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That's an amazing find Dale. Especially that pic of John Donabie in 1969!
And then there's the copy: "roly poly?" Really?
JOHN DONABIE
Oshawa's roly poly Donabie was almost overlooked in the radio profession and if it hadn't been for a bit of luck, he might very well still be a part of that great unknown market that harbours so much talent.
As luck had it Donabie was discovered by Tom Williams, who had bought the 1 to 6:30 AM time package from CKFH and was looking for the right personality to zero in on the growing rhythm and blues market. Donabie was excellent for the job. He realized that this was his big opportunity to break into the big time. He became almost a walking encyclopedia of soul sounds.
His popularity grew, not only in Toronto but, throughout the important R&B markets in North America. In a few short months Donabie's all night show became a powerhouse. In view of his popularity on the night show, this native of Midland, Ont. was shifted to the early afternoon time slot (1 to 4 PM) where he has gained a remarkably sound foothold.
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We were living in Port Perry in 1967 - 1968 and listened to John Donabie who was on CKLB in the evening with a hit music show. He had a feature called "80 of soul" which was an 80 minute segment of r & b.
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What a great article. I remember a lot of those guys. It was around that time, and mainly because of CKFH that my days of listening to CHUM were drawing to a close. One of my fondest memories of FH was one afternoon Don Daynard played Driving Wheel by Tom Rush and talked about how much he liked Rush and his music. For sure that had to be the only AM station in Toronto that played him. Anyway, that weekend I went down to Sam's and picked up Rush's album and I've been a huge fan of his ever since.
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Thank you RadioActive. I was not heavy at all during this period. Just look at the picture. Not sure who came up with that copy. Oh well, it was over 50 years ago.