CKLW AM 800 Detroit - Ted Richards - Johnny Williams - December 1981 - Radio Aircheck

[@dianesell379]

Love Love Love to hear CKLW, Reminds me of the Best times in the summer of the 70’s & 80’s outside w/ AM radio on in the back yard!!

[@DrewTechner]

Lol. That's my QSL card shown. Loved The Big 8 and Ted Richards!

[@EllisFeaster]

I have that same QSL card. I was too lazy to take a photo of it!

[@arober2]

Lo & behold in the mid-90’s I heard Ted the Bear live on the radio in Oklahoma!!

[@jeffk7734]

Ted Richard’s used to work at WHND 560 Honey Radio in Detroit for a few years as well. That was a very neat station.

[@theamazingDrBob]

Rest in peace Johnny Williams. Long live the big 8.

[@miggans21012]

You got to love top 40 radio from the 70s and early 80s. Imagine hearing Led Zeppelin, Kenny Rogers, Earth, Wind And Fire and Donna Summer all on the same radio station.

[@MiamiMike88]

Johnny Williams was the perfect radio voice. Johnny RIP.

[@howwwie]

Yes, I agree. I knew Johnny until he passed on Apr 16, '20. The narrator of this vid said it was in May. I would go see his son's (Billy D on the drums & excellent singer) band play all over Mich alot for yrs & Johnny (real name Tom DeAngelo) would always be there. I sure miss Johnny and hard to believe it was from Covid-19

[@DateTwoRelate]

This station blasted into CT every night in the 70s.

[@hugoflores6866]

The Big 8,thanks Ellis my favorite all time am station.

[@MikeMc442]

Very smooth, a classy older demo evolution of the onetime Top 40 legend. Of course, it was still stuck on AM at a time the music audience was shifting rapidly to FM.

[@MikeTeaveeJr]

Detroit didn't technically have a Top 40 FM station the following summer. WJR-FM would become "Hot Hits" WHYT that September.

[@someguy23475]

CKLW had (and still does) a sister FM which was supposed to inherit the Top 40 format in 1984. However, the CRTC said no (they were more strict on format changes back then) except on a very limited basis, so it never happened, and CKLW AM went to big band until 1993 or so. It’s been a talk station since. CKWW AM 580 airs a format similar to the 60s/70s CKLW, though automated and only recorded news reports in the morning.

[@paulwalker1443]

A great talent, but you can hear him somewhat subdued here. This was a time when the FM's were gaining over the AM's. The sound of his voice tends to describe the feel of AM radio at the time, though it is subtle. Music on AM radio was on its last leg here, and they all knew it.

[@HitsTownUSA]

It wasn’t on AM 610 KFRC in San Francisco. Bill Lee, Jack Armstrong, Don Rose and Mark McKay had a lot of energy on that old powerhouse Top 40. Things began to slide on KFRC in late 1984.

[@paulwalker1443]

@@HitsTownUSA agreed KFRC was an exception, but most big AM top40's were being phased out in the early 80's.

[@traxonwax]

That’s definitely an AM Fred but the highs tell me otherwise. Really enjoyed how that tuner really juiced as much out of that AM signal as was possible. Oh wow they had their own Christmas song. I guess that was a thing in the 80s. To this day VOCM still airs their branded Christmas song that locals seem to enjoy listening to.

[@Dan_KM8DAD]

Back when CKLW had a decent omni pattern that covered most of southern Michigan during the day and the entire state (and beyond) at night. Had no problem getting a solid signal in Lansing. The station later shifted to an eastward-directional pattern as programming focused more on the Canadian audience. This aircheck would have been in the station's Hot AC phase. I believe they switched to Al Ham's "Music of Your Life" format somewhere around the mid-80's.

[@heathb.9397]

The promo for Sharkey's Machine is cool!

[@signjoey]

Johnny Williams was at KHJ Boss Angeles in the 60s...that was the top!

[@EdwardPohlman]

There was a Johnny Williams on 93 KHJ. Not the same jock. Remember that FARMER JACK Saving time. Simple, yet effective.

[@jeffk7734]

What station in the Detroit Area did bigband and standards before CKLW started with it in 1984? I know there was something because my grandfather had an AM station on in the fall of 1983 that was playing Glen Miller.

[@neilmorrison3615]

As far as I know CKLW was from Windsor, Ontario and not Detroit, Michigan as the C indicates, Canadian !

[@EllisFeaster]

I list the Market, not the COL. It was part of the Detroit radio market. Remember "CKLW, the motor city!"

[@neilmorrison3615]

As to my statement , my apologies,I misunderstood you!

