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July 10, 2019 6:59 am  #1


BOOZE, BROADS & BUCK$

A contributor asks on the Oldies Music board whether payola was an issue w. Canadian pop/rock broadcasters around the time Alan Freed & Dick Clark were subjected to inquisition.   It is extremely unlikely that anyone in Canada accepted a bribe as after-all, we are/were Squeaky Clean Canadians.  

Or were we?      

 

July 10, 2019 9:11 am  #2


Re: BOOZE, BROADS & BUCK$

"...something something the biz really isn't like that anymore."

 

July 10, 2019 11:25 pm  #3


Re: BOOZE, BROADS & BUCK$

Payola is legal here.

 

August 6, 2019 8:16 pm  #4


Re: BOOZE, BROADS & BUCK$

According to a new article in Rolling Stone magazine, payola is still going on in the radio industry. Only the times have changed. 

Want to Get on the Radio? Have $50,000?

 

August 10, 2019 10:04 am  #5


Re: BOOZE, BROADS & BUCK$

Kilgore wrote:

Mike Marshall?

Naw, I'm only 78. And just completely blew my cred with that comment. :-(
 

 

August 10, 2019 3:58 pm  #6


Re: BOOZE, BROADS & BUCK$

geo, would you take a bribe to finally give up on this thread?

 

August 11, 2019 2:37 pm  #7


Re: BOOZE, BROADS & BUCK$

mike marshall wrote:

geo, would you take a bribe to finally give up on this thread?

All reasonable offers (buck$ preferred) will receive consideration
 

     Thread Starter
 

August 11, 2019 4:16 pm  #8


Re: BOOZE, BROADS & BUCK$

geo wrote:

mike marshall wrote:

geo, would you take a bribe to finally give up on this thread?

All reasonable offers (buck$ preferred) will receive consideration
 

What happened to your first answer, geo?
What happened to the "couple" of people who contacted you offline with what I think you wanted to hear?
What happened to Last edited by... ?
You're playing games, geo.

 

August 11, 2019 8:06 pm  #9


Re: BOOZE, BROADS & BUCK$

I have to admit when this topic first surfaced, I was curious if payola ever happened in Canada. Clearly, from some of the responses, it is a very touchy subject that certain members would rather not discuss. Before the payola scandle broke in 1959, I think CHUM was the only 24 hour Top 40 station in Canada. I was not really into music in 1957, since I was only 4 years old. Did the jocks at that time pick their own records to play or did they already have music and program directors at the station. IF! payola existed here, I can see the rewards being along the lines of Canadian game show prizes. A toaster? A years supply of Turtle Wax? Perhaps a set of American Tourister Luggage?

 

August 11, 2019 8:18 pm  #10


Re: BOOZE, BROADS & BUCK$

When I was a kid, I went to CFTO studios to be part of the audience for the taping of a terrible game show called "All About Faces." In typical Canadian fashion, the top prize was a mattress. Yes, a mattress.

And worse yet, they had some warm-up guy who prompted the audience to "ooh" and "ahhh" in amazement when this wonderful gift was revealed. 

That was a real eye opener to a young child about just how phony the whole thing was. And it sounded idiotic on air, when people were supposedly going apoplectic over a ridiculous boxspring. 

 

August 11, 2019 11:56 pm  #11


Re: BOOZE, BROADS & BUCK$

Payola isn't illegal in Canada.  I'm dead serious.  That's why you've never heard of it here.

 

August 12, 2019 4:37 pm  #12


Re: BOOZE, BROADS & BUCK$

Geo's probably not hearing from people in the late '50s/early '60s because many of them are dead. Or the ones still around are a little embarrassed that they were never offered any payola. I don't think I was. Offered, that is.

We got a hell of a lot of free T-shirts when people were promoting things in the '70s but that's not much of a complete wardrobe, although those and a pair of cutoffs would be enough to get you to work.

When I was in Edmonton, the Eskimos used to give every jock in the city a pair of decent seats for every home
game.

