKEY in May, 1986; and then moved to rival CJEZ as morning host from May, 1987 until August, 1990.- From: wikipedia.org
For a rock radio jock to last 17 years at a single radio station in amazing. To spend 17 years in the same shift is stupendous. To survive 17 years in morning drive is truly unbelievable.
Unbelievable or not, Jay Nelson did just that - spending 17 years in morning drive at CHUM from December 2, 1963 to December 24, 1980.
Just how long did Nelson spend at CHUM? To put it in perspective, the same week Jungle Jay did his first CHUM show in 1963, "She Loves You" became the first Beatle record to enter the CHUM Chart, at #42.
He left the station 16 days after John Lennon was murdered. - From: Rock Radio Scrapbook: The CHUM Archives (Part 2)
Related Links:
The Dan Haber Collection
Rock Radio Scrapbook: CHUM lineups
CHUM No Music No More
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