Dave McCormick Passes

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Re: Dave McCormick Passes

Postby albertaboy4life » Thu Mar 30, 2017 12:47 pm

I always enjoyed Dave's Sunday night Classic Country show on JR-FM in the early part of this century. It was a nice substitute for a prairie kid, at the time living on Vancouver Island, used to listening to CFCW's Country Classics Show on Sunday mornings.
Faster cars, younger women, older cheese, more money . . .
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Re: Dave McCormick Passes

Postby jon » Thu Mar 30, 2017 3:36 pm

Lots of great material in Red Robinson's tribute:
http://redrobinson.com/rip-big-daddy-dave-mccormick/

Of special interest, "Good Guys":
He knew what the kids wanted and delivered with great deejays and music. Dave hired Frosty Forst, Jerry Landa, Brian Lord, Andy Laughland and Al Jordan and called them The Good Guys. He was the first in North America to use this phrase.
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Re: Dave McCormick Passes

Postby theallniter » Fri Mar 31, 2017 7:22 pm

A couple of years ago I had a photo taken with two of my favourite living Dj's - Red and Big Daddy Dave. At the time I was close to three hundred and fifty-seven pounds.
Everytime I looked at the photo lately I could only think of how cool it'd be to be able to show people a brand new photo of me and Red and Dave - with me not looking so overweight. I had planned to have that photo taken the next time the three of us were together.
I never had that new photo taken but I've got the original photo of myself with the tall, very kind, genuine, rooted man who I always so looked forward to talking and kibbitzing with. In the photo, which I will frame tomorrow, I've got my right arm around Dave and my left arm around Red whose kind words in 2009 put me in line to be voted into the B.C. Entertainment Hall of Fame. I'm gonna look at the photo from now on with pride and not see the almost one hundred and forty extra pounds I'm carrying. I'll show that "old" photo of me and my two boyhood radio role models with self-admiration because it will reveal my pride in being a pal and admirer of one of the originals - "Big Daddy" Dave McCormick! - like I'm honoured to be friends with Red.
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Re: Dave McCormick Passes

Postby CubbyCam » Fri Mar 31, 2017 7:54 pm

A wonderful, well thought out tribute Bill... I was thrilled to see you with Red in the flurry of pics this week. So glad you're healthier... and looking great. Would have loved to have been over on the mainland for Red's birthday celebration and say hello again to you at the same time. Didn't get that many chances to work with you over the years, but loved every minute when I did. Thanks for sharing your story...

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Re: Dave McCormick Passes

Postby theallniter » Fri Mar 31, 2017 9:58 pm

Cam
Thank you. Kind words seem to come easier as we get older. Yours were always there.
We've got a heck of a fraternity, don't we. Another fact that seems to loom larger in the mind as time goes by.
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Re: Dave McCormick Passes

Postby cart_machine » Sat Apr 01, 2017 10:19 am

How nice it is to read these tributes to the Big Daddy. He was never a self-promoter but accomplished so much in radio.

I read news on Dave's afternoon show until he was shunted off to other duties at JR. We'd sit and talk about programming, and he was still full of common-sense and feasible ideas on how to improve music radio. What a great stroke of fortune to have been able to work with someone of his calibre, someone you could look up to.

Few others, I suspect, had the depth of knowledge about artists, releases and labels as the Big Daddy. Dave never was, and likely never could be, a liner-card jock, which is what the industry demanded in most day-parts back then.

I wonder how he'd deal with no smoking inside radio stations these days.

If you haven't listened to his interview with Mike Cleaver, seek it out. Or listen to it again if you have.

cArtie.
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Re: Dave McCormick Passes

Postby jon » Sat Apr 01, 2017 11:25 am

cart_machine wrote:Dave never was, and likely never could be, a liner-card jock, which is what the industry demanded in most day-parts back then.

Oddly enough, Dave was part of the creative team that came together in Fresno and begat the (so-called Drake) format that lead to liner-card jocks.

The best DJs -- think Robert W. Morgan and The Real Don Steele -- at the Drake-managed stations were like Dave: creative without breaking the format's concept, even if it meant pushing the envelope and breaking a few of the written rules. With emphasis on the word "creative", meaning they did not need the liner cards and, when supplied, worked with them, rather than following them.

If you read Ron Jacobs' book on KHJ, it seems clear that none of his DJs had every word scripted for them.
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Re: Dave McCormick Passes

Postby Gene » Mon Apr 03, 2017 7:18 pm

Hello All
This is Dave McCormick's son Gene. I wanted to thank you all for the comments about my father and the well wishes for our family. Not sure exactly how to navigate through this forum but I wanted to say something. We are planning a celebration of life for my father in the near future. We are looking into a location and date for it. If anyone is interested in attending could you please send me your name and contact info to gmcc1@eastlink.ca. We will contact those interested with updated information.
Thank you
Sincerely
Gene McCormick
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Re: Dave McCormick Passes

Postby radiofan » Fri Apr 07, 2017 9:20 pm

McCORMICK, Dave

Image

Born in MacGregor, Manitoba on June 6, 1936, Dave passed away in Vancouver on
March 29, 2017. Big Daddy was a legendary veteran broadcaster in Vancouver. He
leaves to mourn his partner and loving companion, Lynda Cumming; daughter, Joanne
(Neil); sons, Gene (Tanya) and Ryan (Naomi); sister, Sharon King, niece, Peggy
Homan (Robb); nephew, Jordan; and grandchildren, Taylor, Cameron and Oscar.
Predeceased by his parents, Ron and Peg, along with his son, Austin. Dave’s love for
music was surmounted only by his love for family.

