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CKDO At 75: John Donabie, Brady In The Morning And The Move To 1580
I haven’t forgotten that this year marks the 75th anniversary of what is now CKDO Oshawa – the former CKLB & CKAR. So far, there are four hour-plus podcast specials reminiscing about the station, with more to come.
Some of them are quite incredible, including one with our own John Donabie recalling his very first job in radio and some of the things that happened when the mics were off. Another episode features a rare aircheck from Jim Brady, after he left 680 and 1430. I’d frankly forgotten he’d worked in Oshawa, but airchecks never lie! All are great blasts from the past and congratulations to Chris Koppin for putting together some fascinating special programming – with promises of more to come!
Episode 1 – includes interview with owner Doug Kirk, who talks about the crowded dial at 1350 AM, the problems that posed when the sun went down and the pattern change kicked in, how they wound up on 1580 and encounters with DXers.
Episode 2 – Starts with memories from the great John Donabie, who began his legendary radio career in Oshawa back in 1965 – and remembers the night he fell asleep on the air!
Episode 3 – What happened to Jim “Brady In The Morning” after CFTR and CJCL? He wound up on CKAR and you can hear that evidence via a vintage aircheck in part 3, that includes all his usual production elements, including the Weather Fairy. (And thanks to creator Chris Koppin for the nice shoutout to SOWNY.)
Episode 4 – The first half contains a vintage aircheck from Barry Sarazin, the former AM driver at CKLB. This podcast features a complete morning show from August 1966 and presents a very different style of radio that was more common back then. The second half is with Terry Johnston, the current morning man, who’s been with the station since 1992.
Congrats Chris! In an era when too many stations fail to keep their own history, you've found some great stuff! Can't wait to hear the rest!
- Koppin
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Re: CKDO At 75: John Donabie, Brady In The Morning And The Move To 1580
Thanks R.A. This has been such a great project to be involved in and to give these legends a chance to tell those stories is a privilege. Thanks for doing such a great job making these available to everyone. I hope everyone enjoys them.
We're working on the next set of podcasts where we will talk with David Lennick, a visit with Greg Schatzmann ( Greg McNeil on air) and we're just getting our ducks in a row for a talk with Eric Hollo. Details to follow on when we'll have them up for everybody.
Just a reminder that if you were a part of Oshawa radio, in any capacity, we'd love to chat with you. The Diamond Jubilee Podcast is going on thru the whole year so we've got lots of space for you to tell your tales! Just reach out to me at koppin@ckdo.ca
Last edited by Koppin (October 18, 2021 6:38 pm)
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Re: CKDO At 75: John Donabie, Brady In The Morning And The Move To 1580
Another great special has gone up online. It contains an aircheck from Kevin Nelson, the son of CHUM legend Jay Nelson, back when it was CKAR. He would later go on to a long career as morning man at Majic 100 in Ottawa. The episode also features the great David Lennick, who wound up at a number of stations, including CHFI.
You can hear it here.
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Thread Starter- the original hank
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Re: CKDO At 75: John Donabie, Brady In The Morning And The Move To 1580
i had a great time working there... especially getting back to my on-air roots when i became the pd and morning man. that opened up a lot of future memorable on-air doors (in toronto and nationally).
Last edited by the original hank (October 26, 2021 1:06 pm)