NEW! The featured CKLW audio aircheck is courtesy of Michael Lockhart, Ferndale, MI. Thank You! Michael recently donated this (60 year-old) CKLW audio memory for the site’s aircheck repository.
Audio recording was digitally enhanced by Motor City Radio Flashbacks
According to renown Detroit radio historian David Carson (author of ‘Rockin’ Down The Dial’), Bud Davis began his only one-station career at CKLW in 1942, by first working in the mail room and adding duties as a transcription operator and as staff announcer. After serving in World War II in the Royal Canadian Navy, Davis returned to CKLW and began doing early “Platter and Chatter” shows and began to attract a much-younger listening radio audience.
Eventually, during the early-1950s, Davies ranked well in listener popularity with his two shows, “Good Neighbor Club” and “Your Boy Bud”, “when he played records and took the votes of fans in his ‘Battles of the Bands’ and ‘Singers'” at CKLW during the mid-day hours.
It was by the mid-1950s when Davies reputably drew a strong teen audience and was by then a huge teen favorite at CKLW. By 1956, he was doing daily on-air split-shifts. Two hours in the afternoon (1:30 – 3:30 p.m.) and one hour and a half hour in the evening (7:30 p.m. to 9). In between the two shifts, Bud also hosted ‘Top Ten Dance Party’ on CKLW-TV 9. Bud introduced Elvis Presley on stage at the Fox Theater, when he first appeared in Detroit in July of 1956.
Davis, by early-1961, was moved to the late afternoon hours at CKLW and began drawing a more mature, cross-over listening audience playing “the latest hits and engaging his listeners with his popular ‘Shafer Bread Quickie Quiz’ segments. At the time, CKLW went country in the evening hours, with a show called “Sounds Like Nashville.” By May of 1963, Bud Davis replaced Toby David as the new morning man (David going full-time at TV 9) at CKLW. Dave Shafer moved up in the afternoon slot held previous by Davies.
After 29 years at CKLW, for reasons never fully explained, Bud Davies was released from CKLW in August of 1966. Long retired from the radio business and living in Florida, Bud Davies passed away on October 20, 2006.
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Credit and source information: ‘Rockin’ Down The Dial’, by David Carson Momentum Books Ltd., Troy, MI. Copyright 2000
Note: Click on featured ad image 2x on your PC for largest detailed view. Tap over ad image on your mobile device and stretch across your screen for detailed view.
“The listing of records herein is the opinion of CKLW based on its survey of record sales, listener requests and CKLW’s judgement of the record’s appeal.”
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The featured CKLW chart was digitally restored by Motor City Radio Flashbacks
ON YOUR MOBILE DEVICE? Tap over CKLW chart images. Open to second window. “Stretch” image across your device screen to magnify for largest print view.
ON YOUR PC? Click on all chart images 2x for largest print view.
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A sincere thank you Mrs. Patti Griggs. This featured presentation would have not been possible without your generosity, dedication, and your continuous support.
Above CKLW music chart courtesy of Mrs. Patti Griggs and the George L. Griggs estate.
The CKLW BIG 50 (plus) hits in Windsor/Detroit. This survey was tabulated overall by record popularity appeal, sales, listener requests and record airplays based on the judgement of CKLW Radio. [February 1964]
Not a misprint! 50-plus ‘Beatles’ hits — listed for this week’s CKLW survey! 🙂
ON YOUR MOBILE DEVICE? Tap over chart image. Open to second window. “Stretch” chart across your device screen to magnify for largest print view.
ON YOUR PC? Click on chart image 2x for largest detailed print view.
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The above CKLW chart was digitally restored by Motor City Radio Flashbacks
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A sincere thank you Mrs. Patti Griggs. This featured presentation would have not been possible without your generosity, dedication, and your continuous support.
Above CKLW music chart courtesy of Mrs. Patti Griggs and the George L. Griggs estate.
“The listing of records herein is the opinion of CKLW based on its survey of record sales, listener requests and CKLW’s judgement of the record’s appeal.”
