CJCA is a Canadian
radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
. It operates at 930
AM branded as ''AM930 The Light'' in
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
.
History
It was first licensed in 1922, and it first broadcast on May 1, 1922, becoming Alberta's first radio station. It was an affiliate of the
Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission
The Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission (CRBC), also referred to as the Canadian Radio Commission (CRC), was Canada's first public broadcaster and the immediate precursor to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Origins
The CRBC was establish ...
from 1933 to 1936 when it affiliated with the newly formed
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...
. It was affiliated to
CBC Radio
CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...
's main
Trans-Canada Network
The Trans-Canada Network was the name assigned to the main English-language radio network of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to distinguish it from the CBC's second network, the Dominion Network. Today, it is known as CBC Radio One. The Tra ...
until 1962. CJCA was originally owned and operated by the ''
Edmonton Journal
The ''Edmonton Journal'' is a daily newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta. It is part of the Postmedia Network.
History
The ''Journal'' was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunningham — as ...
'', and was later purchased by
Selkirk Communications
Selkirk Communications was a Canadian radio and television broadcasting company, which operated from 1959 to 1989. Evolving out of Taylor, Pearson & Carson, a local broadcaster in Vancouver founded in 1934, the company grew to own 14 radio statio ...
. As of 1994, it broadcasts entirely
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
programming.
During the 1960s CJCA was one of two major pop and rock stations in Edmonton (the other being
CHED).
Walt Rutherford, Phil Floyd, John McKittrick, Murray Blakely, Terry Spense and Earl McKittrick were in the newsroom. Gord Skuttle was the Chief engineer (assisted by Andre Picard). Harry Boon was the Music Director with Dalt Elton as Program Director. The
Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...
was played twice in a row on Saturdays. Dixieland Jazz was played live from a club for an hour on Thursday nights. Each high school had its own "fight" song for dedications. The DJs were household names, and their pictures were passed out as folding cards. The Top 40 sheet was distributed weekly, and once a month a listener would win the Top 40 records for that week.
An FM station was started from the back production studio. The FM simulcast the AM except for 6:00 pm to midnight when CJCA-FM played more traditional adult
pop music
Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...
which was handled by an operator who played the records along with the pre-taped announcer.
Many "Radio 93" on-air personalities who went on to bigger markets include singer–songwriter Barry Boyd, who had a Canadian hit record, "Wishin'". In the mid 60s Barry moved to KFXM Radio in San Bernardino, California, which also called itself 'Tiger Radio'. Before returning to Edmonton, Barry was a jock on KCBQ in San Diego. Barry died in Edmonton in 2001. Other famous CJCA DJs included Mike Marshall, who later crossed the street to CHED and then became Frank Brodie at the legendary CKLW in Windsor, Ontario. Jim Hault was a longtime CJCA morning man. Hault later became an on-air institution in Vancouver.
On weekdays, George Payne did afternoons; Barry Boyd 4:00–8:00; Lorne Thompson (who was later an instructor and department head at NAIT) 8:00 to midnight; and Tom Fulton (who came from the Quesnel/Williams Lake station) the
A&W all night show. Fulton came to Toronto's
CKFH
CJCL (590 AM, ''Sportsnet 590 The Fan'') is a Canadian sports radio station in Toronto, Ontario. Owned and operated by Rogers Sports & Media since 2002, CJCL's studios are located at the Rogers Building at Bloor and Jarvis in downtown Toron ...
, then spent his final years at
CJRT and AM740. Jim Hand was an extremely popular morning man (prior to Jim Hault) and a real character. The city was shocked when he died at such a young age, a few days after having had dental surgery. A couple of other DJ characters of this era were Frantic Frank Todd (weekends), Don Lamb (weekends and promotions director), and Bernie Bisiup (the all night show - prior to Tom). Because of the station's popularity the DJs spent a lot of time doing remote broadcasts at car dealerships and stores. Ratings-wise, CJCA lead the way for a number of years. Lorne Thompson helped a number young guys get started in radio, including
Terry David Mulligan
Terry David Mulligan (born June 30, 1942) is a Canadian actor and radio and television personality based in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Life and career
Born in New Westminster, British Columbia, Mulligan worked as a Royal Canadian Mounted Pol ...
who was then an RCMP Officer patrolling the Edmonton–Calgary highway. Doug Thompson, an army brat and still at Queen E high school, started as an operator and later went on to a long career behind the scenes at
CHUM in Toronto. Hal Weaver was a very popular CJCA DJ in the mid 60s. A few years later, he would also bring that popularity to CHUM.
Bryan Fustukian Bryan Fustukian (born October 12, 1937 Saint Boniface, Winnipeg) is a Canadian country music singer and songwriter. He is also notable as a former radio broadcaster and concert promoter. Under the stage name of Vik Armen, Fustukian initially develo ...
, broadcasting as
Vik Armen Bryan Fustukian (born October 12, 1937 Saint Boniface, Winnipeg) is a Canadian country music singer and songwriter. He is also notable as a former radio broadcaster and concert promoter. Under the stage name of Vik Armen, Fustukian initially develo ...
, was also associated with CJCA during this period.
In the 1970s, a new roster of personalities came to the airwaves, among them Bryan Hall, Bob Arnold, Gord Edlund, Jim Elliot, Dan Jarvis, Mike LeBlanc, Gord Whitehead, and Ryan Grigor.
For many years the CJCA broadcast studios were located on the 4th floor of the Birks building in downtown Edmonton. On top of the Birks building was a huge billboard of a tiger wearing sunglasses—CJCA was also known as Tiger Radio.
CJCA was also home for the
Edmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...
and
Edmonton Trappers
The Edmonton Trappers were a minor league baseball team in Edmonton, Alberta. They were a part of the Triple-A level in the Pacific Coast League, ending with the 2004 season. Their home games were played at Telus Field in downtown Edmonton.
The ...
. Their games were broadcast live on CJCA for many years.
In the mid to late 1980s CJCA changed to an "all
talk
Talk may refer to:
Communication
* Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people
* Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people
* Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct
...
" format and while it was successful for a short while the station eventually failed and went off the air on December 1, 1993. Shortly thereafter, the rights to the station were purchased by Touch Canada Broadcasting and in April 1994 it returned to the air as a Christian station.
See also
*
CJRY-FM
CJRY-FM is an FM Christian radio station that broadcasts on 105.9 FM from Edmonton, Alberta. The station uses the on-air brand ''Shine FM'' often with the tag-line "Safe and Fun for the Whole Family!", referencing the core goal of the station, ...
*
Christian radio
Christian radio is a Christian media radio format that focus on programming with a Christian message. Many such broadcasters play contemporary Christian music, though many programs include sermons, radio dramas, as well as news and talk progra ...
External links
AM930 The Light*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cjca
Jca
Jca
Radio stations established in 1922
1922 establishments in Alberta
CNR Radio
Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission