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December 17, 2020 9:51 pm  #1


Tings and this and that

Yes I said tings! 

I am not sure if you caught it but last Friday on Breakfast Television Frankie announced he and his wife were going through a divorce, I thought it was pretty gutsy of him to share that with the crew and viewers...he has been going through this personal challenge for a few months...

The other notable was that Ken Reid from Sportsnet shared his battle with mental health in last Friday's Toronto Star. 

As a viewer, you see the hosts at face value, and you sometimes forget that they have the same struggles you have...I have seen this happen more this year than ever though and I really respect Frankie and Ken to share their journey, somehow it helps you deal with aspects of life that challenge you!

The other Ting is this. I have a hard time watching Tim and Sid and it is not about them, but it is more about the fact that pro sports is almost obscene. When they talk about the new "NHLPA" and that money is an issue, in times of huge economic uncertainty, no fans at the rinks, TV revenues slowing, and owners even losing money in their "day jobs", I find it really hard to watch. 

I work a little in the non-profit social services and economic development field and to hear how play could be stopped due to money is to me is really hard to take, to a point where it sickens me to watch interviews on the show about this.

It is not just hockey, but baseball too is on the bubble as well, both leagues have issues as to when to play and around money.

After all those cardboard cut out fans, aren't lining up for seasons tickets anytime soon.

Last week I tuned into Q107...and after 3 days...I heard the same songs 2 to 3 times. is it me or is their playlist really limited...wow...if I tuned in regularly, I would be bored within a week. Has anyone else found this to be true of the mighty Q? Or not so mighty...



Finally, I know I talk about them a lot on the board...but for a non-profit station Jazz FM is swinging for the fences...

First of all they just hosted a live to air with Randy and Tal Bachman in studio...this is great radio and they supported the Daily Bread Food bank and the Unison Benevolent Fund for musicians...it sounded good tonight too!

This makes for really creative radio and then the broadcast it on Facebook too! Well done!

https://jazz.fm/live-event/bachman-bachman-live-stream-concert/


Last week they wrapped up the holiday fund drive and topped the $260,000 mark, they may not be swimming in cash, but they are holding it together.

https://jazz.fm/thank-you-for-a-successful-holiday-fundraising-campaign/

The final "ting" is this...

Mid-day host Heather Bambrick was recognized for her broadcasting chops and picked up Broadcast Dialogues Inaugural Canadian Radio Award for best broadcaster in a Major Market. 

It is quite the accomplishment seeing as how she had some tough competition...

Here is more on the story and below a link to the various winners in other radio categories too!

Best On-Air Team Or Host (Music)Awarded to an individual or on-air team who display an outstanding ability to engage, inform and entertain their target audience, judged on originality, presentation, and co-host synergy, as well as community involvement and ability to convey station brand and identity.Major Market 

Best On-Air Team or Host (Music) – Major Market – (HD Radio)
Heather Bambrick, Jazz.FM91, Toronto



Runners-up:
Stu Jeffries, boom 97.3, Stingray, Toronto
Virgin Mornings with Adam Wylde, TJ & Jax, 99.9 Virgin Radio, Bell Media, Toronto
The Jeff O’Neill Show, CFOX, Corus Entertainment, Vancouver
The Pepper & Dylan Show, KiSS 91.7, Rogers Sports & Media, Edmonton



https://broadcastdialogue.com/broadcast-dialogue-announces-winners-of-inaugural-canadian-radio-awards/

Last edited by Muffaraw Joe (December 18, 2020 12:21 am)


The world would be so good if it weren't for some people...
 

December 18, 2020 10:37 am  #2


Re: Tings and this and that

Joe, excellent observations....Tim and Sid....a couple of boys inhabiting men's bodies.  
Thanks for posting....the positive CJRT news is a bright spot....in a period of cookie-cutter radio...and the recovery of the station...from the mis-management and questionable board decisions of a couple of years ago...is a testament to positive community activism.