At CHFI, Brian Master suggested we call IDirect when we got our first desktop. If you were in Toronto
radio or TV, they would set you up with a free connection and Email address. Still have the same Email, even though IDirect begat Look begat Telnet begat Fibernetics, who are about to change their billing name to Worldline. We've long been paying for the service.

Two weeks after arriving in Windsor, Motown set up a dinner show for all the Big 8 jocks at Detroit's Roostertail.
Nice meal, Four Tops "live," Three years later, they did the same thing at the Elmwood Casino, that time with the Miracles. The closest they came to payola was the Christmas Motown gave every jock in the market a beautiful,
heavy gold-plated Dunhill lighter. Not payola. You can bet we asked. And about the Motown stuff, how - in the Motor Cities in the '60s/'70s - are you not going to play Motown.

Edit - Changed "Worldwide" to the correct "Worldline"

Last edited by mike marshall (August 14, 2019 11:53 pm)

 

August 12, 2019 5:10 pm  #13


Re: BOOZE, BROADS & BUCK$

geo, I saw your post on the Oldies board. I was not "upset" here by your question but I was not impressed with how you were *pursuing* your question.

Last edited by mike marshall (August 12, 2019 5:12 pm)

 

August 12, 2019 6:37 pm  #14


Re: BOOZE, BROADS & BUCK$

mike marshall wrote:

      We got a hell of a lot of free T-shirts when people were promoting things in the '70s but that's not much of a complete wardrobe, although those and a pair of cutoffs would be enough to get you to work.
When I was in Edmonton, the Eskimos used to give every jock in the city a pair of decent seats for every home
game 

Thx for the input

geo
 

     Thread Starter
 

August 12, 2019 7:33 pm  #15


Re: BOOZE, BROADS & BUCK$

I don't remember "All About Faces" specifically but boy do I remember those gawd-awful Canadian game show prizes: after spending six months on one of those shows and  losing your job and your family you might win  "a Brother fully automatic typewriter" or  a his-n-hers Parker pen and pencil set. Which begs the obvious question: what will Canadian Family Feud be giving away? It's 20K and a good chance to win a car on the U-S version. (I'm embarrassed to admit I  know that!)

 

August 12, 2019 7:53 pm  #16


Re: BOOZE, BROADS & BUCK$

In the 80's during my on-air career in rock radio, cocaine seemed to have been the currency that smoooooothed the way for other jocks and by extension, radio stations, my own included, to enthusiastically support various bands and artists on-air, and in person when they played on tour in our city.

I, not keen to use a substance that could stop my heart refrained from ever trying the stuff. I didn't care if other people indulged, it just wasn't my thing.

Many, *many* fellow jocks loved the stuff, and had no problem diving into the whole scene backstage, and later on in the hotel rooms. The amount of the white stuff that was always being offered to us, by musicians, band managers, record execs, (roadies if the band was being cautious/paranoid/smart) was ridiculous.

I did get a kick out of the other perks, free tickets to various events, good tables at restaurants, deals on electronics and other things, the usual stuff radio personalities enjoy to this day.

Last edited by betaylored (August 12, 2019 7:54 pm)

 

August 12, 2019 8:09 pm  #17


Re: BOOZE, BROADS & BUCK$

potentiometer wrote:

I don't remember "All About Faces" specifically but boy do I remember those gawd-awful Canadian game show prizes: after spending six months on one of those shows and  losing your job and your family you might win  "a Brother fully automatic typewriter" or  a his-n-hers Parker pen and pencil set. Which begs the obvious question: what will Canadian Family Feud be giving away? It's 20K and a good chance to win a car on the U-S version. (I'm embarrassed to admit I  know that!)

I have no idea what our Family Feud will give away, but I can tell you lousy prizes were a hallmark of those old Canadian game shows. 
 
And it’s funny what detritus sticks in your brain all these years later. In the 50s, game show host Jack Barry was caught up in the U.S. quiz show scandals and fled to Canada, the only place he could get work.
 
He wound up fronting a terrible memory-based game called “It’s A Match,” produced out of CHCH in Hamilton. One day, they had a school teacher named Rocky Sankoff on as a contestant. This guy had a photographic memory, so he never forgot where anything on the board was and he won over and over and over. Unlike most Canadian shows back then, they actually gave away money.  
 
