Favourite 3 Stations of All Time

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Favourite 3 Stations of All Time

Postby jon » Mon Apr 12, 2010 1:30 pm

On the Toronto area board, SOWNY.ca, Lee Marshall started a new topic by presenting "the ALL TIME best 3 stations that I listened to...stations which entertained and inspired." and then asked posters to provide their list, and the reasons.

On short notice, I decided to stick to one. Here is what I had to say:
There were others, before and after, but I'll single out One that stands out: WBZ-1030 in Boston. Back in the days when they were the only station on the frequency at night in Canada, U.S. or Mexico.

Despite the fact that I lived in a suburb of Vancouver, I began listening in December 1964, hearing "The Name Game" by Shirley Ellis a full month before it was played in Vancouver.

DX conditions were great that winter, so I spent nearly every evening listening to WBZ as I did my homework for junior high school.

I cannot speak for the daylight hours, but the evenings were fabulous listening then. And I had hundreds of Top 40 stations to choose from (though CHUM, WKBW and KOMA weren't listenable in Vancouver) but WBZ was tops in my books. Great DJs, reasonable spot load, good formatics, but mostly for me, a music fanatic, the newest songs first.

Hard to believe it now, but in those years, you could turn on a mediocre full size portable transistor radio and have decent quality reception of a station on the opposite Coast after dark during the winter. I really miss that.

What were yours?
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Re: Favourite 3 Stations of All Time

Postby Dan Sys » Mon Apr 12, 2010 1:57 pm

WBZ is high on my list too, but I couldn’t seem to get them as clean and consistent as you guys in Burnaby did. KDKA 1020 in Pittsburgh was another favourite of mine with a so-so signal. However, because WLS 890 in Chicago was nice and clean almost every night I spent a lot of time listening to them.

Closer to home we had a huge variety of legendary Top 40 stations to choose from (KJR, KOL, KISN, KIMA, KASH, KRED, KFRC, KYA, KDON, etc.) but the two in the West that will always stand out with me are KGON (later KYMN) 1520 in Oregon City-Portland and KGA 1510 Spokane when they briefly flirted with Top 40 in 1968. I remember a DJ on KGA called Shane who I thought was the greatest talent on the planet at that time.
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Re: Favourite 3 Stations of All Time

Postby Jack Bennest » Mon Apr 12, 2010 2:03 pm

Dan Sys wrote: I remember a DJ on KGA called Shane who I thought was the greatest talent on the planet at that time.



Most of us did Dan - it was like he was walking on water
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Re: Favourite 3 Stations of All Time

Postby albertaboy4life » Mon Apr 12, 2010 2:23 pm

1. 630 CHED (prior to 1993, although I still listen to it from time to time)

- in my best Simpsons' "Comic Book Guy" voice - Best Station Ever!

2. 14 C-FUN (prior to 1984's move to "Lite Rock, Less Talk)

3. 93 Zoo FM, KZZU Spokane (from its launch in 1984 (post-KREM fm days) to about 1990)
Faster cars, younger women, older cheese, more money . . .
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Re: Favourite 3 Stations of All Time

Postby Neumann Sennheiser » Mon Apr 12, 2010 2:26 pm

In the following order:

WLS (any jock, anytime of day or night...but Lujack or Landecker?...wow!).

CKVN (from 12AM til I fell asleep with the radio on, listening to Capt. Midnight).

CKXL/CHED (the interchangeable Alberta two-some from Moffat with features like Chickenman and talent like Gord Robson and Rob Christy shuffling back and forth between the two).
"You don't know man! I was in radio man! I've seen things you wouldn't believe!"
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Re: Favourite 3 Stations of All Time

Postby hagopian » Mon Apr 12, 2010 2:42 pm

WLS - Landecker - and tied with his years on WIBG

KHJ "Boss Angeles"

CKVN - JB Shayne tied with his days at CKLG.

*The #22 is the Ham and Pineapple at Olympia Pizza. *Remember the mini soap operas...? Incredible.

Hon Mention: Darryl B - CFUN 1974-1988.
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Re: Favourite 3 Stations of All Time

Postby jon » Mon Apr 12, 2010 2:48 pm

Neumann Sennheiser wrote:CKVN (from 12AM til I fell asleep with the radio on, listening to Capt. Midnight).