Thanks again for your thoughts and best wishes for a happy holiday season.

 

December 18, 2020 12:35 pm  #3


Re: Tings and this and that

Muffaraw Joe wrote:

Last week I tuned into Q107...and after 3 days...I heard the same songs 2 to 3 times. is it me or is their playlist really limited...wow...if I tuned in regularly, I would be bored within a week. Has anyone else found this to be true of the mighty Q? Or not so mighty...

That's how you get to #1!
 

 

December 18, 2020 12:46 pm  #4


Re: Tings and this and that

WABC in New York became the most listened to radio station on the planet at the height of its Top 40 days with a playlist of just 14 songs - and a few extras to fill things out. The idea was that whenever you tuned in, you'd hear the biggest hits of the moment. It worked better than anyone ever dreamed.

If you look at the chart below, you know every single song - except perhaps "Stir It Up & Serve It" by Tommy Roe, which I can't say I've ever heard of. 

 

 

December 18, 2020 2:23 pm  #5


Re: Tings and this and that

WABC became the most listened to radio station on the planet.  Never have heard that before.  What year or years was this?  I have heard they were at times the most popular in the US or among the most popular but never in the world.
 
BBC Radio One was one of the most popular stations in the world back in the 70's and 80's since they  had huge listenership not only in the UK but much of Europe.  But even that I don't know if it is a fact or not.  And some of the world service stations like the BBC World Service or  Voice of American could have actually been most popular back in the hey days of top 40.

Now there is a possibility that WABC with their great signal at night and the fact that they were in a huge city like New York could have been at the top or near but I would be interested to see how the ratings would determine this.  And also Europe how would they determine the popularity of BBC 1 or 2 which broadcast to many countries with differing methods of rating broadcasting outlets. 

Topsten which measures the top ten things and products worldwide, the most popular station currently is
P2 public radio out of Sweden and number two is KEXP public radio in Seattle.  There is no explanation how this was determined. I am assuming they are using both streaming data and regular radio ratings?

But no doubt WABC was huge, and with only 14 songs on the playlist!

 

December 18, 2020 2:38 pm  #6


Re: Tings and this and that

paterson1 wrote:

WABC became the most listened to radio station on the planet.  Never have heard that before.  What year or years was this?  I have heard they were at times the most popular in the US or among the most popular but never in the world.
 
BBC Radio One was one of the most popular stations in the world back in the 70's and 80's since they  had huge listenership not only in the UK but much of Europe.  But even that I don't know if it is a fact or not.  And some of the world service stations like the BBC World Service or  Voice of American could have actually been most popular back in the hey days of top 40.

Now there is a possibility that WABC with their great signal at night and the fact that they were in a huge city like New York could have been at the top or near but I would be interested to see how the ratings would determine this.  And also Europe how would they determine the popularity of BBC 1 or 2 which broadcast to many countries with differing methods of rating broadcasting outlets. 

Topsten which measures the top ten things and products worldwide, the most popular station currently is
P2 public radio out of Sweden and number two is KEXP public radio in Seattle.  There is no explanation how this was determined. I am assuming they are using both streaming data and regular radio ratings?

But no doubt WABC was huge, and with only 14 songs on the playlist!

Maybe the most listened to commercial station for a time but aside from the BBC and Europe radio was also huge on MW and Shortwave in parts of Asia and around the world during the 1960's.


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

December 18, 2020 2:49 pm  #7


Re: Tings and this and that

I believe it made this claim at some point in its history, at least as far as Top 40 formats are concerned.

There's a great story about how Dan Ingram went on the air one night and complained that WABC was only the fourth most popular station in the market. And then he revealed that market was Pittsburgh! Yes, a NYC station came in 4th in another city in another state. That's almost unheard of and will certainly never happen again.  

 

December 18, 2020 5:26 pm  #8


Re: Tings and this and that

RadioActive wrote:

I believe it made this claim at some point in its history, at least as far as Top 40 formats are concerned.