At the end of each show, Barry would ask, “So are you coming back tomorrow Rocky?” And of course, the answer would always be yes. Until one day when the question was answered with a surprise, “No Jack. I think I’ll retire undefeated and let someone else have a chance.”
 
And that was it. And what incredible amount did he leave with after being on five days a week for three solid months?

$64.
 
Yes, you read that right. The all-time champ of "It's A Match" had accumulated the less than estimable sum of 64 bucks for his three months of effort. No wonder he left.
 
I’ve never forgotten that for some reason, possibly because it was the very definition of what a Canadian game show was back then. Let's hope the Canuck Feud does a lot better than that.  

All About Faces

 

August 13, 2019 6:31 am  #18


Re: BOOZE, BROADS & BUCK$

mike marshall wrote:

Geo's probably not hearing from people in the late '50s/early '60s because many of them are dead

"dead men tell no tales"  --  jack sparrow & jeffrey epstein
 

     Thread Starter
 

August 13, 2019 8:12 am  #19


Re: BOOZE, BROADS & BUCK$

potentiometer wrote:

I don't remember "All About Faces" specifically but boy do I remember those gawd-awful Canadian game show prizes: after spending six months on one of those shows and  losing your job and your family you might win  "a Brother fully automatic typewriter" or  a his-n-hers Parker pen and pencil set. Which begs the obvious question: what will Canadian Family Feud be giving away? It's 20K and a good chance to win a car on the U-S version. (I'm embarrassed to admit I  know that!)

One more weird thing about Canadian game shows. I think things have since changed, but in those early days, producers in this country were restricted to giving away only a certain amount in prize value on any contest - likely under about $500. That's why you never saw anyone win a car back then and those electric typewriters came out.

And we're still under this old idiotic stigma that you can't just win anything in this country - somehow, you have to "earn" it. That's why there's almost always a skill testing question that has to be answered if you "win" anything. It's part of our laws, but it's completely old fashioned and absolutely unnecessary. Yet it remains there, apparently because being lucky just isn't allowed here.

I wonder if any big prize winner ever got the skill testing question (usually a math problem) wrong and had to forfeit the prize. I'm terrible in math and I'd probably lose everything!

Why Do Canadian Sweepstakes Have Skill-Testing Questions for Winners? 

 

August 13, 2019 9:54 am  #20


Re: BOOZE, BROADS & BUCK$

ok here is a Canadian game show from 32 years ago. I recorded this b/c my friend and co worker at the time was on it. Here's a Rock Jeopardy question, at the very end of the clip there is a tiny bit from an old music video. What video was that. In the tradition of old Canadian game shows the winner will get not only a nod but also a wink:




 

Last edited by Fitz (August 13, 2019 9:55 am)


Cool Airchecks and More:
http://www.lettheuniverseanswer.com/
 

August 13, 2019 10:44 am  #21


Re: BOOZE, BROADS & BUCK$

Fitz wrote:

ok here is a Canadian game show from 32 years ago 

The game show host would appear to be CHUM's Mike Darow (Darow Myhowich) who spent a month on top of a 60-foot scaffold over a car lot in a 1963 promotion for Golden Mile Chev

geo
 

     Thread Starter
 

August 13, 2019 10:51 am  #22


Re: BOOZE, BROADS & BUCK$

geo wrote:

Fitz wrote:

ok here is a Canadian game show from 32 years ago 

The game show host would appear to be CHUM's Mike Darow (Darow Myhowich) who spent a month on top of a 60-foot scaffold over a car lot in a 1963 promotion for Golden Mile Chev

geo
 

The host is Mike Dorrow. Did not know he was on CHUM. I remember that car at Golden Mile ( Eg and Vic Pk) I think it was there till at least the early 1970's. You get the bonus prize which is half a nod !

I am a little confused. I tried to look for a picture of the car and could not find one on the net.but I found this for Paul Willison Chrysler. I think the two promo ads were close to each other both on the north side of Eglinton.

