I first started listening to Wbcq in the summer of 1999. I had listened a few times before while dxing but it was July of 1999 when I first started listening to it regularly. I was Dxing one Saturday afternoon and came across Tom and Deryl doing a Christmas in July show with all these funny sketches. I knew that, if this was the kind of programming this new Wbcq was broadcasting, I wanted to keep listening to it. I tuned in later and heard "Big Steve Cole’s Different Kind Of Oldies show."
At the time, I had just completed grade 10 at the W. Ross Macdonald School for the Blind in Brantford, Ontario. It was the kind of place where nobody cared about anything important, only the latest sports scores and fluff news. I am not exaggerating when I say Wbcq saved me mentally. I couldn’t imagine what returning to school would have been like if I hadn’t known Wbcq existed.
In Wbcq’s programmers, I found people who cared about world issues. Through shows like "American Viewpoint", "The Jeff Davis Show", "Hour of the Time", "The Right Perspective", "The Hal Turner Show", and others, I got many perspectives and opinions that, especially living in Canada and being in the days before I had learned to use the internet, I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere else. I should also add to this list one of the first, if not the first episodes of "Allan Wiener Worldwide" that helped me form a large part of my opinion about drugs.
Through shows like "Uncle Ed’s Musical Memories", "Amos ‘n' Andy", "Marion’s Attic", "Fred Flintstone’s Music Show", "Idio Audio", "The Album Zone", "The Pab Sungenez Project", "The RMF Show", "Pan Global Wireless", "The Lumpy Gravy Radio Show", "867-5309", and various things that Michael Ketter did, I was exposed to music, comedy and entertainment that both amused and educated me.
In hosts like the above-mentioned Tim Tron, Larry and Jane and Michael Ketter, I discovered interesting people who cared about more than just their day-to-day lives. I also really enjoyed "Allan Wiener Worldwide", the adventures of a guy in small-town northern Maine trying (and succeeding) to run a radio station.
I also want to give a special mention to Johnny Lightning and "Radio New York International." JL’s show is certainly a combination of all the attributes mentioned above. Johnny particularly helped me make sense of the world in those years when I was going to the School For The Blind.
Happy anniversary Wbcq. I certainly hope you’ll stay on the air for years to come with the same admirable free speech policy. Though the quality of the general programming has varied over the years depending on the clients you have at any given time, I’ve always found something interesting to listen to week after week.
Sincerely,
Alex Horton
2 comments:
Hi Alex,
I'm from Mississauga and I had this cheap 25 dollar radio that I used to listen to WBCQ . I had to rig up a long wire that went through the window and was tied to a rod in the ground. But it was really all worth it. This was 10 years ago too. I also rediscovered WBCQ and listen to it pretty clearly these days on the computer. What is interesting is that I used to listen to Timtron back around 1985 or so, when he used to broadcast from his shack. It's funny how important these personalities become to you: they do become like friends. WBCQ is certainly a one of a kind station and no commercial station can compare to it. Johnny Lightning is sometimes (I can't always agree with his politics) the best and the funniest entertainment that I have ever heard on ANY station. I hope he continues for decades.
I think I remember you calling into "Radio Tim Tron Worldwide."
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