Iron Buffalo (Don Francks) was also a great listen overnights on weekends, when he would drive down from his home on a Reserve near Chilliwack.


And, yes, WLS was always a great listen from the moment they went Top 40 in late 1960 until they switched to Talk on August 23, 1989. They still had a powerhouse signal most evenings in Edmonton until CHQT moved to 880 in the mid-1980s. In fact, my first listens to WBZ in 1964 surprised me in that they were playing the hits even before WLS.
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Re: Favourite 3 Stations of All Time

Postby slowhand » Mon Apr 12, 2010 3:27 pm

Not sure about #3, but WKRP and WOLD top my list.
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Re: Favourite 3 Stations of All Time

Postby Neumann Sennheiser » Mon Apr 12, 2010 5:19 pm

My top three favorite fictitous radio stations:
1. WKRP
2. Q-Sky (from the 1978 movie "FM")
..and, of course..
3. Brocket 99

When making your own list of "fake" radio stations you may consider AM 730.
I know I did.
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Re: Favourite 3 Stations of All Time

Postby Mike Cleaver » Mon Apr 12, 2010 7:45 pm

Starting very young, an Ottawa radio station that featured "The HiFi Club" after school.
Can't remember the 1950's calls but it was that station that sparked my interest in radio.
1050 CHUM, of course and CFUN on the left coast in the '60's.
Those would be my favourites but I'll add two more.
Loved CKLW and KIMN, two stations where I almost went to work, also in the '60s.
Mike Cleaver Broadcast Services
Engineering, News, Voice work and Consulting
Vancouver, BC, Canada

54 years experience at some of Canada's Premier Broadcasting Stations
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Re: Favourite 3 Stations of All Time

Postby Steve Sanderson » Mon Apr 12, 2010 8:10 pm

Back in the day It was .....
1) CFUN/CKVN
2) CKLG AM/FM
3) CKNW ( For Canucks hockey )
Now it's the News on WX.
Or hockey on Team 1040.
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Re: Favourite 3 Stations of All Time

Postby cart_machine » Mon Apr 12, 2010 8:51 pm

jon wrote:On the Toronto area board, SOWNY.ca, Lee Marshall started a new topic by presenting "the ALL TIME best 3 stations that I listened to.


Heh. I'll bet Lee didn't say CKO Toronto. :)

I grew up in a certain era in the Lower Mainland, so it's all AM.

CKLG
CFUN
KJR

cArtie.
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Re: Favourite 3 Stations of All Time

Postby wireless-dude » Mon Apr 12, 2010 9:02 pm

I also did a lot of listening via dx and those much missed clear channenls of the 60's
my favorites though were more homebound-
1. KJR-grew up with these guys
2. KOL-listened a lot when Lan Roberts moved from KJR, also for Terry Mcmanus(sp)
3. KOMA-I got stationed in North Dakota in my AirForce days, listened in the night hours-like a local
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Re: Favourite 3 Stations of All Time

Postby radiofan » Mon Apr 12, 2010 10:03 pm

Most of my listening time was spent listening to:

CFUN
CKLG
KJR / KOL

Once I discovered DXing, there was a bunch of stations I'd listen to somewhat regularily depending on conditions ...

KYMN 1520 Oregon City/Portland .. .This is the station where I first heard Memphis and House Of The Rising Sun in the summer 0f '64 ..
In late 1966 / early 1967 I discovered Wolfman Jack on XERB 1090 and then on XEG 1050 and XERF 1570 ..

KIMA 1460 from Yakima, KISN 910 from Portland, KRED 1480 from Eureka, KFRC 610 San Francisco, WLS 890 Chicago and like many others
KGA 1510 from Spokane was a staple in 1968.
Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who couldn't hear the music.
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Re: Favourite 3 Stations of All Time

Postby erratics » Tue Apr 13, 2010 4:38 pm

Growing up in Kitchener, I like many was an out of town listener. My three were:
1. CKOC in the 70s during their top 40 glory days
2. Chum FM when they were an album rock station
3. CFNY in the 80s when they had Live Earl Jive, David Marsden and the Video Road Show.
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