440 Satisfaction shows Kris Erik Stevens working at CKLW in 1967 and WLS in 1968, so I suppose he could have sneaked Bob Seger in on a Holiday. 440 Satisfaction is often inaccurate though.
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CKLW is definitely weak around here, and, if anything, it's worse in Wisconsin. Which would be the signal path in your direction. In addition to protecting XEROK, my guess that the CRTC also obligates CKLW to protect CHAB in Regina, Saskatchewan and perhaps also the now-defunct 800 that used to operate in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
The Night Pattern is the equivalent of about 4 kW at 270 degrees. With no other 800s for hundreds of miles in the US then, I'd say quite possible. You could hear WKNR, WILS, and WKMI quite easily in the ORD NWC area at Night. I heard WJJD with 50 watts special DST PSA back in 1974, so quite possible.
CKLW could be received well at night in the NYC area where they had a good lobe. I don't know if that's still true today.
I think he used a different name at CKLW.
CKLW was early on Michigan act The Bob Seger System with Ramblin' Gambin' Man, and "Heavy Music" which as far s I know got no national airplay/
I don't think there was any "bring your own records from home" at WLS. Kris Erik Stevens worked under the name Billy Mack on the all night show on CKLW.
Several years ago, on the same night that KCKM 1330 in TX had their DX test, I heard CFCO-630 Chatham, ON from Yakima. This was on the 3-ft PVC box loop. Country music down at the very bottom of the pile pointing straight E and the playlist matched to both songs I heard. So maybe CKLW is possible after all, but I need my big loop back...can't have it here in Ellensburg. The same night, I heard KBRF-1250 Fergus Falls MN for the first and only time, along with a Spanish station in the pile that MAY have been Kansas City. Conditions were unbelievable that night.
Thanks, I couldn't remember the name he used on CKLW.
I'm sure the record was already in the PD's office, and may have already shown up in their research. But I was trying to figure out if it was actually on CKLW or WLS, since so many of you have had such a hard time hearing CKLW there, and I heard it easily. I remember waiting for WAIT to sign off, and I was listening as I said in the 800 kHz range.
For the record, "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" debuted 9-26-68 on WKNR, 10-22-68 on CKLW, and 1-20-69 on WLS. As a point of reference, WLS played "Dawn (Go Away)" by the Four Seasons for 4 weeks on acetates before it was released on Philips and it charted Hot 100 and on WLS, because of the V-J royalty disputes and related delayed new recording contract. And "Crimson and Clover" by Tommy James was played on a surreptitiously taped recording during an interview on WLS. It wasn't even completely edited, and it forced the record company to release the incompletely edited version. I suspect some portions would have been edited out otherwise. But it worked, and Tommy's still kicking on 60s on 6.
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I first heard "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" on WCFL in late 68. From what I remember they were on it well before WLS. It's first appearance on the WLS survey was Jan 20, 1969.
It looks like WCFL forced WLS's hand to start playing it. It was probably showing up earlier in research due to airplay across the "pond" in Western Michigan. WCFL started playing it on the unpublished year end weekly survey. It appeared the next week published going from 30-29, and WLS added it a few days later. I suspect that WTAC played it even before WKNR, Punch Andrews usually went there first, but the charts are "lost" due to being published in Robin Leach's GO Magazine/Tabloid and thrown out due to the bulk. A few issues were kept by garage band members whose songs charted on the local charts on the GO center pages.
I got CKLW shortly after I moved to Quincy, IL right around sunset (during their Music of Your Life era). It was strong, but gone at pattern change.
On Day pattern, it's 1315 mV/m @ 1 km at 270 degrees. That's 817 mV/m at 1 mile. Easily the equivalent of a 20 kW nondirectional for most installations.
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I'll hjave to correct what I posted previously. I just checked R-L and CKLW has a lobe to the southwest on DAY pattern. I had been thinking they had a lobe to the west southwest at night. Maybe that was once the case, but apparently not now. But that said, IME, CKLW has been stronger at night in central, Illinois than it is here. Weaker in much of Wisconsin
I've noticed the same thing at night, also a good signal to parts of the east coast--NYC area.
CKLW is at 42 03 25 N, so you are pretty much at 270 degrees. So 270 degrees is on the side of that big lobe to the SW.
Back in the day, I guess that when PJB wasn't a factor, CKLW was very popular at Night in the smaller towns and rural areas away from WABC and WGY. WKBW was another station that was big on the East Coast. WBZ of course went inland, and WCFL and WOWO DAs also favored those areas away from adjacent channels.
Pre-release acetates were very common during this era in larger radio markets, often to check how the "mix" sounded on the air with AM radio processing. One of the more famous pre-release acetates was "Shambala" by Three Dog Night in 1973. Now, collectors have memorialized this early but not final mix:
After the acetate trial, the track was remixed for the official single release. This mix as less reverb and other slight mix differences. "Shambala" was never mixed to stereo.
There are many other other examples of this release strategy.
Bob
I think the acetate of "Dawn (Go Away)" had a somewhat different mix. As I recall, they had Vinnie Bell's unique sounding session guitar track after the "Pretty as a Midsummer Morn.." intro potted up quite bit from the released Philips mix. And I am disappointed that the acetate mix no longer exists. The contract signing and late release took so long that it drove it down to #3 behind "I Want To Hold.." and "She Loves You". The Beatles got out of their V-J commitments earlier, though "Please Please Me" and others were on V-J and Tollie, including the V-J version of "Please Please Me" by "The Beattles" that Dick Biondi introduced in 1963. Many recording people agree that if "Dawn" had been released when the acetates were floating around, it would have been #1.
As you said "Dawn" was stuck behind the Beatles for a month. At any other time it would've been number 1. Regarding Dick Biondi playing "Please Please Me" on WLS in Feb 63, he got no response and WLS dropped the record after a couple of weeks.
In the summer of 63 Biondi played the Beatles on KRLA and his listeners told him to stop playing that crap and play more Beach Boys.
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