Bob Todd on “The Big 8” – RKO General’s monster Canadian radio station!
It’s been said that Bill Drake’s ‘More Music” format arrived at CKLW in 1966. Here’s the Big 8 in all it’s Drake goodness with the formatics intact.
Listen to this and imagine a Summer afternoon somewhere in Ontario or Michigan/Northern Indiana/Northwest Ohio… the signal does travel that far! There’s some thunderstorm activity somewhere in the region based upon the static crashes, and this is a daytime signal evident by the lack of fading. Well, this is how CKLW sounded like in it’s prime! This was a monster station, marketed to the U.S. side of the international border, at a time before Canadian Content rules dictated station current playlists.
This is a very clean, clear recording. We once again point out the care with which Contributor Frank Davis maintained his tape collection! We and history thank him greatly!
You can learn about the current incarnation of CKLW by clicking HERE.
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I was with Bill Drake at his home in the Hollywood Hills on the day of Bob Todd’s first broadcast on CKLW. Bill said, “Would you like to hear Bob?” What??? It was my first experience with a “listen line.” Bill dialed it up and we listened to Todd on what seemed to me at the time to be an elaborate setup for 15 minutes or so then the broadcast remained on in the background for the afternoon.
Precious radio memories!
Gary ! WOW…Incredible story ! You DO realize how AWESOME that is to hear about, right !!!!
Hello Steve:
It was a meeting Kent Burkhart arranged. I arrived at Bill’s place early, which gave me time with Bernie Torres and Bill Thompson (I think it was Bill). When it was announced that Drake was home all hell broke loose as they went through what appeared to me to be a regular routine, which finished with one of them greeting him at the front door with a drink. After a quick swim, we sat back and talked radio and listened to Todd’s first broadcast on CKLW.
Precious memories!
You’ve told me that before Gary and it never ceases to amaze me.
It was actually 1967 that Drake began consulting CKLW. I have a short aircheck of CKLW from 3/5/67, and they were still personality radio. I think Drake began about a week or two later.