''Night Lines'' was a Canadian radio series, which aired on

CBC Stereo CBC Music (formerly known as CBC FM, CBC Stereo and CBC Radio 2) is a Canadian FM radio network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It used to concentrate on classical and jazz. In 2007 and 2008, the network transitioned towards a ...

from 1984 to 1997.Michael Barclay, Ian A.D. Jack and Jason Schneider, '' Have Not Been the Same: The Can-Rock Renaissance 1985-1995''.

ECW Press ECW Press is a Canadian book publisher located in Toronto, Ontario. It was founded by Jack David and Robert Lecker in 1974 as a Canadian literary magazine named ''Essays on Canadian Writing''. They started publishing trade and scholarly book ...

. . The show, which aired on Friday and Saturday nights, profiled

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

and

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

music. It was a weekend companion to the network's weekday overnight show ''

Brave New Waves ''Brave New Waves'' was a Canadian radio program which aired on CBC Stereo, later known as CBC Radio 2, from 1984 to 2007. Airing overnight five nights a week, the show profiled alternative and indie music and culture, including film, comics, ...

'',"Radio with a difference". ''

Windsor Star The ''Windsor Star'' is a daily newspaper based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Postmedia Network, it is published Tuesdays through Saturdays. History The paper began as the weekly ''Windsor Record'' in 1888, changing its name to the ''Bo ...

'', November 7, 1986. and aspired to revive the freeform style and creative experimentation associated with rock radio stations in the 1960s and 1970s. The show's original host was Ron Robinson."CBC's Night Lines: a renaissance for rock radio". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', September 27, 1986.

Ralph Benmergui Raphael "Ralph" Benmergui (born 1955) is a Canadian television and radio personality, a writer, an ordained spiritual director, and a strategic advisor in political, environmental, and academic realms. Early life and education Born to a Sephar ...

succeeded him, and was in turn followed by

David Wisdom David Wisdom is a Canadian artist and former radio personality, best known as the host of ''Night Lines'', ''RadioSonic'', ''Radio-On'', and ''Pearls of Wisdom'' on CBC Radio 2.Ross Porter. When David Wisdom took over the hosting duties in 1987, the show moved to CBC Vancouver and was produced by Susan Englebert.

Features

Regular features of the show during Wisdom's tenure included: * Ten Singles in Alphabetical Order. After host David Wisdom alphabetized his mammoth 7" vinyl 45 rpm singles collection by artist, he set aside time each weekend to play one single each by ten consecutive alphabetized artists, starting at "A" and continuing until he reached the end of his collection in the "Z"s (approximately nine years later). * Listener requests via answering machine. Night Lines listeners could call up an answering machine in CBC's Vancouver studios and, after answering a "skill-testing question" (by rule, something open-ended and usually bordering on philosophical, such as "What do you want to be when you grow up?"), request a song for Wisdom to play during the following weekend's shows. Regular callers to the request line became part of the show's fabric. Some consistent callers included Vicki from

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

(who later moved and became Vicki from

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

), Gilbert from

Transcona Transcona is a ward and suburb of Winnipeg, Manitoba, located about east of the downtown area. Until 1972, it was a separate municipality, having been incorporated first as the Town of Transcona on 6 April 1912 and then as the City of Tr ...

(who used a mock-

Gilbert Gottfried Gilbert Jeremy Gottfried (February 28, 1955 – April 12, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian and actor, known for his exaggerated shrill voice, strong New York accent, and his edgy, often controversial, sense of humor. His numerous ro ...

voice on the answering machine), Norm from

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, Rocky from

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population ...

, Milton the Cabbie, Joanna from

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, Sonya from Port Lambton, Ontario, Sean from Brandon, Manitoba, and Lori from Southfield, Michigan (USA). * Soundbite Sensation Contests. Once each year, Wisdom would create a 6-to-8 minute audio

collage Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole. ...

containing bits of 50-100 different songs, and challenge listeners to identify the songs found within, with prizes (usually Night Lines T-shirts) going to the top entries. The collages usually had a unifying theme, among them guitar riffs, beginnings of songs, and celebrity names sung in song lyrics. * The Hour of Power, in which control of the airwaves was turned over to an audience member for one hour each weekend. When this feature started, listeners would send in scripts containing text for Wisdom to read on-air and lists of songs to play in-between the spoken text. As time went on, more and more Hours of Power were performed live in-studio by listeners, musicians, friends of David Wisdom's, etc.

Grant Lawrence Grant Lawrence (born July 30, 1971) is a Canadian broadcaster, musician and writer based in Vancouver, primarily associated with CBC Music and CBC Radio 3. Lawrence was also the vocalist for the indie rock group The Smugglers.Michael Barclay, Ian ...

, now one of the hosts on

CBC Radio 3 CBC Radio 3 is a Canadian digital radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which plays a relatively freeform mix of indie rock, indie pop, alternative hip hop, folk, country and electronic music. The service, which lanuc ...

, began his association with the CBC as a contributor to ''Night Lines'', calling the show to share stories about life on tour with his band

The Smugglers ''The Smugglers'' is the completely missing first serial of the fourth season in the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 10 September to 1 October 1966. In this serial ...

Cancellation

''Night Lines'' ended on August 31, 1997. The show's final episode featured an in-studio performance by

Rheostatics Rheostatics are a Canadian indie rock band. They were formed in 1978, and actively performed from 1980 until disbanding in 2007. After a number of reunion performances at special events, Rheostatics reformed in late 2016, introducing new songs a ...

. Rheostatics subsequently released that performance on CD as ''

The Nightlines Sessions ''The Nightlines Sessions'' is a 1998 album by Rheostatics. The album was recorded as a live session for the final episode of CBC Stereo's late night music program ''Night Lines'', hosted by David Wisdom. It is a largely tossed-off and improvis ...

''. Wisdom went on to cohost the new series ''

RadioSonic ''RadioSonic'' was a Canadian radio program, which aired on CBC Radio 2 from 1997 to 2003.Michael Barclay, Ian A.D. Jack and Jason Schneider, '' Have Not Been the Same: The Can-Rock Renaissance 1985-1995''. ECW Press. . ''RadioSonic'', which aired ...

'' with

Leora Kornfeld Leora Kornfeld is a digital media researcher and consultant and former radio personality. She was best known for hosting ''RealTime'' on CBC Stereo in the 1990s, which was billed as the first radio program in the world to integrate emerging Intern ...

. ''RadioSonic'' eventually evolved into today's

. Some individual tracks from ''Night Lines'' sessions by other bands, including

Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the S ...

, cub,

Huevos Rancheros Huevos rancheros (, 'ranch-style eggs') is a breakfast dish consisting of eggs served in the style of the traditional large mid-morning fare on rural Mexican farms. Basic dish The basic dish consists of fried eggs served on lightly fried or cha ...

and

, were released in 2006 on the compilation album ''

Mint Records Presents the CBC Radio 3 Sessions ''Mint Records Presents the CBC Radio 3 Sessions'' is a compilation album featuring live sessions from Canada's CBC Radio 3 network, as well as some from the 1990s CBC Radio 2 programs ''Night Lines'' and ''RadioSonic'' (programs which evolved i ...

''.

References

{{reflist CBC Music programs Canadian music radio programs Rock music radio programs 1984 radio programme debuts 1997 radio programme endings