50,000 WATTS: THE POWERFUL BIG 8 ‘SOUND’ OF CKLW!

CKLW Audio Collage (MCRFB A)

THE ‘CK SOUNDS THAT WAS THE BIG 8! * CKLW-AM 800 * Windsor/Detroit

CKLW. THE BIG 8.

The Drake-formatted station that changed the radio landscape here in Detroit forever. Beginning in the late-1960s into the early-1970s, CKLW held the NUMBER ONE spot on the AM radio dial in the Motor City, and also well outside its boundaries (into Ohio). The power that was radio.

With it’s massive, transmitted 50,000-watt blowtorch of a signal, the BIG 8 sound was heard in 28 states and spanned over three Canadian provinces.  At one time, CKLW was ranked the third most listened to radio station in North America.

As you listen to this CKLW audio collage we are reminded again why this station went on to become the most dominant and influential force for Top 40 radio in Detroit and across North America in the 1970s.

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50 YEARS AGO: SCOTT REGEN SIGNED ON ‘KEENER 13’!

This month marks 50 years, when Scott Regen came to WKNR, June, 1965. For more on the phenomenal Scott Regen WKNR story, visit keener13.com. For more on Scott Regen cataloged on Motor City Radio Flashbacks, go here.
This month marks 50 years when Scott Regen came to WKNR, June, 1965. For more on the phenomenal Scott Regen WKNR story visit keener13.com. For more on Scott Regen cataloged on Motor City Radio Flashbacks, go here.

Scott Regen, thank you for those WONDERFUL ’60s WKNR memories you gave us all in Detroit. More than just a phenomenon . . . you took all of us “along for the ride” during those years when you were on the radio, here, in Motown — “Keener 13.”

A MCRFB Note: I heard from WKNR great Paul Cannon, who kindly pointed out (June 6) the Scott Regen photo first published here was “displayed” incorrectly. Per Paul’s suggestion, I flipped the photo over to reflect the true positioning of Scott Regen, inside the WKNR AM studio, as it actually was looking from where the picture was taken initially. Thank you, Paul Cannon, I have made the proper correction now shown above. –J.F.

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WKNR Keener 13 Bumper Sticker (MCRFB Burger 2)

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MOTOWN SNAPSHOT FLASHBACK: CHRIS CLARK 1967!

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A MOTOWN SNAPSHOT FLASHBACK: Motown's Chris Clark circa 1967
A MOTOWN SNAPSHOT FLASHBACK: Motown’s Chris Clark circa 1967
Motown's Chris Clark 'Soul Sounds' LP. V.I.P. 1967
Motown’s Chris Clark ‘Soul Sounds’ V.I.P. album, released early-1967.

MCRFB Note: Soul Sounds is the debut album by soul singer Chris Clark, released in 1967.

As a white artist on a label for which artists were predominantly black, the album made Chris Clark a cult heroine. The album (today) is considered one of Motown’s most collectable. 

— Soul Sounds (album) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

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WKNR-AM BACK ON THE RADIO WITH: DICK PURTAN!

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WKNR HEARD HERE 24/7 ON MOTOR CITY RADIO FLASHBACKS

The MCRFB AIRCHECKS archive featuring: WKNR-AM (May 31, ’65) w/ DICK PURTAN

MCRFB Note: For more on Dick Purtan’s personal (and humorous) reflections on his early days, WKNR, May, 1965, check out his dickpurtan.com podcast No. 50 — GO HERE.

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50th! WKNR 13: THE SCOTT REGEN SKATEBOARD SONG

norma-tracey-skate-board-song-scott-regen (MCRFB A1)

NORMA TRACEY AND THE CINDERELLA KIDS * Skate Board Song * The “Official” WKNR Scott Regen Skateboard Song (1965)

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WKNR MAY 1965

In May, 1965, with the exit earlier in the year of Keener jocks Robin Seymour, Gary Stevens and later Bill Phillips, Dick Purtan, formerly (Paul Purtan) WSAI, Cincinnati, signed on filling one of three voids in the Keener jock lineup. But most notably — WKNR — created much fanfare promoting the arrival of Scott Regen to Detroit from Kansas City’s WHB.

Up until Scott Regen’s arrival to the station, especially the last few days in May, 1965, WKNR would give its listeners daily “travel updates” on Keener 13, as Scott Regen loomed closer and closer to his scheduled arrival here, slated for Tuesday, June 1st, 1965.

It was also during that time, the “Skate Board Song” became the “official” WKNR song record the station had tied in as well, in promoting further Scott Regen’s anticipated arrival here — mind you, traveling on skateboard only! — Kansas City to Detroit.

Listen as well when Dick Purtan made much ado of the “Scott Regen Skateboard Song,” Monday night, May 31, 1965. Purtan signed on WKNR, May 24, 1965. You can listen to Purtan’s shtick that evening in the WKNR-AM BACK ON THE RADIO WITH: DICK PURTAN! aircheck featured today on Motor City Radio Flashbacks.

WKNR Keener 13 Bumper Sticker

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