by Jack Bennest » Mon Jun 09, 2008 5:56 am
Hi Jack
Yes, Brian Lord accurately described the DING HO PARTY LINE feature, that just kind of happened. It was Brian’s idea for a late nite feature of his 6-hour show. It happened, as a lot of programming did on C-FUN. It was such an incredible radio scene – we literally experimented On the air – our young audience was Very responsive, and if they liked a song or a feature, they let us know instantly – i.e. our phones told us how to proceed.
We would add a new record, and would know in 24 hours (or less) if it would be a hit, or a dud.
The Party Line Saturday nite feature, became so popular, that kids would call in, and literally cram (jam?) the REgent 1-6511 phone #, AND the REGENT exchange. As a result, somehow, on some Saturday nights, kids calling in, could hear other callers, and gave out their home-phone #’s, over the over-load – so it became a teenage game, to get phone #’s of other kids (usually of the opposite sex!), hang up, and then dial their new phone-pals! A Dating Game!
Unlike regimented radio today, we didn’t ‘think tank’ or sit around with department heads, or hire a consultant…the listener phone line was our consultant. Our “format” was very loose, in fact just about non-existent! If it worked, we kept doing it!
i.e. “Fujikami The Warrior” – an idea we stole from K-POI, it was Frosty’s project, he “wrote” the chants & did the Fuji voice – Lord, Cameron Bell, myself and others, did the background Responses, and a local band came in the station, and did the instrumental background (“The Hi Fives” maybe?) The late Andy Laughland, did the recording-production – all done at our 1900 W. 4th Avenue studios.
Ditto, another record project “The Untouchables” – That Lord voiced, in a great Walter Winchell style. Andy took snippets from recent hit records, and Spliced them In between Lord’s parts, somewhat based on the big tv show back then, that starred Robert Stack. All of us worked on that, all one evening, and into the a.m. hours – we had Landa play it, on his all night show, and we all sat in my parked car out back, and listened to it on the car radio, and then came back in, and re-tweaked it – and like FUJI, it also ended up on a pressed 45 rpm record!
As Lord mentioned, he left to go to K/MEN San Bernardino, CA., in early 1962. That was the first of the 2 new mainland radio stations, that genius Ron Jacobs (from K-POI in Hawaii) was heading up. Brian was hired for San Bernardino
I was hired to go to the new Fresno station (K/MAKe) which got on the air about 3 months after K/MEN, so I stayed on at C-FUN
Until the Fresno station was almost ready to debut. Lord and I were the lone Canadian jox at those 2 stations. The other staffers were mostly Californians.
I’m CC-ing this to Lord, Forst & Cameron Bell, and to Mike Powley – “the kid in the record library” – who was in his late teens, we were in our early to mid-20’s.
Mike worked in the “record library” and was the middle-man between the label reps, and myself. Mike started with us when he was still attending Kitsilano High School, so he was very much in tune, with teenagers’ tastes. Mike and I, always sat down together,
(I believe on Wednesday nights) and compiled the weekly FunTastic 50 surveys. The phone response on the preceding Saturday’s Ding Ho Party Line top 15 survey, plus phone response to new product, AND the results of the Mailed-In Top 5 favorites was the basis of those surveys.
We did the 2 Twin-Pick-Hits of the week feature, 25 copies of each of the 2 twin-pick-hit records (hopefully future hits!) were mailed out, to 50 letter-writers drawn at random. All those trying to win, needed to write in, and list their 5 favorite current songs.
We would receive HUNDREDS of letters every week – Mike tabulated those top 5 favorite song titles.
So you see, how we were the musical pulse of our Vancouver listeners – i.e. we were weeks ahead of the American Surveys –
“Cashbox” was the hot U.S. music bible back then, “Billboard” wasn’t as effective.
I’m sure Mike et al, will have more memories of those days, and hopefully he’ll (They) contribute to this – whatever it is? Project?
Regards
Dave McCormick…and still “the Big Daddy!”