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May 27, 2021 2:45 pm  #2


Re: Tom Shannon, a top jock at the “Big 8” CKLW, dies at 82

Such sad news. Of course, as the obit notes, he started out at WKBW in Buffalo, becoming a rock jock instead of a school teacher. (Likely a good move!)

The video that accompanies the newspaper piece was put together by radio's best friend, historian Art Vuolo. It's terrific and worth the 10 minutes of your time. Thanks for posting this, Windsor Watcher.

 

May 27, 2021 2:54 pm  #3


Re: Tom Shannon, a top jock at the “Big 8” CKLW, dies at 82

Ah, yes. Tommy Shannon, a big part of my youth. Back when WKBW was a rock n' roll powerhouse.







 

 

May 27, 2021 3:27 pm  #4


Re: Tom Shannon, a top jock at the “Big 8” CKLW, dies at 82

The Buffalo News obit highlights his time at KB.

Tommy Shannon, legendary Buffalo broadcaster, dies at 82

The paper also contains links to some previous stories, including this 2001 feature article about his return to Buffalo radio. A great read, even though the byline is a bit odd. 

And they also link to another classic tale about Buffalo radio's historic past. It was published a year ago this week.

Generations of teens have loved Buffalo’s evening DJs

By the way, Tom Shannon had his own Facebook page. It's not terribly extensive and the last entry was November of 2020. But boy, some of the pics of the former Buffalo jocks are pretty terrific. 

Tom Shannon's Facebook page

 

May 27, 2021 10:58 pm  #5


Re: Tom Shannon, a top jock at the “Big 8” CKLW, dies at 82

This was sad and shocking news. Many probably thought Tom would be around forever.

He was one of those people able to mentor by example.

Tom was a Broadcaster. A look at his career shows he was able to adjust at anything he took on. For instance, when Paul Drew became PD at CKLW, Tom had to forego some of his on-air freedoms as the format tightened up considerably. No problem for Tom. He was able to continue sounding like a nice guy who enjoyed what he was doing...a guy you'd like to know. It was real and so many enjoyed his company.

 

May 27, 2021 11:52 pm  #6


Re: Tom Shannon, a top jock at the “Big 8” CKLW, dies at 82

WIVB did a report on Shannon's passing, which you can watch here:

Buffalo broadcasting legend Tom Shannon dies

 

May 28, 2021 7:31 am  #7


Re: Tom Shannon, a top jock at the “Big 8” CKLW, dies at 82

I met Tom Shannon once. He was a wonderful guy and we had a nice conversation. He had a very special way of communicating with his listeners like he was talking to you and you alone.

Here's a scoped aircheck of the final hour of his final show on WHTT-FM from March 31, 2005 (The Robert F. Skerzewski Collection).

http://rockradioscrapbook.ca/whtt-shannon-mar31-05-s.mp3


"Life without echo is really no life at all." - Dan Ingram
 

May 28, 2021 8:43 am  #8


Re: Tom Shannon, a top jock at the “Big 8” CKLW, dies at 82

Tom Shannon was my first American DJ hero.  I listened every day when he was o KB radio.  In 2020, we became Facebook friends.  I told him what he meant to me growing up.  I am deeply shocked and saddened this morning reading this news. I believe he was living in Salinas, California. The home of John Steinbeck.  I'll be sure to play some Rockin' Rebels this morning.

 

May 28, 2021 9:11 am  #9


Re: Tom Shannon, a top jock at the “Big 8” CKLW, dies at 82

To steal a line from Sherman Potter in Mash...Not enough O's in smooth....to describe Tom Shannon's voice. Grew up listening to him on CKLW  during the " Big 8" years. Raising a glass to a radio career and a life well lived .R.I.P. 

 

May 28, 2021 9:22 am  #10


Re: Tom Shannon, a top jock at the “Big 8” CKLW, dies at 82

What's really amazing is that he seems to have been a genuinely nice guy. It's very rare in my experience that someone in radio draws nothing but compliments. It can be a back-biting industry at times, with lots of gossip and snide behind-the-back comments coming about someone successful. 