There's a great story about how Dan Ingram went on the air one night and complained that WABC was only the fourth most popular station in the market. And then he revealed that market was Pittsburgh! Yes, a NYC station came in 4th in another city in another state. That's almost unheard of and will certainly never happen again.  

As far as top 40 goes, yes WABC likely battled KHJ for top spot in the US and maybe the world.  As mentioned the only other one that could have had more listeners would have been BBC1 which also had a top 40 format.  Radio 1 according to the Topsten folks is still #9 as most popular station today behind KISS in LA.   But again no word on how this was determined or what sources used.

CKLW was number one various times out of state in Toledo and Cleveland  during the late sixties until the mid 70's.   Both of these Ohio markets had to contend with the Big 8 putting a great signal in their city day and night.    I remember listening to CKLW  loud and clear evenings in Daytona Beach in 1976.  

 

December 18, 2020 11:09 pm  #9


Re: Tings and this and that

Muffaraw Joe wrote:



Last week I tuned into Q107...and after 3 days...I heard the same songs 2 to 3 times. is it me or is their playlist really limited...wow...if I tuned in regularly, I would be bored within a week. Has anyone else found this to be true of the mighty Q? Or not so mighty...
/

Back in the pre-COVID days when I was still working at the office, I was subjected to the painful repetitiveness of music on 97.3.  So many of the same old tired songs over and over and over. They played Elton John so much, I almost thought he must own the station. I haven't listened to 97.3 since March. My blood pressure has dropped significantly and I'm enjoying some great radio stations from Dublin Ireland on the Radio Garden app.

 

December 21, 2020 12:23 pm  #10


Re: Tings and this and that

RadioActive wrote:

WABC in New York became the most listened to radio station on the planet at the height of its Top 40 days with a playlist of just 14 songs - and a few extras to fill things out. The idea was that whenever you tuned in, you'd hear the biggest hits of the moment. It worked better than anyone ever dreamed.

If you look at the chart below, you know every single song - except perhaps "Stir It Up & Serve It" by Tommy Roe, which I can't say I've ever heard of. 

 

What's really striking about this list is the vast differences in the styles of music. Ballads, soul, funk, rock and even bubble-gum on one 15 track playlist of very distinct songs. Compare that to the content of today's top 40 format where one synthesizer note blends into another. No wonder top 40 radio was so popular in those times. Thanks for the list.

 

December 21, 2020 4:00 pm  #11


Re: Tings and this and that

Always interesting to compare WABC and the CHUM chart for around the same time.  Quite a few differences overall, with CHUM playing a few cancon cuts that wouldn't be on WABC, and this was before 30% came into being.  CHUM had already charted No Time by the Guess who in Dec 69 and January.  Don't know if WABC ever charted Badfinger and Elvis Kentucky rain or if they had already been on their chart.

 

December 21, 2020 4:14 pm  #12


Re: Tings and this and that

Here's the same date from the CKFH chart just for a local comparison. 


 

December 21, 2020 5:05 pm  #13


Re: Tings and this and that

That's pretty cool. CKFH and CHUM at least for that week weren't really too different.  FH beat CHUM by two weeks with American Woman and Let it Be which were two huge songs in 1970.  Also Sly and the Family Stone was still top 3 on WABC but had already left the CHUM chart by this time after peaking at #1 in February. Sly isn't showing on the FH chart either, so I am assuming it was on earlier in the year.  Come and Get It were both big hits on CHUM and CKFH.

 

December 21, 2020 5:20 pm  #14


Re: Tings and this and that

Also interesting - the Neil Diamond song, On CHUM, the hitbound at #28 is "Shilo." On FH, the hitbound at #30 is Diamond's "Until It's Time For You To Go." It's possible one was an A-side and one was a B-side or perhaps the record company was trying for a double-sided hit. Either way, CHUM guessed right - Shilo wound up being the far bigger tune. 

