He called himself the “Tall One”. But for many listeners to CFPL in London, Ontario during the 1960s, Dick Williams was the only one when it came to Top 40 radio. Williams could have worked in almost any major market he choose, after all, he did a stint in mornings at KDEO in San Diego in the early 1960s. But he fell in love with the medium market of London, Ont., after arriving there after his San Diego stint. He’s still there.

In the mid-1960s, many station owners still had their doubts about this new-fangled rock’n’ roll. Even after 10 years, was it really going to last? And what about our adult listeners? So many stations, especially those serving medium markets, reached a compromise: daytime programming would he reserved for middle of the road programming, with plenty of Percy Faith, Johnny Mathis and the Living Strings. Rock ‘n’ roll would be reserved for the evenings. That’s when the kids were listening, weren’t they? And who ever heard of an adult listening to rock ‘n’ roll?

It was at such a station Dick Williams worked in the 1960’s. His clever, fast-paced, humor-driven show became stuff of legend for CFPL’s southwestern Ontario listeners, and one listen to this tape will show why. One can only assume that Williams had plenty of offers to work in a larger market with higher compensation, but he spurned them all to work in the charming, friendly city of London, Ont. Thousands of listeners there thank him still!

This aircheck is one of my all-time personal favorites. The tape has been digitally enhanced, thanks to the superb work of Charlie Ritenburg of Richmond Hill, Ont. And even though on the tape Dick says it’s January 7, 1964, it really is 1965!