Tom Lucas, CFUN 1410 Vancouver BC | March 23, 1977

From Bob Gilmore’s personal collection, here’s a great ‘check of Tom Lucas having a great time on MusicRadio C-FUN! The approach sounds like a combination of WCFL with KHJ imaging/jingles, if there could be such an animal. This is high energy at its best, and of course, for you youn’uns out there, this was on AM before it turned into a barren wasteland of senseless psychobabble.

Listen to the reverb… it’s cranked to the level of WABC around the same time period. The jingles are from TM (IIRC), and ‘The Luker (pronounced Luke – er) is a screamer.

C-FUN is giving away money – if they call out your license plate you’ve only got a few minutes to call the station and claim your prize! The production is well done, the station not over-processed except for the reverb, and the jingles are used infrequently… in all, a VERY well done radio station. This is what Top 40 was all about!

There is a great website that describes the early history of Top 40 CFUN, you can read it all at this link.

Gary Evong, CFDR “780 Kixx Country” Halifax, NS | August 4, 1998

Our first listen to radio in the Canadian Maritimes brings us to CFDR Halifax. Known as 780 Kixx Country, this is a fully staffed, full service station with all the programming elements that make up good radio. No jingles, but plenty of classic Country liners. A full news and sports report. As your webmaster recalls from listening to Canadian AM Country stations, the AC-ish approach was and maybe still is typical.

I know next to nothing about Halifax radio so perhaps one of our listeners can fill in the details.

Daniel Coloumbe, 900 CKTS Sherbrooke Que | February 9, 1985

The station no longer exists, but the Eastern Townships’ main English speaking music station was on AM through the end of the 1980s. At 900 Khz and a power of 10,000 watts, this station was heard as far south as St. Johnsbury, VT and all across most of Southern Quebec. It was a great Top 40 outlet for the limited Anglo audience, with personalities like morning man Ted Silver, and Daniel Coloumbe.

The music is true Top 40, with all the music on the charts represented… including a fair representation of Canadian-only hits, in accordance with CTRC regulations. Included here, two complete stopsets (commercial breaks), and CKTS jingles, used infrequently – and that makes them really good!

Notice the station’s slogan in 1985, “The Amazing AM”. This was used by many AM Stereo stations at the time, but Ted Silver says that while he wanted to take the station stereo, the owners wouldn’t go for it.

Daniel Coloumbe was the station’s weekend/swing personality. This is an original recording by contributor Bob Gilmore.

Rick Hammel and Kevin O’Brien, CJJD Hamilton ONT, Canada | 1972

Good radio knows no bounds, and our good neigbors to the north had an abundance of great radio stations with awesome talent.

Back in ‘72, one can really get a feel for how radio worked, and still works in Canada – hits you won’t remember (for U.S. listeners) because they were Canadian artists, of which the CTRC, Canada’s radio regulating body similar to the U.S. FCC, mandated a certain percentage of. It actually works well for Canadian groups who otherwise would never even get a shot on American radio or labels. I digress.

This recording sounds like someone simply put a mic in front of a radio speaker. Didn’t we all do that at one time or another before we knew any better??

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Rob Vie on CJAY 92 Calgary | February 1985

Fourth in our series of airchecks from the Calgary market features yet another rock station. This one, however, has had great success since it’s sign on, June 1, 1977. It exists today as an Active Rock station, recently having celebrated it’s 30th anniversary! How many stations can claim that?

Like the CKIK aircheck, this one is fairly laid back and also boasts a fair variety of music, but does lean a bit more into the hard rock side, which may explain it’s staying power. Still, like any great rock station… no jingles, no overblown production and promos (at least for it’s time – this WAS 1985!), just a capable jock and his rock.

Click HERE to visit CJAY 92.1’s Official Website

A look at Calgary’s Rock, “Kick 107″ (CKIK) | February, 1985

So you’re a rocker and you’re in Calgary for some reason… and much to your surprise there is a really GOOD rock station on FM. Kick 107, isn’t the name of a Country station, at least not here. Its a really good Rock station. Not all hard rock, mind you, but a station that reminds you of the good old AOR days of the 70s. While this is scoped, listen to the variety of music CKIK is playing here. The presentation is pretty laid back, no loud production elements, no screaming promos, just a relaxed jock playing album cuts and Calgary’s Best Rock.

Glen Slingerland on CFCN “All Hit AM 106″ Calgary | February 1985

Not one, but TWO CHR stations on the AM band in the same city? But this is 1985? Yes, but this is also Canada, where hit music is still heard on AM, and man is this good! AM 1060, believe it or not, still exists with a Classic Country format under the call letters CKMX, but back in the good old days this was a ‘Full Service’ AM top 40 station with all the elements you’d find on an old AM AC but with hit music and shotgun jingles.

This features a full news department, ski reports, weather and traffic. Wow, wouldn’t it be nice to hear a top 40 station like this today?

Gary James on CKXL Calgary | February 1985

While by 1985, most top 40 music in the United States had migrated to FM, with very few exceptions, in Canada, the format survived – even thrived in many markets on AM, thanks in part to the policies of the CTRC, Canada’s radio regulatory body, their version of the FCC. In Canada its not just stations that are licensed, but FORMATS that are licensed to stations for each community, a concept that people in America would find somewhat absurd, but it works north of the border.

With that explanation, enter the decade of the mid 80s, where AM CHR is the norm, and talent is plentiful in Canada. CKXL is an amazing station, and could hold its own with the likes of any of the major US stations given a comparison. I like Gary James, and the entire air staff. The whole presentation is tight, the station is NOT overly produced (they wisely assume that the audience knows when the news is going to air and don’t need an in-your-face production piece to announce it), and have ALL the elements you’d find on a major market station, INCLUDING Accuweather(TM).

All good things do, eventually, come to an end… and so did CKXL. But it took until 1996, when Canada finally pushed music to FM for the end to come. Strangely enough, to get off topic for just a second, when many of Canada’s stations migrated to FM, the AM stations simply ceased transmitting. So unlike the US, where there are so many stations rebroadcasting the same syndicated junk today… cluttering up an already horribly noisy band, virtually useless except for the few main News or Sports formatted stations in the nation’s largest cities, but I digress. Methinks Canada did it right. How many of you would agree?