The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum » Instant Replay: CKFH. #2 And Proud Of It. The Top 40 Years

RadioActive · June 7, 2019 10:28 am

Last week, we looked at the early days of CKFH. This week, a glance backward at the best time of the station’s life – its decision to go Top 40 and take a run at arch-rival CHUM.

It began in 1967, as slowly but surely that legendary line-up began to take shape.

Both Chuck McCoy and Duke Roberts would eventually wind up on the competition at 1331 Yonge St., likely wondering what that odd comment about Americans was supposed to mean. And “Tim” Fulton would probably have preferred the correct spelling of his name.

John Donabie would come back to the station when it was CJCL, this time as a music and talk host. But he also had a message while he was there.

Eventually, in 1971, he took his act down the street.

Steve O’Brien wasn’t there long, but he was hilarious. I remember that when you’d call the ’FH Request Line, most of the announcers had their own recordings that essentially said “Leave your name and your song and we’ll get it on. BEEP!”

Not O’Brien. I still recall his request line greeting. “I’m sorry but the number you have reached is working. So now you’ll have to listen to Steve O’Brien. Leave your name and your request after the tone. But keep it clean, or an ugly man will come and look in your window. BEEP!”

I used to call just to hear that.

Eventually O’Brien left and I lost of track of him until a family vacation in Miami several years later. I turned on WINZ and there he was – still sounding as hilarious as ever. I called the station and talked to him. I told him we missed him on ’FH. I’ll never forget his answer. “Well, I don’t miss them!” He later wound up a big time jock in New York City.

Whatever you can say about CKFH, they did their best to outplay CHUM, adding songs 1050 would never touch.

From 1966:

And it continued into 1970, when a familiar face came to Toronto.

And ’FH was a CanCon pioneer.

Soon, they went from 10,000 watts to 50K

And sports was still a big component of the programming, mixing rock with jock.

Pete Stemkowski was a CKFH jock. Who knew?

Despite all those years of trying to catch CHUM, the station finally gave up the ghost, and in a very eventful month of March 1975, it switched from a short-lived oldies format to a fulltime country station.

By this time, Foster Hewitt’s health was failing and in 1980, he decided to sell the entity that bore his initials. It would eventually swap to a new set of call letters – CJCL, and a few other formats (including the surprising and little remembered one listed below in 1981.)

CJCL would also eventually switch frequencies to 590, where it remains as The Fan, now owned by Rogers.

But for those who were The Fans of the glory Top 40 years, the echoes linger.

Next week: CKEY becomes a major competitor to CFRB, CHUM and then CFRB again.

Dale Patterson · June 7, 2019 2:09 pm

Dale Patterson · June 7, 2019 2:11 pm

Dale Patterson · June 7, 2019 2:12 pm

Dale Patterson · June 7, 2019 2:13 pm

RadioActive · June 7, 2019 3:52 pm

Wow, that's great stuff Dale. I believe you used to work there as a producer/operator or am I wrong?. It must have been an exciting time to be on Grenville St. I well remember the Joey Cee chart, but I never knew they bought the Wolfman Jack Show.

June 7, 2019 4:58 pm

I moved to Toronto in 1967 and became a devoted CKFH listener. Went down to No.1 Grenville Street to get a yellow styrofoam ball promoting the station for the antenna of my dad's Oldsmobile Cutlass. The Top 100 songs of 1968, above, I remember well but they must have lost me as a listener the next year as that March 1969 chart is pretty much lost on me.

Can't see me moving on 'up the hill', must have been 'KB or WLS.

Great memories, though, thank you.

Dale Patterson · June 7, 2019 6:35 pm

My short time at 'FH - September 1974 to March 1975 - was memorable for me as I was my first radio job and my opportunity to work at a station I had enjoyed so much over the years. It was a dream come true and would have done it for nothing but I believe I got $1.80 an hour. I was there during the changeover from oldies to country in March 1975. I wasn't supposed to talk but on one of my last nights I said what the heck and did a live time check just so I could say I'd been on CKFH. Those were good times but sad to say the building that housed CKFH has been demolished.

Last edited by Dale Patterson (June 7, 2019 6:54 pm)

John D · June 7, 2019 10:29 pm

RA, Thank you for the memories. RIP Tom Fulton, Special K, Big G Walters and Mysterious Mike Williams.

alangee · June 7, 2019 10:39 pm

I was a big fan of CKFH back in the day. No offence to the other great jocks there, but my favourite was good old Dazzling Don Daynard!!

Dale Patterson · June 8, 2019 12:05 am

One of my "Holy Grail" airchecks would be one of The Whole Bag/Open Lid show which aired from 1966 to 1971. Here's a rough timeline of the jocks: Tom Fulton (fall 1966), Big G. Walters (Jan. '67-Oct. '67), Kenny Wells (Oct '67-mid '68), Gene Thayer (mid '68-mid '69), Terry David Mulligan (mid '69 to early '70), Keith Elshaw (early '70-Oct. '70), Terry Glecoff (Oct. '70-early '71).

My apologies for anyone I may have left out. I'm not sure if John Donabie ever hosted this show but he would have been a perfect fit.

