Columns

IT WAS AUG. 20th .. when the first U.S. commercial radio station, 8MK (which later became WWJ), began daily broadcasting in Detroit… When Prince George (BC) TV station CKPG-TV signed on Channel 2 as a CBC affiliate…. When the first episode of the teen sitcom “Saved By The Bell” aired on NBC. It was a Saturday morning favorite for 4 seasons.. When Moffat Broadcasting sold off its empire, two Edmonton stations going to WIC (now Corus), two in Winnipeg going to Rogers, a pair in Calgary going to Golden West, while Vancouver’s CKLG-AM and CFOX-FM were sold to Shaw.... and when two giants of comedy, Jerry Lewis & Phyllis Diller, left this mortal coil. ALL the milestones for Aug. 20th INSIDE!

IT WAS AUG. 19th …. when “Amos ‘n’ Andy,” the 15 minute nightly radio comedy starring Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll, made its network debut on the NBC Blue chain… When Edmonton got its latest AM station CHQT (1110 KHz) and Yorkton Sask. got its first and only one CJGX AM 1340… When WINS radio in New York City announced it would no longer play white artist cover versions of R&B hits. For example, the DJs were instructed to play Fats Domino’s “Ain’t It A Shame,” not Pat Boone’s… ..and when the 58th and final episode of the rock ‘n’ roll sitcom “The Monkees” aired on NBC-TV. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS AUG. 18th .. when Vancouver radio station CKNW moved from 1320 on the AM dial to 980, the spot vacated the previous year by CKWX. That same day, CKLG moved from 1070 to 730… When the ABC-TV music special ‘The 5th Dimension Traveling Sunshine Show’ featured The Carpenters, Merle Haggard and Dionne Warwick… When former L.A. TV reporter and news anchor John Tesh started a decade as Mary Hart’s co-host on the syndicated “Entertainment Tonight”… ..and when a PetroCan pump attendant Dick Assman of Regina made a cameo appearance on CBS’s Late Show With David Letterman (pictured), after months of ‘Ass Man’ jokes. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS AUG. 17th … when Norman Corwin’s first success debuted on CBS radio. It was ‘Passport for Adams’, starring Robert Young as a small town newspaper editor… When Italian pop vocalist Domenico Modugno appeared on CBS-TV’s “The Ed Sullivan Show” singing his hit single “Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)”… When a revolution in the world of music got underway, as the first audio CDs were manufactured… ..and when David Caruso (pictured) quit the cast of ABC’s “NYPD Blue” to pursue a movie career, a move that didn’t pan out. ALL the milestones for Aug. 17th INSIDE.

Frank Gifford was born in Santa Monica Calif, Elvis Presley (Picture) had died in his Memphis mansion at the age of 42. Jack Paar replaced Walter Cronkite as host of CBS-TV’s “The Morning Show.” longtime host of CBC-TV’s Man Alive, Roy Bonisteel, succumbed to cancer at age 83. Plus who is celebrating a birthday today, and hit songs over the early years

IT WAS AUG. 15th .. when CBS inaugurated the first nightly TV news broadcast, a 15-minute feature with anchorman Douglas Edwards reporting the day’s events. At first it was seen only in five cities in the Eastern Time zone… When Peck’s bad boy of Vancouver radio Jack Cullen (pictured) made the move from CKMO to CKNW, taking his Owl Prowl program with him… When Vancouver radio station CKWX moved from 980 to 1130 on the AM dial where it still resides as News 1130… ..and when the CBC locked out 5500 employees coast to coast, all members of the Canadian Media Guild. The labour dispute was not resolved until October. ALL the milestones for Aug. 15th INSIDE.

in 1942, Garry Moore (pictured) hosted a new radio program on NBC. “The Show Without a Name” was an effort to crack the morning show dominance of Arthur Godfrey (CBS) and “Don McNeil’s Breakfast Club” (ABC). In 1958, Elvis Presley‘s mother, Gladys, died at the tender age of 46, from a heart attack brought on by hepatitis Also in 1962, Roy Orbison was in Nashville to record his next single, “Leah” b/w “Workin’ for the Man.”  Both sides made it to the Billboard Top 40 More Stories, Birthdays and hit songs from yesteryear ALL INSIDE

In 1969, in Chicago, the Guess Who recorded “American Woman,” with lyrics originally ad-libbed by Burton Cummings In 1964, in Detroit The Supremes recorded ‘Baby Love,’ which went on to be the group’s second US No. 1 single. In 1981, the last new episode of “The Waltons” aired on CBS-TV. Neil Diamond played the first of six sold-out nights at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

IT WAS AUG. 12th … when comedian Red Skelton (pictured) got his first national exposure as a guest on NBC’s Rudy Vallee radio show …. When rock jock “Cousin Brucie” (Bruce Morrow) did his last show on WNBC-AM, New York City… When XM Satellite Radio began broadcasting in the US… ..and when disc jockey Jim Brady did his final show on radio station CFTR, Toronto. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.

IT WAS AUG. 11th .. when New York’s WCBS-TV became the first station to televise a baseball game in color .. in fact, a doubleheader between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Boston Braves…. When CBS-TV’s Sunday night variety showcase, The Ed Sullivan Show featured Buddy Knox singing his two rockabilly hits ‘Party Doll’ and ‘Hula Love’… When the folksinging Kingston Trio signed in as the “mystery guests” on CBS-TV’s “What’s My Line?”… ..and when Edmonton radio station CJAX-FM began operations on 92.5 MHz with 100,000 watts. The call letters are now CKNG FM, with a branding of 92.5 The Chuck. ALL the milestones for the date INSIDE.