[@northwestgeorgiaradio]

If you didn't know this, theres actually a Canadian AM station with those same call letters.

[@davepollison4333]

It's the same station.

[@northwestgeorgiaradio]

@@davepollison4333 oh.

[@EllisFeaster]

Dawson Auger I normally post the radio market, rather than the city of license, because sometimes people don’t know the City. For example, if I posted WPLY Media, most people have no idea where Media is, but if I use Philadelphia, everyone immediately knows where the station is.

[@northwestgeorgiaradio]

@@EllisFeaster oh that makes a lot more sense.

[@shamrock1961]

What happened to Ted Richards?

[@EdwardPohlman]

Had heard he's living (retired) in North Carolina as of 2023. He's originally from Tennessee and has the accent (off air) to prove it.

[@davepollison4333]

Uggh, sounds like CKLW was leaning "adult contemporary" in 1981, a mis-step many AM top 40 stations took around that time. I guess the theory was their listeners had grown up and didn't rock any more. But ignoring all the new and exciting bands making a splash in the early 80s just sped up AM radio's demise.

[@HoosierGarage]

Not sure there was much you can do when the price of an FM receiver was much more affordable around this time.

[@user-dh4mi6ir2m]

Did he just say "amazing savings on gift surprise"? at 8:56?

[@EllisFeaster]

No. They said Gifts of brass.

[@JohnnyBMCL]

ifi find the old cassette i used to have old cklw recording on i will let you know..

[@EllisFeaster]

Please do! I would love to make a copy.

[@jarrellmason9080]

Since CKLW was out of Canada I am sure listeners in border areas in the states got to hear some content that probably may not have gotten exposure on U.S. stations. Was the station Ted Richards worked for in Raleigh(NC) was The Great 98 WTRG?

[@vicdoucette6721]

Lots of CanCon music seeped into the consciousness of we in Detroit.

[@user-dh4mi6ir2m]

Artists and songs? 4:18, 4:59, 5:17, 5:24, 5:30, 5:57, 7:04, 7:19, 7:24, 7:59

[@EllisFeaster]

I don’t really have the time to identify all 25 songs you asked about, but the first one is Turn Your Love Around by George Benson.

[@MrDianadoll]

George Benson=Turn Your Love Around Kenny Rogers=Lady Kim Carnes=Bette Davis Eyes Juice Newton=Queen Of Hearts Anne Murray=You Needed Me Sheena Easton=9 to 5 Advert =Might Be Jack Jones REO Speedwagon=Keep On Loving You Paul Davis=Cool Night ??? Lulu=If I Were You Olivia Newton-John=Physical Bob Welch=Sentimental Lady Ronnie Milsap=I Wouldn't Have Missed It For The World ??? Cooper Brothers=The Dream Never Dies ??? J Geils Band=Centerfold ??? ??? ??? ??? Ambrosia=Biggest Part Of Me Helen Ready=Angie Baby

[@user-dh4mi6ir2m]

At 10:01, 10:07, 12:47, 13:15, 13:29, 13:39, 13:56, 14:08, 14:19

[@heathb.9397]

@@MrDianadoll The one after Paul Davis was The Commodores' "Lady (You Bring Me Up)", the one after Ronnie Milsap was Eddie Rabbitt's "Someone Could Lose A Heart Tonight", after the Cooper Brothers was Ian Thomas "Borrowed Time", the first one after "Centerfold" was Dan Fogelberg's "Same Old Lang Syne," I think the ABBA song was "When All Is Said And Done" and I think that was it. If I missed one in that last batch of question marks then I couldn't identify it anyway. Hope that helps whomever was asking about the songs.

[@MrDianadoll]

@@heathb.9397 Hey, many thanks for this, you would be great in here all the time. I was just doing it for someone else asking but this is very appreciated!.

[@andyr1313]

Somewhat comparable playlist to WABC- sadly, two dying stations...

[@crystalevans2123]

I like the intro.

[@EllisFeaster]

Glad you enjo

[@EllisFeaster]

Glad you enjo

[@EllisFeaster]

Glad you enjo

[@user-dh4mi6ir2m]

Surprise. 8:47, 8:55, 9:02, 9:05, 9:06, 9:07, 9:26

[@MiamiMike88]

Teddy Bear tells the story that while on-air doing his afternoon drive shift at WAPE-Jacksonville the request line rang and he answered. It was Paul Drew CKLW-Program Director calling to hire him for CKLW and Teddy hung-up thinking it was a crank call. Drew called right back and said I really am Paul Drew and Teddy resigned from WAPE immediately following his air-shift.