Loosely scoped and running about 30 minutes in length, here’s a trip back to 1972 with Jack Anthony on CKLW! Note, of course, the Johnny Mann singers Jingles and Drake formatics! The Drake sound stayed at CKLW for a long time, even longer than at KHJ.
You’re listening to Jack Anthony on CKLW – Motor City Rock! One of the great all time Top of the hour announcements. Nothing fake about the voice of Bill Drake himself! Thanks again to contributor Paul Ford for this golden great!
As a teen in the early 70s, I can say that there was NOTHING like CKLW on the radio in Detroit.
That’s why they were #1.
Correction-that is NOT the voice of Bill Drake at the top of the hour. The station ended their affiliation with RKO (and Drake/Chenault) at least a year before this aircheck was recorded-though I last recall hearing Drake’s voice on CKLW in ’70.
Bill Drake’s imaging voice disappeared from the Big 8 in mid-1970 when ownership of the station was transferred from an RKO subsidiary to a Canadian company, Baton Broadcasting, and the Drake-Chenault consulting relationship with CKLW was then terminated.
The voice in the top-of-the-hour jock intro heard in this aircheck sounds like Hal Martin (Michael Spears), who was at the Big 8 in ’72, although that’s just a guess.
I remember listening to the Big 8 CKLW when I was a kid. It came in clear as a bell in Harrisburg, PA. What great memories. Thanks.
Mark Dailey, with CK’s news department, was the voice of the Big 8’s top of the hour from 1971 to 1977, when he went to Toronto. Mark died in December 2010, he was working for City-TV. Mr. Dailey was 57.
Also, Drake stations never ran reverb. Am I not hearing it running through every break? Still, The Big 8 was a great station when heard it, ’68-’70. (And I sure enjoyed the aircheck!)
You are absolutely right about that. I’ve no idea why there’s reverb on this tape, perhaps it was the way it was recorded somehow. CKLW never ran reverb, even after they dropped the Drake affiliation, HOWEVER, I recall going through the Detroit area once in the 1990s during the CKLW-FM Oldies era and I could swear that they DID run reverb. Will have to look into this more closely.
Love The Big 8…my Soul & Inspiration, along with The Big 68/WRKO