The Big 8
May 10, 2007 9:44 PM   Subscribe

When it came to Boss Radio, no station was more in charge than The Big 8 - CKLW. Thanks to a 50,000 watt transmitter, the Windsor, Ontario, station could be heard in four Canadian provinces and 28 U.S. states. CKLW had one of the first female program directors in the business. And even though Cancon requirements were blamed for the station's demise, it was that law that introduced many Americans to Canadian musicians that might otherwise not have gotten such U.S. exposure.
posted by Oriole Adams (21 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
*cues rosalie by bob seger*

yeah, i remember that station well
posted by pyramid termite at 9:55 PM on May 10, 2007


Please note that this site is in no way related to the CKLW of today, and is not created or endorsed by the current management of radio station CKLW. If you are looking for the "official" AM800 CKLW site, please go to http://www.am800cklw.com/

CKLW of today is variously rightwing, advertising saturated talk radio, and a near monopoly source for non-televised local news reporting.
posted by acro at 10:02 PM on May 10, 2007


(Listen here) --
posted by acro at 10:08 PM on May 10, 2007


CKLW of today is variously rightwing, advertising saturated talk radio...

Do station formats ever change for the better?
posted by pracowity at 6:29 AM on May 11, 2007


CKLW of today is variously rightwing

I don't know ... Dr. Joy Browne is essentially the liberal counterpart to Dr. Laura.
posted by pardonyou? at 6:38 AM on May 11, 2007


Breaking New Waves, Canada Live
All evidence isn't in, but looks like no.
posted by acro at 6:40 AM on May 11, 2007


5 Man Electrical Band
A Foot In Coldwater
Mashmakhan
The Stampeders
April Wine


Canada has produced some fine musicians and songwriters, no two ways about it. But these are some of the god-awfullest band names ever!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:42 AM on May 11, 2007


1985 CKLW reunion. No sign of the documentary Rise And Fall Of The Big 8 mentioned at the link.
posted by acro at 6:58 AM on May 11, 2007


Oh, CKLW. Couldn't have lived without it on the shores of Lake Erie back in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Wow, deja vu.
posted by etaoin at 7:00 AM on May 11, 2007


Trombley convinced Elton John to put out Bennie And The Jets as a single.

I always knew I was Canadian.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 7:21 AM on May 11, 2007 [1 favorite]


Rise And Fall Of The Big 8

Yes, this aired on Detroit Public TV last November. Just fascinating. The music anecdotes were the best. But the way the station did the news was bizarre. (Though it would've fit right in with either a 1920s sensationalist newspaper, or perhaps even Faux Noise.)

Although I grew up a couple hours drive away from Detroit, I feel like I remember some of the old radio stations. Perhaps I listened to the 50k watt goodness up in my town or caught the tail end of the "golden age" when I moved closer for college.
posted by NorthernLite at 8:04 AM on May 11, 2007


The area still gets some of the best rock radio (NOTE:I have no idea if this is true. Feel free to contradict. Whats your top radio town?) The little hook of extreme southern Ontario above Windsor gets Michigan, Canadian and Ohio broadcasts.
posted by acro at 9:05 AM on May 11, 2007


I grew up in Detroit in the 1960s and 70s, and CKLW was everywhere. You couldn't avoid it if you wanted to, and we didn't. Farmer Jack time, 1:31.

A few years back, there was a pirate radio station on shortwave that was a perfect re-creation of The Big 8. It was amazing to listen to. Haven't heard it in a while. :-(
posted by geneablogy at 10:33 AM on May 11, 2007


*seee-kaayyy-ell-double-UU!*

(urban legend had it you could receive the station with your teeth, if you had braces. But that was also in an episode of the Partridge Family, so who knows...)
posted by Bron at 11:16 AM on May 11, 2007


Ack, geneablogy, I'd forgotten about "Farmer Jack Savings Time" and that weird sound effect they'd play! Good times....
posted by Oriole Adams at 2:32 PM on May 11, 2007


(previously at MetaFilter) Detroit: City on the Move (1965) filmed during a bid for the 1968 Olympic Games.
posted by acro at 4:46 PM on May 11, 2007


Detroit Radio Flashbacks dot net via
posted by acro at 7:11 PM on May 11, 2007


Great link, acro, thanks! Those bumper stickers and jingles brought back some memories.
posted by Oriole Adams at 12:03 AM on May 12, 2007


irony doesn't belong on youtube.
posted by 3.2.3 at 7:30 AM on May 12, 2007


Oriole Adams: profilesurfing
posted by acro at 3:16 PM on May 12, 2007


The area still gets some of the best rock radio (NOTE:I have no idea if this is true...

It hasn't been true for many years now, unfortunately. Not in Detroit, at least.
posted by pmurray63 at 12:32 PM on May 13, 2007


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