Buddy Clyde, Capilano Stadium and more: Site Update

[VancouverTopFortyRadio]

This is another site update for Vancouver Top Forty Radio.

Over a year ago I began working on a complete revamp of the CKWX section of my site. I began the project by first reformatting the 1961 and 62 surveys, now both complete for over a year.

Now, as well, the years 1958, 1959 and 1960 are completely redone. In addition to the reformatted charts, new audio and memorabilia have been added, to be found on the Index page for each year as follows:

1958
1. Five more surveys added. These are Top Twenty charts for July and August and were among the station's very earliest surveys, preceding the Sensational Sixty charts that followed soon after. The originals of these were typed out on CKWX stationery, mimeographed and were distributed to the public. Thanks to Alex Galbraith for providing the photocopies of these and to Red Robinson for providing valuable information about them.
2. One partial survey has been added for the week of Sept. 1. This is a reconstruction using the Last Week column on the Sept. 8 survey.
3. New audio clips have also been added, among them one of Buddy Holly plugging Red's Teen Canteen.

1959
1. Two partial surveys added for the missing weeks of February 9 and March 2.
2. One new jingle added, courtesy of the Jamie Anstey collection. Long-time WX listeners may recognize this once-familiar "Top Personalities, Best In the West" jingle.
3. Also not to be missed is another of Bruce Stewart's classic paintings, this one a fabulous Vancouver scene of Capilano Stadium from a 1959 Corvette parked on Little Mountain. In my opinion this is one of Bruce's best. Click on the picture for a larger image along with a description and explanation by me as to how the subject matter of this scene (baseball?) can possibly be connected with "Top Forty" radio.

And for those of you who just aren't into Top 40 Radio, you can view Bruce's painting directly by clicking here.

1960
1. Remember Buddy Clyde? Well, the index page now contains a brief tribute to the popular DJ, who arrived in Vancouver in April of that year. You'll also hear audio clips by three well-known artists plugging Buddy's program. A link will take you to more Buddy Clyde memorabilia which includes a letter Buddy typed on WX stationery to his friend Jim Reeves, describing his stay at CKWX.
2. Four jingles have been added to the 1960 index page, courtesy of the Radio West collection.
3. An 8-minute audio piece containing what could best be called "generic" promos, all by a variety of different artists. Courtesy of the Jamie Anstey collection.
4. Also added to this page is Bruce Stewart's digital image of a 1960 Olds against a nighttime backdrop of the Vancouver Skyline. This image was moved here from another part of my site. Click on the image for a larger panoramic view.

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If anyone out there has any information that could lead to the two missing surveys from 1959 along with ones from the late summer of 1958, I'd love to hear from you.

Coming projects:
-I'm still not finished with CKWX. Some of you may have noticed the dead link to 1957 that's been there on the Year Index page for some time. I do have plans for this, a transitional year for the station. It will include a number of unpublished, pre-Top 40 charts put out by the station, along with Red Robinson's Teen Canteen charts (or the portions that have survived.)

-And I haven't forgotten CKLG. More of that to come too.

In the meantime, enjoy the rest of the summer.

Jim
Vancouver Top Forty Radio.

[Jack Bennest]

Keep up the good work Jim - you have more energy than me.

Hopefully we will get together in October.

[cart_machine]

Click on the picture for a larger image along with a description and explanation by me as to how the subject matter of this scene (baseball?) can possibly be connected with "Top Forty" radio.

I haven't clicked on the picture yet, but this should be readily apparent to anyone familiar with the station's broadcast of the Vancouver Mounties games.

Baseball pre-empts regular programming six months of the year; which means no music at night .. except maybe in a rain delay.

cArtie.

[VancouverTopFortyRadio]

Baseball pre-empts regular programming six months of the year; which means no music at night .. except maybe in a rain delay.

cArtie.

Agreed. But the baseball game usually ended around 10pm to 10:30, at which time the music resumed. As I alluded to in the picture's caption, this was frustrating for some DJs who night after night had their program time truncated. Some of the 1960 charts listed Norm Grohman's time slot as "After Baseball - Midnite." Red had the same problem in 57 and 58, and again in 1961. He hated it.

When I put forth the question as to how the scene could possibly be connected with Top 40 Radio, I was being somewhat tongue-in-cheek. The reality is, arguably, that Baseball and Top 40 were perhaps two incompatible formats to have on the same station. The tenuous link I created between the two was solely to give me the excuse I needed to use the scene on my site. In any Vancouver scene where there's a car, there's usually a radio, where one might be listening to baseball, or rock and roll, classical, easy listening or other. (Well, I did say "tenuous".)

Hopefully the caption I wrote below the picture clarifies that. Overall I was having a bit of fun with the whole thing.