Long before the days that saw Much Music break new ground in broadcasting by taking the VJ’s and shows to the street, small town CKCB 1400 radio in Collingwood pulled out all of the stops to turn the first day of school into a highly anticipated late summer downtown media event.
Back in the day, a radio show was not usually visual. On this occasion, it was.
The afternoon of the first day of school was an all hands on deck affair of live, seat-of-your-pants, on location radio broadcasting on Collingwood’s usually conservative main street. The event featured evening DJ’s from the popular all hit CKBB 950/CKCB 1400 rock show known as ‘Spinout,’ playing songs from the “Double Dozen Survey” and “Spinout Six Pack.” For the town’s older residents, the playing of rock music on the radio and on a downtown street in the middle of the afternoon came as a bit of a shock. For school students, it was a blast!
All hands on deck indeed, because in those days, presenting a live radio broadcast with the announcer playing his own music involved physically setting up a remote studio on location, hoping turntables would spin and microphones would work. The one piece remote broadcasting board was heavy, very heavy, and in no way was easy to carry. Delivery and setup involved all of the radio station staff, someone’s pickup truck, many extension cords, a box full of 45’s and LP’s, a headset, some kind of battery operated clock, a flashlight, a roll of hockey tape and a portable radio.
In the late 60’s and early 70’s, there were no cell phones. Once the on location broadcast began there was no way to communicate with the on location announcer from the radio station without actually calling the store’s landline or walking down the street to talk in person. The on-air announcer was basically on his own, without a script, face to face with an audience not usually seen by a disc jockey. (Can you imagine how easy this entire broadcast could be with an iPhone?) Thankfully the live broadcasts usually went off without a hitch. However equipment malfunctions including 45’s melting on the turntable in the extreme heat that can only be experienced in a store window on a hot and humid September afternoon sometimes provided some extra entertainment in the form of creative ad-libbing.
Top left: Announcer Brian Henderson – “The White Knight.”
Top right: Norman B – Norm Blakely
Popular CKBB/CKCB evening rock show announcers attracted large crowds of young people inside and outside at Saunders Office & School Supplies in downtown Collingwood on the first day of school.
Jack Saunders son Dave booked the broadcast and prepared the front window ready for setup. “I loved it. It was my job to set it up. As much as I hated going back to school, I looked forward to the DJ in the window” Saunders said on the Facebook post of this story. Dave’s sister Cathy also pitched in at the store. “Took us all weekend to rearrange the store, price items, make signs etc. etc. . I always felt sorry for Mom since it was usually on her birthday.” Preparing for this day both for the broadcast and the anticipated rush of customers they would welcome when students were dismissed from that first half day of classes was a real family affair for the Saunders and staff of Saunders Office and School Supplies in downtown Collingwood.
Brian Henderson was known as “The White Night” when he first arrived at CKBB/CKCB and CKVR-TV Channel 3
Brian Henderson was incredibly popular throughout Simcoe County as an on-air announcer. Brian was based in Barrie, working for CKBB/CKCB/Barrie Broadcasting on three separate occasions. He hosted the evening rock show and was known as “The White Knight” in his first go-round with the company when the radio station was located in the same building as sister station CKVR Channel 3 television in Barrie. It is safe to say that Henderson marched to his own drum. He had stories to tell. Many stories. He had no trouble communicating with his audience. He especially liked to trash all things Elmvale, and residents in that community loved every minute of it. You knew Brian Henderson was on a path to do great things in broadcasting.
The radio and television stations were owned by Ralph Snelgrove, (“VR” are the first name initials of Mrs. and Mr. Snelgrove, “BB” stood for Barrie Broadcasting, “CB” for Collingwood Broadcasting). When the Snelgrove family sold CKVR-TV to CHUM, Henderson was back with CKBB as morning show host and Program Director and helped oversee the move from the television station “up on the hill” to the sparkling new studios on Ferris Lane in north Barrie, with the master control room overlooking highway 400. Brian Henderson soon landed at 1050 CHUM in Toronto in 1977 as a sportscaster where he would spend the next 27 years. His sports comments were must listens! He eventually moved into the CHUM morning show host chair where he remained until 2004.
Norman B (Norm Blakely) had a very different on-air style than Brian Henderson but it caught on in a hurry and he was one of the most popular evening announcers to grace the CKBB/CKCB airwaves
Norman B played the hits on his ‘Spinout’ radio show and introduced listeners to breaking new music including deep album cuts on a portion of his nightly show after 10:00 p.m. called Coriolis. Simcoe County listeners were introduced to early Guess Who recordings, cuts from Mad Dogs and Englishmen by Joe Cocker (a double album) and a band called Killing Floor’s self titled LP. I remember Norm introducing a song called Brontosaurus by the British band “The Move.” Ground breaking radio in 1970!
Forging his own path was nothing new for Blakely. Before arriving at CKBB/CKCB he was the host of an all R&B show he called “Where It’s At” on Toronto’s CKFH 1430 in 1967. Later in the 1970’s he had made the move from AM to FM and played a key role as Program Director/Music Director in programming this country’s first oldies station on FM at Burlington’s CING FM, also known as FM 108. The CRTC had strict regulations on what FM stations could play in terms of the number of hits and non-hits back in the day but Norm made it all work by mixing in R&B and in doing so building a loyal following! He also worked in interesting talk segments to his shows with clips from his extensive archive of artist interviews.
The popular 7:00 p.m. “Spinout” radio show on CKBB 950 and CKCB 1400 played all of the hits from the “Double Dozen Survey” and “Spinout Six Pack.”
Radio was really finding its way in the late 1960’s and throughout the early 1970’s. Radio operators were discovering that broadcasting live on location was a way to build audience and create a stronger relationship between the announcer and listener. The live broadcasts on the first day of school from Saunders Office & School Supplies in downtown Collingwood were brave endeavors and so very well received. Here’s to the good old days and to remembering Brian Henderson and Norm Blakely, two of the very best broadcasters to ever turn on a microphone.