John D · June 8, 2019 9:29 am

Dale. Thank you so very much for putting the hosts of The Whole Bag/Open Lid in chronological order. I can point people here; when I'm asked in the future. Your the man Dale.

Damian · June 8, 2019 11:41 am

RA, you may want to check out budriley.com re Bob Baker. He suggests that FH’s Bob Baker was Ray Collins not Robert Stoer( Duke Roberts). Think CHUM scooped up the Duker!

Dale Patterson · June 8, 2019 1:35 pm

John D wrote:
Dale. Thank you so very much for putting the hosts of The Whole Bag/Open Lid in chronological order. I can point people here; when I'm asked in the future. Your the man Dale.

You're welcome John.

CKFH Forever!

June 8, 2019 4:42 pm

Damian wrote:
RA, you may want to check out budriley.com re Bob Baker. He suggests that FH’s Bob Baker was Ray Collins not Robert Stoer( Duke Roberts). Think CHUM scooped up the Duker!

Can't confirm that Ray was Bob Baker at CKFH. Believe I was in Windsor at the time, which might as well have been at the other end of the earth, at least as far as the Government of Canada and the CRTC were concerned.
Ray eventually became Wild Bill Edwards at CFTR and, yes, Duke was scooped by CHUM. The way I heard it,
J. Robert got word that CKFH had hired him and met him as Duke got off the plane, Duke went to work for 1050, and the rest was Radio's answer to Hollywood history.
Don't know how much of that was true, but da Duker did wind up at CHUM. Too good a story not to be true.

June 8, 2019 5:59 pm

Here's another CKFH story which probably isn't that well known. 1979. I'd been back at CFTR for a couple of years, very happy working for Les Sole, until he moved up to bigger things at CFMT-TV.
My first time around (1972), George Johns had hired me at 'TR. We all had fun with George. Turned out, George's younger brother, Reg, was the new PD as Les left.
During Reg's first jock meeting, without going into detail, he didn't come close to pulling off a phoney move.
I decided then and there I wasn't about to work for Mr. Showbiz and started to look around. I talked to Ron Hewat at CKFH. He hired me.
Before anything was said, in the days that followed, Ron asked if I thought Jim Brady would be interested. They sat down and made a deal. So Jimmy and I were going to work for Foster...until the last moment, when Jim backed out. I went. Brady stayed. For a while.
Telemedia bought CKFH not much later. Les Sole became the honcho at the new Metro 1430. He hired Brady for the morning show, which I did until Jim's contract-delayed arrival. His first morning on the air, the two of us did it together, completely unrehearsed, and it was a hoot.

Last edited by mike marshall (June 8, 2019 11:06 pm)

John D · June 8, 2019 6:30 pm

Mike, Brady became PD at CJCL for awhile. Andy Barrie was hired from CFRB and Brady hired me away from CHUM-FM. We negotiated a deal in the bar at the Howard Johnson’s; just off the 401. The funniest part of the day was listening to Jimmy doing a “handoff” with Andy. Very different people. I spoke with JB just before he succumbed to cancer in Toledo; his last radio gig and hometown.

Didn’t know him for a long time; but he was. A really nice guy. And oh! If you ever ordered a pizza with Jimmy.....absolutely NO MUSHROOMS. : > ). Under any circumstances.

Media Observer · June 8, 2019 6:36 pm

alangee wrote:
I was a big fan of CKFH back in the day. No offence to the other great jocks there, but my favourite was good old Dazzling Don Daynard!!

My memories of "Dazzling Don" are from his Saturday Night Oldies show on CHFI. He was from an era when the D.J.s were listened to in their own right for their style/comments and input concerning the show's playlist.

John D · June 8, 2019 6:44 pm

I can confirm that Ray Collins aka Bob Baker we’re indeed one in the same. The Duker did not work at FH. Mike’s story about J Robert hiring Duke at the airport is allegedly true.

June 8, 2019 11:04 pm

John D wrote:
Mike, Brady became PD at CJCL for awhile. Andy Barrie was hired from CFRB and Brady hired me away from CHUM-FM. We negotiated a deal in the bar at the Howard Johnson’s; just off the 401. The funniest part of the day was listening to Jimmy doing a “handoff” with Andy. Very different people. I spoke with JB just before he succumbed to cancer in Toledo; his last radio gig and hometown.

Didn’t know him for a long time; but he was. A really nice guy. And oh! If you ever ordered a pizza with Jimmy.....absolutely NO MUSHROOMS. : > ). Under any circumstances.

Yes, John, I was still there when Jim was named PD and he hired you to replace me when I left. He was, as you said, a really good guy. We worked together the first time at the Big 8. I replaced him in the 9-noon slot in very early 1969. He was Mark Richards there.
By the time he got to Toronto, he had a real capacity for beer. I watched him go through a case of 2-4 one night and show up for work at six the next morning.

Dale Patterson · July 27, 2019 5:06 pm

More 'FH, from May '68...

Last edited by Dale Patterson (July 27, 2019 5:07 pm)

Dale Patterson · August 26, 2019 12:30 am

Another 'FH chart from 1968...