Chuck McCoy - “Moments to Remember”

Although Sydney enjoyed her time at Portland's 'Sniff' Hotel, enough was enough, and mom and dad finally came to her rescue...

This week, I will reveal yet another historic event that had its genesis in the wild and weird all night hours of a young DJ. 

The “All Night Show”, “The Graveyard Shift,” these are the words that describe the working hours of firefighters, cab drivers, 24 hour service stations, those few but favorite “All night Diners” and many, many more. So it is in radio; somebody has to be there to keep company with the insomniacs and play the favorite songs of all the late night/early morning party goers.

Including a cool aircheck of Charlie Tuna... The year was 1966.  I was working all nights at CKY, Winnipeg and my shift began at midnight.  Advantages of growing up on the cold flat Canadian Prairie included the ability to tune in some best clear channel, out of market, Top 40 stations.  Some of the great US stations we could pick up in Winnipeg after sunset included: KAAY, Little Rock, WLS, Chicago and at the far right end of the dial at 1520 you would find KOMA, Oklahoma City.

This story goes back to the spring of 1965. By this time Duff was well established and held down an on air slot at 1050CHUM in Toronto.  As for me, I was still driving a truck and selling shoes and still dreaming of somehow getting a radio DJ gig in any market.  

But here I want to focus on my days at a very “Big Time” station in a market of about 25,000 people in Southern Ontario. Anyone who lived and grew up in that part of the country will easily remember the great “Swingin’ 68”, CHLO.

It all started in the small community of Woodhaven in Winnipeg. I was 7 or 8 and my 3rd/4th grade teacher, Miss McCauley asked the class to think about our future. What might we do as adults? Soon enough it was my turn to answer.

Not from Winnipeg? The Golden Boy is a golden statue of a naked boy high atop Manitoba’s Parliament buildings.

My “Marvelous Toy” is this authentic “Rock-Ola Bubbler” Jukebox, purchased brand new, in Mississauga, Ontario about 25 years ago.

My final on-air shift at 1050 CHUM was January, 1973. It was a winding road that took me to Canada’s number 1 Top 40 station.