maybe the whole cow, and he kind of quit on the spot. His life changed drastically in 1961 when he saw Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee at Reading's town hall and later witnessed James Cotton playing with Chris . She was wearing her wedding dress. I want to share with you a story or two about . Hers still fit perfectly! Like and follow 98.1 CHFI for the latest in entertainment plus local news and events. Nobody even pretended to put their hand up, they werent even thinking about it. In addition, the station rebranded as 98.1 CHFI (pronounced, "ninety-eight-one CHFI") instead, and unveiled the "Today's Lite Music" slogan.[8][9]. Just a thought. Whatever youre doing, may the bunny be good to you, may your heart be full and may you make some memories of your own. Initially inspired by New Orleans and Dixieland jazz, he played in skiffle groups during the late '50s. When she was done with her [chemo] treatment at Mount Sinai, she would go back and volunteer at admission and make sure that everyone who is scared and lonely would get a hug, Davis recalled of Cooper. He was a very distinguished man, and he and I hit if off immediately. Im not a big fan of following the rules, but I am a company man. You see, after a years delay, this May, yours truly is being inducted into the Canadian Broadcast and Music Industry Hall of Fame. Another of Compeau's innovations was Front Row Centre, heard Sunday afternoons at 2 p.m. [10][11] At the same time, the station returned to using the point on the station's ID, returned to its soft AC format, and switched its slogan to "Toronto's Lite Favourites. This one-hour program featured full original cast recordings of popular Broadway musicals, with host Don Parish explaining the story between songs. Hello everyone! When we took [CHUM] down, it was quite a feather in our cap. Cooper was born in Reading, England in 1942. Sure, there were lots of wonderful moments, but its the overall picture, the one that has been painted in bright colours of laughter and framed in a great big heart, that I cherish most. A veteran radio personality of 45 years and a leader in Toronto broadcasting, Mike gathers with his co-workers, friends and family at the Mill Street Beer Hall and Brew Pub in the Historic Distillery District.\rdaytime Toronto takes you on a behind the scenes tour of the event and we get to speak with one of the finest radio hosts in the business. For this writer, it filled me with many good memories. 1. For this writer, it filled me with many good memories. I know how just about every game on the midway works and theyve got you, I tell you.. He worked at some of the best stations with CHFI, CHUM, CKGM, CFTR, EZ Rock and maybe a few others I forgot. JOIN THE CONVERSATION. So thats what were going to do: Were going to do all of those things and take care of one another. I hate stupid management, and Ive had some very stupid program directors. She also left behind their son Christopher and daughter Sarah, who are both in their 30s. No drama or long goodbyes. Deborah Cooper, whose battle against cancer inspired thousands, dies at 66, Even in chemo herself, Deborah Cooper found strength and courage to console other cancer patients, Deborah Cooper honoured at CIBC Celebration of Hope, LIVE NOW: Its May 1 and our top story is 'Everybody's happy place': Newmarket Farmers' Market kicked off revitalization of downtown Main Street, 'Here for everyone': Georgina Public Library joins fine-free movement. Its a hell of a view and Im so sick and tired of it, he told Jeff Davies of the Star, at the time. As luck would have it, he was having one of his mini breaks. This news from Rogers-owned CHFI comes mere days after a complete overhaul of The Fan 590 lineup, including the dismissal of Scott MacArthur, Richard Deitsch, Rob Wong, Josh Goldberg, Andrew Nie and Jason Rozen. Im sure this came as a shock to many of the stations loyal listeners. CHFI is often the most listened-to commercial radio station in Greater Toronto, according to the Numeris ratings. When I asked about the tuxedo, Mike mentioned that it was the one he wore on his wedding day many years earlier. Designed by Graymatter Marketing Solutions, As always, you can watch a video version of this journal on, Hey, if you listen to Toronto radio and woke up thinking you were dreaming when you heard Mike Cooper back on the morning show on, So it was with a sense of dread that I was tasked with finding pictures from my early radio years. In Fridays message, Mike referred to Debbie as his tender morsel of passionfruit and his first love. In this segment from daytime Toronto, we visit an event held for Mike Cooper as he retires as Co-Host of Erin and Mike in the Morning on 98.1 CHFI. He did a good job with it - still remember the old oldies show with Don Daynard as a young one and its almost a CHFI staple to have a classics show on saturday nights, although Coopers classics was basically the same thing as listening to Boom. For Toronto's all-news radio station that began as CHFI, see, http://assets.numeris.ca/Downloads/2016-17_07_Radio_ME_TorontoToplineRadio.pdf, Pop goes the station as CHFI pulls plug on Beautiful Music, Morning man heads for the sunset; Don Daynard leaving popular CHFI radio show, 'Dandy' Don Daynard rides off into sunrise; CHFI's popular morning host retires after 47 years in the radio business, "Erin Davis Departs as Mad Dog & Billie Join CHFI", Mad Dog and Billie change dials: Morning radio hosts join CHFI; chance to reach more listeners, Message from PD Julie Adam regarding morning show change. If you subscribe to the CHFI newsletter, youll probably have seen a tribute to Ian from his daughter Ava. A new CHFI morning show will be announced shortly. [Meister Eckhart] As always, you can watch a video version of this journal on my Facebook page, or here on YouTube (if there's an ad there, thank Motown!). Erin had the opportunity to meet and work with Mike Cooper, one of Canada's best-known radio personalities, while she was temporarily filling in on another Toronto radio station. Share to Facebook. I