 

Last edited by Fitz (August 13, 2019 11:17 am)


Cool Airchecks and More:
http://www.lettheuniverseanswer.com/
 

August 13, 2019 11:17 am  #23


Re: BOOZE, BROADS & BUCK$

Fitz wrote:

   The host is Mike Dorrow. Did not know he was on CHUM. I remember that car at Golden Mile  

As an attention-getter, it was a successful promotion with the vehicle-focused crowd.    Questions such as "would you purchase a vehicle that's been parked under him for a number of weeks?" and "how does he relieve himself?" were common.               
 

     Thread Starter
 

August 13, 2019 11:30 am  #24


Re: BOOZE, BROADS & BUCK$

Mike Darow (one "r") did a lot of his on camera work in Canada but he made the big time in the U.S. at least once, as the host of an ABC show called "Dream House." The premise of the game was that a lucky winning couple could eventually win their own home, which would be built for them in the location of their choice. (Imagine trying to offer that as a prize today - a custom built home wherever you choose!)

It lasted two years, from 1968 to 1970, with both a daytime and a primetime version.

Most of the tapes have long been destroyed, but here's one on YouTube that somehow survived all these years later. 


 

 

August 13, 2019 11:33 am  #25


Re: BOOZE, BROADS & BUCK$

Fitz wrote:

I am a little confused. I tried to look for a picture of the car and could not find one on the net.

Go to "chumtribute.com/chumtribute-pics-60s.htm" and scroll approx. halfway down for photo of Darow in a '63 Chev

     Thread Starter
 

August 13, 2019 11:37 am  #26


Re: BOOZE, BROADS & BUCK$

Getting back to the main topic of this thread, which is "payola", raises the question whether Mike Darow rec'd the keys to a new-for-'63 Corvette split window Sting Ray for his efforts (likely not)

     Thread Starter
 

August 13, 2019 1:38 pm  #27


Re: BOOZE, BROADS & BUCK$

geo wrote:

Fitz wrote:

I am a little confused. I tried to look for a picture of the car and could not find one on the net.

Go to "chumtribute.com/chumtribute-pics-60s.htm" and scroll approx. halfway down for photo of Darow in a '63 Chev

ok thanks I saw the pic. 1963 is a bit too early for me but I seem to remember a big car for an ad in the late 1960's and early 1970's on Eglinton and I think it was close to that Chrysler dealership I posted about above. Was there a big Chev or am I mis-remembering ?


Cool Airchecks and More:
http://www.lettheuniverseanswer.com/
 

August 13, 2019 3:40 pm  #28


Re: BOOZE, BROADS & BUCK$

Fitz wrote:

   1963 is a bit too early for me but I seem to remember a big car for an ad in the late 1960's and early 1970's on Eglinton and I think it was close to that Chrysler dealership I posted about above. Was there a big Chev or am I mis-remembering ?

My urologist says memory is the 2nd thing to go

     Thread Starter
 

September 10, 2019 2:07 pm  #29


Re: BOOZE, BROADS & BUCK$

RadioActive wrote:

According to a new article in Rolling Stone magazine, payola is still going on in the radio industry. Only the times have changed. 

Want to Get on the Radio? Have $50,000?

Rolling Stone has followed up this story with another that is, if anything, even more damning. And it involves some shadowy figures known as "the indies."

‘Nobody Is Scrutinizing This’: How Labels Pay to Get Songs on the Radio

 

September 12, 2019 9:19 pm  #30


Re: BOOZE, BROADS & BUCK$

RadioActive wrote:

According to a new article in Rolling Stone magazine, payola is still going on in the radio industry. Only the times have changed. 

Want to Get on the Radio? Have $50,000?

You get what you pay for too.




Does broker time count as payola?  Because I've worked a lot of broker time shows.

Also keep in mind that many ethnic stations go south of the line (770 am into Southern Ontario, 1550 and 1600 into the BC Lower Mainland) where rules about inciting hatred are much looser.  At an ethnic station I worked at managment forced an ethnic show off the air for this, and forced them to pay for a third party translation to satisfy the regulators. 

Last edited by patmantim (September 12, 2019 9:23 pm)