 

December 21, 2020 6:29 pm  #15


Re: Tings and this and that

Until It's Time For You To Go was indeed the "B" side of Shilo.

 

December 22, 2020 11:03 am  #16


Re: Tings and this and that

You don't hear 'Come Out Ye Black and Tan' on the radio as often anymore.

 

December 22, 2020 4:17 pm  #17


Re: Tings and this and that

paterson1 wrote:

That's pretty cool. CKFH and CHUM at least for that week weren't really too different.  FH beat CHUM by two weeks with American Woman and Let it Be which were two huge songs in 1970.  Also Sly and the Family Stone was still top 3 on WABC but had already left the CHUM chart by this time after peaking at #1 in February. Sly isn't showing on the FH chart either, so I am assuming it was on earlier in the year.  Come and Get It were both big hits on CHUM and CKFH.

WABC had a rep for usually being the last major to add a hit. Being first was not as important as being on a song at the right time. Keep in mind, too, that some stations showed some tunes charting but weren't actually airing them.

 

December 22, 2020 4:22 pm  #18


Re: Tings and this and that

RadioActive wrote:

Also interesting - the Neil Diamond song, On CHUM, the hitbound at #28 is "Shilo." On FH, the hitbound at #30 is Diamond's "Until It's Time For You To Go." It's possible one was an A-side and one was a B-side or perhaps the record company was trying for a double-sided hit. Either way, CHUM guessed right - Shilo wound up being the far bigger tune. 

Until It's Time For You To Go was CanCon, right? Would that come into play? Law was not yet in effect.

Last edited by mike marshall (December 22, 2020 4:26 pm)

 

December 22, 2020 5:21 pm  #19


Re: Tings and this and that

mike marshall wrote:

paterson1 wrote:

That's pretty cool. CKFH and CHUM at least for that week weren't really too different.  FH beat CHUM by two weeks with American Woman and Let it Be which were two huge songs in 1970.  Also Sly and the Family Stone was still top 3 on WABC but had already left the CHUM chart by this time after peaking at #1 in February. Sly isn't showing on the FH chart either, so I am assuming it was on earlier in the year.  Come and Get It were both big hits on CHUM and CKFH.

WABC had a rep for usually being the last major to add a hit. Being first was not as important as being on a song at the right time. Keep in mind, too, that some stations showed some tunes charting but weren't actually airing them.

That's interesting Mike, didn't know that some stations wouldn't always play some songs that they were listing on their charts.  WABC really put the personality of the jocks over the music anyway, and I never really thought of them as a station where you would hear the latest songs or the "new stuff."

That's why I preferred CHUM in my youth since they usually made the music front and centre.  In the late 60's early 70's I was really into music,  all the hits and new songs.  Looking at the CKFH chart, makes me wish that I had listened to them more.  They were really on top of their music judging by the chart that RA put up.  Things must have got a bit crowded for them when CFTR went top 40 in 1972, CHUM FM was starting to gel with album rock and  CKOC would cut into their audience somewhat as well. 

Both CHUM and CKFH were playing cancon pre regulation, and not always the songs that would show up on Billboard.  CHUM even in the 50's and 60's played a sporadic amounts of cancon and had some big local songs that were only hits in the Toronto area and Southern Ontario. 

I remember once reading an editorial by CFRB's Gordon Sinclair scolding Canadian broadcasters that were not playing Canadian artists or giving any airplay to local pop music.  Gordon said it was a shame Canadian musical talent couldn't get airplay even in their own country.  The exception was in "French Canada" where broadcasters had always played local artists and groups.

And believe it or not, he did single out "CHUM Radio" as the only radio station that was regularly playing pop music by Canadian and local Toronto artists and groups.  I don't recall him saying anything about CFRB, but they weren't really playing much in the way of popular music in the mid 60's.  However Standard Broadcasting did have the Canadian Talent Library which was started as a non profit trust in 1962 to produce MOR recordings by Canadian artists.