Dave’s radio career began on his 14th birthday at CHML in Hamilton, Ontario, where he
developed a deep appreciation for and knowledge of music as a gopher for the on-air
guys. He would memorize all the names and even the back-up musicians noted on the
LP covers. By the time he and his family moved to Vancouver, his love and enthusiasm
for radio was well entrenched. After attending North Van High and UBC, where of
course, he joined the Radio Club Radsoc, he was hired by C-FUN Radio as the all-night
record man back when they didn’t play rock and roll. In 1959, Dave turned that around,
and along with friends Brian Lord, Brian Forst, and Al Jordan, transitioned that station
into Vancouver's first full-time Top 40 Rock operation. They were the “swinging men
at 1410”, and later the “C-FUN Good Guys”. It turned into a fun radio station. “We
taught the city how to rock” he would say. Dave and the others drew 100,000
members into the station’s Coca-Cola Hi-Fi Fan Club. It was during his five years at
C-FUN that Dave acquired the nickname Big Daddy.

He met and married his first wife Darline Kennedy in Vancouver in 1961. An opportunity
of a lifetime brought him and his bride south to California the next year to work in Top
40 Radio. Over the next ten years, he was an on-air announcer and Program/Music
Director at KMAK and KYNO (Fresno), KOL (Seattle), and KMEN (San Bernardino). The
family grew during this period with the births of Joanne and Gene.
In 1972, Dave and his family moved back to Vancouver, and over the next 14 years, he
worked at CKNW in the early evening time slot. His creativity knew no bounds. Dave
developed, crafted and hosted “Discumentary”, an award-winning daily one-hour
music history anthology of rock and roll, which was later syndicated across North
America and Australia. One of the many writers who contributed to this exercise, was
Sandy Kass, whom Dave married in 1981. They had two sons, Ryan and Austin.

In 1986, Dave rekindled his love affair with country music when he was the first to be
hired by the brand new JR Country (CJJR) station. He was a one-man band, interviewing
all the major country acts of the day for “Countrymentary” and writing and editing all the
material. His intelligent, well-researched and good-natured interview style earned him
accolades from everyone he met. He was able to obtain interviews with hundreds of
music celebrities locally and in Nashville. Many of these interviews turned into long-time
friendships. At Christmas, there would be cards from Garth Brooks, Reba McIntyre and
the Judds, among many others. He was named BC Broadcaster of the Year, BC Country
Music Association On Air Personality of the Year (four times), Inductee to the BC
Country Music Association Hall of Fame, andBCEntertainment Hall of Fame (Star Walk).
He developed an amazing reputation and an infinite expertise, yet he remained humble
and was widely regarded as one of the ‘nice guys’ in radio.

In 1996, Dave was promoted “down the hall” to host mid-days on sister station AM600,
working until Pattison Co. turned the frequency in for an FM license (2008) and Dave
lost his job. Out of work for less than two weeks, Dave was hired as a music consultant
and on-air broadcaster in the coveted 10-2 slot weekdays at AM650 (C-ISL), where he
turned their moldy-oldies into a more contemporary listening milieu. As a sideline,
Dave hosted several cruises and vacations with avid fans. It was on one such hosted
trip to Cuba that he met his love, Lynda. Together they had numerous worldwide travel
adventures, and developed a regular series of travel tips for C-ISL called Travel Curios.

The family extends its sincere appreciation to everyone at Youville Residence, where
Dave spent his last years in peace and comfort, and particularly to his loving
companions, Tintu and Jaya.

Dave didn’t know the meaning of retirement; music was his hobby, his passion and his life.
There was never a time that music didn’t play a role in his households. May your turntable
never run empty and your speakers always be cranked. You will be deeply missed.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer Society of Canada. A
celebration of life will be held in the near future.

Dave's obituary will appear in the April 8,2017 edition of The Vancouver Sun.
Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who couldn't hear the music.
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Re: Dave McCormick Passes

Postby Firedog » Fri Apr 07, 2017 10:10 pm

Last Sunday I was laying by a pool in Las Vegas, the sky was clear, the temperature was in the 80's and the music being piped through the pool speakers was early 1960's rock and roll.

I checked my emails and was saddened to see the posting on RadioWest that Dave McCormick had passed away. I had briefly met Dave in 1961 and again at a few of the RadioWest GTG's.

Flash back 55 years or so and I would be sitting by Kits pool on a clear sunny day listening to every transistor radio on the beach tuned to the same radio station...C-FUN.

Dave, along with Frosty, Brian, Jerry and Al were the driving force that took C-FUN to the top.

Thanks Dave for all the memories.
We are running in, when everybody else is running out.
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