I have a Skype call scheduled this afternoon with Jesse and Gene. Jesse is in Vancouver and Gene is in California, so Skype will have to do for this reunion episode of Toronto Mike'd. Thinking of Jesse and Gene got me thinking of Toronto radio personalities over the past few
George Stroumboulopoulos invited some of Canada's best musicians to his home and had them cover Tragically Hip songs. The result was four awesome hours of what he calls Hip 30. All four hours of Hip 30 audio is available to you here. Enjoy this most excellent playlist. The Tragically Hip,
Jeff "Scruff Connors" Newfield was 64. He was the radio broadcaster best known in these parts for his two stints at Q107, and most recently, MOJO Radio.
Josie Dye started at 102.1 the Edge way back in 2002. She took over middays when Kelly Cutrara left and stayed in that spot until she moved to mornings following the cancellation of the Dean Blundell Show. That experiment didn't last long, and Josie Dye was moved to 2pm-6pm.
When I was young, I'd slowly turn the dial on my transistor radio to see if I could pick up stations from outside the GTA. I'd get awfully excited when I'd find a station in Cleveland, for example. I distinctly remember doing this one Christmas Eve and being delighted by
Last week I was chatting with Chris Zelkovich about Toronto's sports radio stations. I asked him to imagine what might happen if Bob McCown left 590 for the same timeslot on 1050. In this scenario, do you think Bob McCown would be permitted to say goodbye to his 590 audience
Erin Davis, a fixture on Toronto radio for 28 years, has announced her retirement. She records her last morning show for CHFI on December 15 and will then move with her husband to British Columbia to "begin a new life". I had the pleasure of being visited by Erin for
In this 200th episode, Mike chats with broadcasters Humble Howard Glassman and Fred Patterson about their podcast, the state of radio today and how long they'll run. This episode is exactly 1:50:37. You can listen to this episode in a variety of ways: Subscribe in iTunesListen via Google
Way back in 2003, Humble and Fred were the morning show on AM 640, only then it was called Mojo Radio. Humble and Fred were seduced by Mix 99.9 and gave notice, so AM 640 recruited John Oakley form rival CFRB and Oakley worked mornings on 640 ever since.
In this 198th episode, Mike chats with Q107 deejay Joanne Wilder about her years at Q, her appearance in Playboy and how it feels getting to play Duran Duran. This episode is exactly 1:07:57. You can listen to this episode in a variety of ways: Subscribe in iTunesListen
You'll remember that Rickey Henderson ad for Bob McCown's morning show on The Fan 1430 back in '93. I shared that one a few years ago, if you need your memory jogged. At that same time, there was an ad with Doug Gilmour that Retrontario just dug up. It's safe
Raina Douris, popular morning show host on Indie 88, has just broadcast her last show from the house in Liberty Village. Raina is moving over to CBC Radio 2 where she'll be the new morning show host, taking over for Tom Power. Tom Power, of course, has left that role
I grew up listening to CFNY. That's 102.1 on the FM dial if you don't recognize the call letters. Today, the station is best known as 102.1 the Edge. Since I'm interested in the station, past and present, I've invited a number of personalities from the station to
This isn't exactly breaking news, but I was away for a couple of weeks and didn't get a chance to write about Mike Richards' departure from TSN Radio 1050 when it was announced last Monday. Here's Mike's farewell tweet about the big change. Don't worry about me. I'm always workin
I stole this from John Gallagher's Facebook feed. It's a photo that appeared in the Toronto Sun in the early 90s. In this picture you will see Brother Jake Edwards and John Gallagher from Q107's Q Morning Zoo, Marilyn Denis and Roger Ashby from CHUM-FM, Tom Rivers from 680 CFTR,
In this 180th episode, Mike chats with Jim Van Horne about his years as a jock on 1050 CHUM, being the first on-air hire at TSN, leaving TSN for The Team 1050, his years on Sportsnet, his reinvention as a teacher and his recent battle with bladder cancer. This episode
In this 179th episode, Mike chats with Marc Weisblott of 12:36 and Ed Conroy of Retrontario about the fall of 1050 CHUM as a Top 40 radio station and the coinciding rise of MuchMusic. This episode is exactly 1:49:31. You can listen to this episode in a
In this 177th episode, Mike chats with former Q107 broadcaster Jeff Woods about his life in radio, The Legends of Classic Rock, why Q107 fired him and his new book Radio, Records & Rockstars. This episode is exactly 1:40:04. You can listen to this episode in a variety
In this 176th episode, Mike chats with CHUM-FM's Ingrid Schumacher about her 39 years at the station, what's changed in the industry, her broadcast the night John Lennon was shot, Ticketmaster and why she loves radio. This episode is exactly 1:16:30. You can listen to this episode in
Wally Crouter was 92. He was the morning man at CFRB 1010 for 50 years, from November 1, 1946 until November 1, 1996.
There are a number of changes in Toronto's radio market, so let's run them down here. We'll start with the announcement that came as no surprise. Darren B. Lamb, who recently left Roger Ashby and Marilyn Dennis at CHUM FM, replaces Mike Cooper as Erin Davis's co-host during CHFI 98.
It's official. TSN 1050 Toronto has announced their new daily lineup and (gasp!) they gave a show to a woman! Here's the new lineup of shows and hosts on TSN 1050 Toronto beginning Monday, February 22. 5:30 to 9am - Naylor & Landsberg in the Morning Dave Naylor and
Rogers Media said they were cutting 200 jobs this quarter. They started last week, promising to finish as soon as possible, and today they delivered pink slips to two popular Fan 590 personalities. Gone are Greg Brady from Brady & Walker and longtime utility host Jeff Sammut. It looks like
In this 157th episode, Mike chats with CFNY's Ivar Hamilton about his days at the Spirit of Radio, his memories of Martin Streek, how he was responsible for the Bon Jovi banner at the ACC and what he and David Marsden are up to these days. This episode is exactly
I tweeted this news yesterday, but only a handful seemed to notice. So it's time to kick it old school with a blog entry. Sources tell me Bill Carroll's last day at @am640 is Friday. He's taking another gig, but not in Toronto. #radio— Toronto Mike (@torontomike) February 2, 2016Bill
