Isaac Shane, 900 CKTS Sherbrooke, Quebec | 1978

Curator’s Notes:

While the audio on this is low fidelity (just imagine listening on an old AM radio and you’ll get past it), the talent featured here is extraordinary!  Isaac Shane was on CKTS for many years.  Here, he’s holding down the Afternoon Drive for regular Ted Silver (now programming Jewel 92.5 Clarence-Rockland, Ontario, Canada).  Silver and Daniel Coulombe along with a dozen others, were big stars on this unbelievably hot, uptempo Top 40 station in the 1970s.

There is a sad story of demise of this station.  The full story is on Wikipedia, but in summary, the audience changed from mainly English-speaking to Francophone over a number of years from the time of this aircheck through about 1985.

The station’s owner (Corus) decided the maintenance costs of running a 10,000 watt English speaking AM station in the heart of French speaking Quebec was too much and they turned the license in to the CTRC (Canada’s version of the U.S. FCC) in 2006.  But back in 1978–  different story. Hot station, great music and the best personalities in the Eastern Townships!

The photo at left.. That’s the machine this tape was played on.  Yes.. it needs work, and perhaps with a new set of play heads, capstans and a bit of soldering inside to ground that external speaker plug that causes a ton of 60 hz hum, I could get tapes to sound better.  But we have at least SOMETHING to digitize these recordings.  IF you wish to help in obtaining a newer, professional reel to reel machine in this shack, please SUBSCRIBE via the link above, under the player.  You’ll be helping to preserve the radio stations you love to remember!

• Steve West!

You may also enjoy these selections from the Airchexx Archives

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

Joe Leone Demo, CKIS “Oldies 990” Montreal | 1992