I just found out that CHUM AM 1050 is gone. Vanished, sold, dead air. Toronto teens grew up with the station, back in a time when AM radio was much more heavily patronized than FM radio. In fact, a lot of car radios didn't even have the ability to tune into FM. I had an official CHUM bug card, and tuned in faithfully every day after school. I once won a Neil Diamond record from them, the first thing I ever won.
I first listened in 1966, on a transistor radio I got for my birthday. Mine looked something like the one on the left. Realize that they're just a bit bigger than the palm of your hand. The on/off switch on mine was so worn I had to press down to make it work.These babies took one 9 volt battery, which had the life of about 10 milliseconds. I used to kill mine by falling asleep while listening under my pillow.
CHUM put out CHUM Charts for years, and I started collecting them in 1966. I still have mine, and read on eBay they're worth about $4.00 each, more for the ones before 1970, and more for the ones with pictures of famous singers on them. Maybe I should start a side business.I'll miss CHUM. I haven't lived in Toronto for years, and never listened, but I'll miss just knowing it's around.
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