have to admit, I might include them in my plans. I mean, how great is it that after five years off mornings, Mike can just slide in and feel like he hasnt missed a step? I hear it now and I hate it. He was the creator of the 5:10 "Stupid joke of the day" during his time at 680 CFTR. Okay, he did have another job: he drove the van for the Pickle Barrel in his teens until he took a corner too fast and a door flew open. Now get out there and rock your reWirement. I had such a great time with Maureen, I invited her back to kick out the jams with me. I didnt know we also had to be writers and editors. Im looking forward to celebrating our son-in-law Phils birthday today and Robs birthday, which coincides with Easter Sunday, this weekend. One of the stops I had to make while I was there, was to see Mike Cooper riding the Ferris Wheel. And THANK YOU. In 2009, CHFI returned to mainstream AC, but retained the "Toronto's Lite Favourites" slogan and added the decimal point back in the station identification. (He steps down on Jan. 29 but will continue to host Coop's Classics on Saturday nights.) They had to call me back in. Dubbed the "new library of old 78's", these antique rarities were showcased each weeknight. No one will fill those big shoes, or strangely little chair. She had been the competition over at CHFI for ten years but, you couldnt hide the chemistry between them on the air. Mike had a good run at this station. - Catch Erin Davis's final broadcast tomorrow morning on CHFI from 5 to 9 a.m. - . Theyre gone. If you do not yet have a Torstar account, you can create one now (it is free), Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. Honouring Deb with the Hope Award was just a further testament to her strength, and especially to her courage., Bell also praised the very public way in which she and Mike confronted her cancer diagnosis.. Maureen hosted the afternoon drive show on Q107, a deep dive into her extensive Toronto radio career, Here she is playing her ten favourite songs of all-time, a complete overhaul of The Fan 590 lineup, Next Post : How to play Canada's Lotto 6/49, What Happened to Scott MacArthur? Chris Powell Copyright 2022 Canadian Beats Media. I love how it is progressing and Im thankful that I can be a small part of it. Firing Erin Davis and moving Bob Magee to afternoons, the station named Mad Dog and Billie, later known as "Jay and Billie", as the morning team, beginning June 23. The station was acquired in 1960 by Aldred-Rogers Broadcasting, a forerunner to Rogers Radio. Guess we will see in the new year what the station will do during the Saturday evening slot.Always remember when Mike had the big goodbye when he left mornings on CHFI in January 2016. . The car [I received] was an Austin Marina. A few photos were snapped of the happy couple. He will continue to host Coops Classics Saturday evenings on CHFI. 211 Pritchard Road, Unit 4, Hamilton ON L8J 0G5. Itll be virtual and Ill be recording an acceptance, which is a bummer, but of course Im still grateful. I should have known but it turned out that it was on Roger Ashby. As a teen Mike enrolled in the broadcast course at Mohawk and his first station after finishing at Mohawk was CKAT FM in North Bay. I will probably still get up early, maybe a little later maybe 5 a.m., maybe 5:30 a.m. We want to see the world a little bit. So, yeah, Ill pass. If you were there, we were going to be okay. We can always hope.. Tory leadership hopefuls are outlining their views on national broadcaster's future, Sponsored giveaway supported by social posts directed at female-skewing audience, Annual charitable campaign taps influencers and the social web for the first time, Netflix remains wary of regulation as some tout 'Anne' and 'Alias Grace' partnerships, PayPal and Ipsos research shows "Shop Now" buttons are gaining traction, Popular online ad exchange bans site for violating hate speech policy, Former Microsoft and Globe and Mail exec returns to the agency world. We were unable to log you in. A few seconds later, Coopers voice returned with the words, April Fool!. This would be where I first crossed paths with Mike. Copyright 1996-2023 Brunico Communications Ltd. All Rights Reserved. I was desperately shy as a kid and dyslexic, so I had two strikes against me. Looking back, what do you consider your career highlights? What wont you miss? CHFI-FM (98.1 MHz) is a commercial FM . That was really important. I rode the ferris wheel for 21 days, 10 hours and 10 minutes at the CNE in an open seat with a little canopy over me through all the weather. Mo will always be part of the CHFI family, and we're grateful for the chapter she", "Beyond honoured to be asked to temporarily guest host @981chfi's #1 morning show. This brought CJEZ's ratings up dramatically, beating CHFI in several target audience demographics. Jay and Billie hosted mornings on co-owned Toronto station CISS-FM before it flipped to adult hits earlier that month. Fresh out of school, he landed his first radio job at CKAT-FM in North Bay, then a short gig in Ottawa, before rocking the airwaves of Toronto at 1050 CHUM AM in the mid-1970s. Get the app. He's been replaced by Toronto radio veteran Mike Cooper. While writing the article, I tried to find my copy. Mike Coopers time at CHUM ended rather abruptly following, what is now, one of the best April Fools pranks in radio history. - Erin Davis photo. I appears as if Mike is gone again, as well as producer Gord Rennie. It seemed the whole city was behind him! Sail on, my friend. Main Photo Credit:CHFI File Photo. . I think Ive got that, Im going to die with it, but everything else I wasnt doing so well in.. In his sign-off for CHFI, Cooper repeatedly praised his wife Debbie, who was with him from his start on-air as a teenager, and through often-low paying jobs in a career that wound through North Bay, Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal. We could have passed it onto the children, but we looked at each other and said No, we dont like them that much.. The email address you have provided does not exist in our database.