9 replies to this topic

[Bambam]

Bit of a sad story penned recently by well known ex-Victoria radio biz guy Barry Bowman (CFAX), and re-printed online on the "Puget Sound Radio" website, owned by Mike Easton an old ex-Victoria radio, ex-CHEK guy:

 

News from Victoria - Bye, Bye Broadcaster's Luncheon - Puget Sound Radio

 

These luncheons featured ex-Victoria TV, radio and print news personalities starting about the early-90's and now inevitably and unfortunately are winding up due to the passing of so many alumni, including my father (ex-CJVI, ex-CHEK, ex-Victoria Cablevision alum) in 2012, who attended them for over 20 years. Now with the bulk of these industry veterans gone the remaining ex-broadcasters have decided to call these get-togethers a day.

 

Those who have an interest in west coast/BC broadcasting in particular, and radio specifically, will find a veritable gold mine of "radio" news from all over the Pacific Northwest - Vancouver, Seattle, Victoria, Kelowna and into Alberta - on the excellent site RadioWest.ca Home Page.

 

RadioWest is a trove of interesting info and for those old enough you will easily recognize many personalites from the radio/TV stations above as well as all the great old AM stations like CKNW, CKLG, CFUN, CKNW, CJVI etc., when they were in their prime before the advent of the internet, not to mention corporate ownership concentration pirmarily in the East.

 

Many of the Vancouver jocks like Tom Jefferies (CFUN), Doc Harris (CKLG) - he just passed last month - both of whom were good friends of mine, write about their own experiences and laments as the same process has happended in Vancouver in recent years with the passing now of Doc, and previously of Red Robinson, Freddie Latremouille, Rick Honey etc etc. Its the story ultimately of an industry 'sunsetting' due to changing audience tastes in addition to new technologies and digital platforms (online, podcasting etc.,) which have combined to make 'traditional' radio and cable TV to an extent, virtually redudant to younger audiences.

Edited by Bambam, 09 November 2024 - 04:06 PM.

[Blair M.]

Before the advent of internet, and even Cablevision, these guys were all there was in terms all-day entertainment. 

 

Doc and Fred on CKLG, ("Doc" went by his real name, Gil Harris on CKDA here in Victoria - way back when) and CFUN, and then down to KJR, KZOK, and KISW in Seattle to listen to Charlie Brown, Gary Lockwood, Pat O'Day, Ichabod Caine, etc.

 

The Internet, streaming, Starlink and the like is great, and that connectivity is hard to let go of once you've experienced it, but I really do miss those days when it was just AM and FM radio in your car, at home, and off camping, and you got to know the DJ's well enough to consider them almost as friends, even though you'd never met them! (although I did meet Pat O'Day down in Roche Harbour on a July 4th in the distant past, and I must admit I was more than a bit starstruck while shaking his hand, listening to him every afternoon on KJR Seattle, AND his was the undisputed Voice of the Seafair Hydroplane Races, which I attended religiously each year with my dad).

[Matt R.]

Jon Williams waved at me on the street one day.

[Sparky]

^^ You had FM in your car?

[Blair M.]

^^ You had FM in your car?

Only later in life, after I got a job, had a bit of money, and then bought and installed an aftermarket Craig PowerPlay FM radio in my 1974 AMC Javelin.

Prior to that it was the box-stock AM radio only.

 

But even after the FM radio was installed, and when the stratosphere was "just right", I still listened regularly to "KJR Seattle, Channel 95" on the AM dial.

[LJ]

I used to listen to KGO out of SFO at nights on the way home from work. Had science guys for the most part.

[Sparky]

^ Science for the San Jose folks? Did KGO have a jingle?

The KJR ear worm jingle is still rattling around in there. Thanks for that Blair.

[Bambam]

KJR on AM for sure was huge here; in the early 70's tuning in Seattle FM stations for the first time was a revelation, with Steve Slayton and Ron Chavous being the jock darlings in that market.

 

While AM "top 40" or "easy listening" goo from that era was spooning up such indigestable schlock as "Afternoon Delight" by the Starlight Vocal Band or heavily promoting - ugh - acts like the Captain and Tennille, FM served up sumptuous material like "In the Court of the Crimson King" by King Crimson which made it utterly no contest. I didn't listen to AM again until university in the 80's and the height of 'talk radio', epitomized above all in this market by CKNW.

 

Sadly today FM, which once seemed so edgy to us, has slipped badly IMO with so many ads and committing the old AM 'sin' of playing the same songs from the same artists over and over and over again, that I'm actually considering re-activating my Sirius Radio subscription service.

[Sparky]

Give Spotify a chance. There is a free version but I pay for no ads. Lots of far out channels.

[LJ]

^ Science for the San Jose folks? Did KGO have a jingle?

The KJR ear worm jingle is still rattling around in there. Thanks for that Blair.

I used to listen to Bill Wattenburg...

 

https://en.wikipedia...Bill_Wattenburg