When I was a boy, radio was something my Dad listened to in the car or on our home stereo. We listened to the music my Dad wanted to hear.
When I reached the age of 10 [1970], my Mom bought me a blue, ball-shaped transistor radio—the Panasonic Panapet—and I started listening to the radio for my own enjoyment.
Why anyone would want a keychain on a softball-sized radio is beyond me. But it was the 1970s. Making sense was not a priority.
I grew up in Ypsilanti, Michigan, about 30 miles from Detroit, which is across the river from Ontario, Canada. At that time, Canada had a powerful AM radio station called CKLW. We could pick it up where I lived. CKLW was a “Top 40” station, meaning they played whatever songs were the top forty songs on the music charts.
This was before radio became as segmented as it is today. There were basically Top 40, Country, Classical, Jazz, and Sports stations on AM radio. FM radio was in its infancy and began playing “album-oriented” rock, “college radio,” and other less mainstream music.
Because my little blue radio was AM only, I listened to Top 40 on CKLW. I can still sing the call sign jingle, C — K — L — W. If you are only familiar with Top 40 Pop music of today, your perception of Top 40 radio is miles away from what Top 40 music was in the early 1970s.
At the time, Top 40 was a delicious buffet of music. Multiple genres of music appeared one after the other, day after day. You could hear bubble-gum pop like Candy Man by Sammy Davis Jr., followed by Black Dog by Led Zeppelin, followed by A Horse With No Name by America, followed by Let’s Stay Together by Al Green, followed by Superstition by Stevie Wonder. It was great.
I found this list of the Top 100 songs on CKLW in 1972 online. This list shows what Top 40 AM radio was like in 1972 when I was 12 years old listening to CKLW.
It brought back fond memories of sitting in my front yard in the shade on a summer day (we didn’t have air conditioning) with my little round blue transistor radio listening to these songs. It was a simpler time for me when music was magical and every day brought great new songs over the airwaves.
It is incredible how many of these songs are still being played on the radio today, even though they are 51 years old. But they were brand new to me back then. I think about that sometimes. If I had listened to 51-year-old music in the 1970s, it would have been early Jazz, Blues, Swing, Dance Band, or Ragtime. Not music a kid in the 1970s would have likely listened to.
Another incredible thing is the wide variety of music being played on one radio station. That probably wouldn’t happen today. It’s a shame.
I am sure CKLW played a significant role in my broad musical tastes. Thank you, Mom, for the radio. And thank you, CKLW, for playing great music.
My kind aunt bought me one of those in bright yellow🟡, for Christmas. I was overwhelmed, it looked so cool! I think our station was KDKA , Pittsburgh-50,000 watts!
Amen! I used to listen to late night AM all the way from Little Rock, AK. Don't remember the call letters.
Our local station was KDWB (channel 63!)
Wonderful, golden age of music.