Salute to Our Past
 By Glenn Darling:   I was there the day it went live on August 19th,1976. But right from the start the station had its work cut out for it, what with being surround by the heavy weight broadcasters in Toronto to the north and Hamilton to the south. Within a year there were major indications that good times were not being had by all at the Guelph Line studios of the middle of the road elevator music station.

The owners were forever dipping into their own pockets to meet the payroll. They were not happy days. It was during this time that I made a bid to take on the all night show, and to program my collection of golden oldies music. My bid was accepted, and I virtually used my pay cheque as News Director, to buy time on the station. A few months later I started expanding the hours I brokered as the Godfather of the Golden Great Revival.

Slugging away in the news room during the day and eventually brokering as many as 102 hours a week at night and on the weekends. I sold every thing you could imagine to keep us on the air. Mystery Boxes. Lp packages. Reindeer Dust. CB Radios. Cross Pens. Trojan Ends condoms. And I ran dinner dance shows at Leisure Lodge in Cambridge and a whole lot of other crazy ideas that just seemed to keep the cash flowing.

It was my pleasure to have brought on board some wonderful souls who still haunt the caverns of my mind on a daily basis. Here are just a few...

People like Jay Brown (Julius Banfai) who was quite terrible to start, but learned quickly. He became my best friend, and although he slipped off of my radar several years ago, I miss him in my life very much. Julius, if you read this, please know that at the tender age of 72, I am not to old too learn. If I pissed you off enough to have you blockade yourself from me, then I am very sorry. I really do miss you in my life every day. I would be delighted (and so would Nancy) if you might extend the olive branch, as they say.

Then there was Dave Terryberry, who followed me to CKRW Radio in Whitehorse, Yukon, when I moved there as Vice President and General Manager, and where I stayed for 14 years, before burning myself out working for Rolf Hougen, the most honourable, generous, and compassionate soul I ever met in the radio business. Dave Terryberry stayed one day at CKRW, and then returned to Hamilton with a real case of being home sick. God bless you Dave. You are a genuine nice man and Nancy and I enjoyed you very much.

Next up to remember is Larry Smith, my musicologist and my personal operator from day one. Larry and Sharon Smith of Stardust Records, along with Neil Patty of Continental Records, were the reason the music was such a hit on FM 108. Their knowledge of what would work well saved my ass over and over again. Thank you so much for the sweet memories, Larry, Sharon and Neil. And no doubt, from his vantage point in the next world, Larry is still keeping an eye on things, as the hits just keep on coming on fm108.ca.

Now let me mention just how Rockin Robin actually got his start in broadcasting. I was doing a remote one evening in Burlington, selling what I called a "mystery box" (more on this another time) and this gentleman came up to me, grabbed my hand and started pumping it, looked me straight in the eyes and said "Robin is my name, music is my game, and I want a job." Robin and Julius Banfai (Jay Brown) went on to run a very successful "oldies" dinner dance night at a local restaurant, for many years. And of course to this day Robin is a legend in his own mind and still doing dances. I say Robin is a legend in his own mind, in a very kind way. He believes in himself and that is half the battle in radio, and the reason he just keeps on ticking. I enjoyed his energy. He just never took no for an answer. No mention of Robin would ever be complete without mentioning a small fist fight in the studio with Larry Smith. Both gentlemen smile at that event now, no doubt, and they made up a short time later. I do not even remember what the big deal was. But it did happen.

Next up is Clint Trueman. A salesman for BASF tapes and an assortment of other products. His silken voice was a great addition to FM 108 and the ladies just loved him. He had the looks and charms to stop women in their tracks. And he loved every minute. He became a wonderful friend and was ever reliable.

Even Bill Evanov came to FM 108 through my door back in those days. I was on the air one night when two men had their noses stuck up against the window in the control room. They scared the hell out of me. One was Bill and the other was a gigantic gentleman named Arman Howe (sp) who had to weigh close to 300 pounds. It was through me that they got a foot in the door at FM 108. They were doing foreign language programming at CHIN Rado in those days. Bill was as aggressive as old hell, and it did not take him long to convince the owners, who were cash starved, to make him General Manger. He and I always got along and he now owns 18 radio properties across the country. I could tell you a million stories about the German crew that Bill brought to FM 108. It was a great time.

Somewhere I have a tape of a phone call I received on a Saturday night in May of 1980, just before I moved to Whitehorse. On the tape a gentleman says that FM 108 is going to become a legend in the broadcasting world, and that my taking on the label of the "Godfather of the Golden Oldies" was well earned and appropriate, and by the way he said " thanks for the memories." Thank you for that call Russ Horton. Your efforts at FM 108 have themselves become legend.

Enough for now. There are plenty of others that I could talk about, so check back here often as I update things from time to time..