As far as I can tell, no one has ever had anything bad to say about Tom Shannon. That's very unusual and it's a tribute to not only his talent but his temperament. In a business that can be very volatile, that's a pretty great legacy. 

 

May 28, 2021 10:16 am  #11


Re: Tom Shannon, a top jock at the “Big 8” CKLW, dies at 82

On his facebook page, there is a photo of him with possibly an old girlfriend in front of the 980 WXRA studios. Any idea where this station was located? Today, those calls belong to an FM station in Inglis, Fla.

 

May 28, 2021 10:23 am  #12


Re: Tom Shannon, a top jock at the “Big 8” CKLW, dies at 82

WXRA were the old call letters for what is now WUFO at 1080 on the dial in Buffalo. (It was actually licenced to Kenmore.)

You can read all about what happened to it here

 

May 28, 2021 11:13 am  #13


Re: Tom Shannon, a top jock at the “Big 8” CKLW, dies at 82

I'm just reading RA talking about WUFO.  WUFO was a black Soul/R&B station; when I listened to it in the mid 60s.  It was sometimes hard to get; because it was so close to 1050 CHUM on the dial.  They were playing the great Soul/R&B hits of the day; when I listened to it. Great jocks.  Wonderful memories.

Last edited by John D (May 28, 2021 11:14 am)

 

May 28, 2021 2:17 pm  #14


Re: Tom Shannon, a top jock at the “Big 8” CKLW, dies at 82

Hat's off to a man that had a great life and great radio career.  For me announcers like Tom Shannon, Bill Gable, John Mahjor, Roger Ashby, Jim Brady, Charlie O'Brian and others were by far the best.  Announcers that were easy to listen to, always consistent, with  some humour, people you could relate to.  I never liked the so called "entertainers" like Don Imus, Dan Ingram, and other shock jocks that were big on long bits on air, personal opinions, and lots of talk about themselves.  For me I found this rarely entertaining, overdone and I could only listen to this type of radio in short bursts before I would get bored and flip to another station.  Tom sounds like he was a real good guy that friends and listeners genuinely liked and respected in both his professional and personal life.  And that's about all that needs to be said.

Last edited by paterson1 (May 28, 2021 2:49 pm)

 

May 28, 2021 10:01 pm  #15


Re: Tom Shannon, a top jock at the “Big 8” CKLW, dies at 82

One guy I really liked was Joe Donovan, who did the all-night "Rock N Roll Revival, on WHAS from 1977 to 1997. Any fellow "Nighthawks" here?

From RRS:



He played requests - answering his own phones - even mailing cassette copies of songs to listeners. He did contests, played mostly vinyl, chose his own music, and broadcast live every weeknight from midnight-5 a.m. His playlist consisted of over 18,000 songs and a whole hour of his show was devoted every night to the rarest of the rare. He played virtually EVERYTHING that charted from the '50s through the '80s.

We're talking about Joe Donovan, who from 1977 to 1997 broadcast his iconic Rock & Roll Revival on the all-night show on WHAS Louisville. Thanks to the powerful 50,000-watt, clear channel WHAS signal, Donovan's show was heard in 38 states and four provinces. It was a sad day for many Donovan's fellow Nighthawks when he did his final WHAS show on August 27, 1997 and his show was replaced by talk.Nighthawks will remember the Odd and Obscure Hour at 3 a.m., 60 minutes of songs from the deepest parts of his musical archive. There was also Name It And Claim It, with a prize to the listener who could match the artist's name to a snippet of a song. But perhaps best of all was Donovan's friendly, gentle on-air personality - perfect for the all-night time slot (he also did Saturday Night Revival and Friday Night Revival Shows with much the same approach). He played the entire Cruisin' series and on occasion, airchecks.

This aircheck of Joe Donovan's all-night show is DXed - which is the way we remember hearing it - so the signal fades in and out a bit. But shouldn't be a problem if you enjoy great personality radio that isn't afraid to be different. It's recorded the week before Donovan's show left WHAS after 20 years of the "Rock 'N' Roll Revival."

http://rockradioscrapbook.ca/whas-donovan-aug21-97.mp3


 

Last edited by Dale Patterson (May 28, 2021 10:02 pm)


"Life without echo is really no life at all." - Dan Ingram