The featured CKLW chart was digitally restored in its entirety by Motor City Radio Flashbacks
ON YOUR MOBILE DEVICE? Tap over CKLW chart images. Open to second window. “Stretch” image across your device screen to magnify for largest print view.
ON YOUR PC? Click on all chart images 2x for largest print view.
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A sincere thank you Mrs. Patti Griggs. This featured presentation would have not been possible without your generosity, dedication, and your continuous support.
Above CKLW music chart courtesy of Mrs. Patti Griggs and the George L. Griggs estate.
Westbound Records release of famed CKLW newsman Byron MacGregor’s record 45 single of ‘Americans’, officially marked its debut on the CKLW Big 30 chart, this week, December 11, 1973.
Accordingly, the single would ultimately peak at #1 on CKLW on January 2, 1974, at date, just three weeks overall on the CKLW charts. Nationally, MacGregor’s ‘Americans’ would peak at #4 (1 week) on the Billboard charts on February 9, 1974.
All proceeds generated from sales off the single was decreed by Byron as a 100 per cent charitable donation for the American Red Cross.
Byron MacGregor, legendary news director at the Big 8, passed away at the age of 46, January 3, 1995.
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Audio recording was digitally enhanced by Motor City Radio Flashbacks
MCRFB Note: Special THANKS to our friend, John Bartony (a.k.a. Jukebox John) St. Clair Shores, Michigan, for referencing and having provided the above Detroit Free Press CKLW 800 ad — June 4, 1963 — for this site, as featured today.
The above featured Detroit Free Press article was digitally re-imaged in its entirety by Motor City Radio Flashbacks
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A special thank you to senior MCRFB consultant Greg Innis, of Livonia, MI., for contributing the Newspapers.com archives (Detroit radio related) articles, ads, and images we have featured on this site, since 2016.
Thank you, Greg Innis, for making these historic Detroit radio features possible. 🙂
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Missed any of our previous ‘Detroit Radio Back-Pages‘ features? GO HERE
ON YOUR PC? You can read this entire newsprint article — the fine print — ENLARGED. For a larger detailed view click above image 2x and open to second window. Click image anytime to return to NORMAL image size.
Click your server’s back button to return to MCRFB.COM home page.
ON YOUR MOBILE DEVICE? Tap on newsprint image. Open to second window. “Stretch” image across your device screen to magnify for largest print view.
The above featured Detroit Free Press WKNR ad was digitally re-imaged by Motor City Radio Flashbacks.
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Missed any of our previous ‘Detroit Radio Back-Pages‘ features?GO HERE
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A special thank you to senior MCRFB consultant Greg Innis, of Livonia, MI., for contributing the Newspapers.com archives (Detroit radio related) articles, ads, and images we have featured on this site, since 2016.
Thank you, Greg Innis, for making these historic Detroit radio features possible. 🙂
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Missed any of our previous ‘Detroit Radio Back-Pages‘ features? GO HERE
ON YOUR PC? You can read this entire newsprint article — the fine print — ENLARGED. For a larger detailed view click above image 2x and open to second window. Click image anytime to return to NORMAL image size.
Click your server’s back button to return to MCRFB.COM home page.
ON YOUR MOBILE DEVICE? Tap on newsprint image. Open to second window. “Stretch” image across your device screen to magnify for largest print view.
“The listing of records herein is the opinion of CKLW based on its survey of record sales, listener requests and CKLW’s judgement of the record’s appeal.”
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The featured CKLW chart was digitally restored by Motor City Radio Flashbacks
ON YOUR MOBILE DEVICE? Tap over CKLW chart images. Open to second window. “Stretch” image across your device screen to magnify for largest print view.
ON YOUR PC? Click on all chart images 2x for largest print view.
A Special Thank You
A sincere, thank you, Mrs. Patti Griggs. This featured presentation would have not been possible without your generosity, dedication, and your continuous support.
Above CKLW music chart courtesy of Mrs. Patti Griggs and the George L. Griggs estate.