Hard to pick just one.  There were SO MANY in my bag o' tricks.  T'was all part of my learning process which is now generally completely spoken for by computers loaded with 'boner-free' V.T's.  Today's "boners" will be pretty much made in prime time.

It'll be much more 'gooder' that way.

Last edited by Old Codger (June 19, 2016 9:36 pm)

So so so many...   Running the overnight voice tracks at CKFM in the early 80's, used to cut up the tape and 'save' song titles so that I could create my own music and backsells of stuff I liked.    (lots of little pieces of 1/4" tape with a bit of masking tape or marker on the back of the tape identifying the song..  scary to think of it now.)   Anyway, it got to the point where logs went out the window, and I was playing requests and having a ball.  Got a call from the gateway postal plant asking for 'steamroller' by James Taylor.  The album was in Master and there were no stickers over the cut, so why not.

When it started, I figured it was a bit rough, but not that bad, and It was all going well till the last line..

"I just don’t seem to can’t lose these here low down, no way up, half flying,
freeze drying, fat frying, chicken choking, mother fucking can’t, oh, roll on over,
I got those steamroller blues."

And segued beautifully off the back into a 99.9..  ckfm jingle..  

I thought for sure my radio career was done.  The world had ended and it was the biggest screwup that I could have made.   Daynard came in around 4am or so and asked 'why the long face', I told him expecting him to be shocked..  keep in mind, I'm assuming my life is over.  He and Ken Day laughed like it was the funniest thing they'd heard in ages.  Looking back now, I would laugh too.

But not that morning .


 

If I had a nickel for all of them, I'd be rich and retired.

When I started in 1976, I was doing weekend afternoon sportscasts at CKWW, Windsor as well as anchoring Monday newscasts and general reporting two days a week.
At the Kentucky Derby, a horse named Elocutionist came in third.  What would happen, I wondered, if he won the Preakness in two weeks time.  How would I handle the pronunciation? 
So I practiced.  I said the word out loud for 14 days straight.  Sure enough, he wins the Preakness, and I'm all over it like a pro.  I even mentioned Elocutionist on a Sunday sportscast, just to show the world how marvelous and wonderful I was.
Monday.  Newscasting.  Some poor soul dead of "electrocution."  Need I say more?  After about four unsuccessful attempts, I moved on to another story.  To this day, I have trouble with the word.  A lesson learned in humility and preparation.

Oh, and I never could say "Lloyd Moseby" for seven years at CKEY sports without botching that one, too!
 

Back around 1982, I think, I still very green but I got to do the News Year's Eve shift at CJOY in Guelph.  I was still mostly doing weekend overnights so this was like hitting the big time for me.

I threw the next 45 on the turntable and cued it up.  That part of it had already become automatic.  I didn't even look at the record while I was cueing it.

Can anyone guess what happens next?

The song started up, all was well until I saw "DO NOT PLAY" on the label.  There was even making tape across most of the groove area area.  Oh no.

I just grabbed the next commercial on the pile, slammed the pot down on that record and slammed right into the spot.  Cued up the proper side and it ran after the spot finished.

Thank goodness nobody was listening.  I mean come on, aside from perhaps some residents of the Homewood Sanitarium, who the hell is going to listen to AM radio on a new-years eve?  Nothing was ever said of it.

I don't remember what was on the proper side but the song I started playing was "What's The Furor About The Führer?" by Rough Trade.




 

Last edited by Peter the K (June 21, 2016 10:37 pm)