Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Joey Cee: Toronto Mike'd Podcast Episode 1829

Episode Date: January 5, 2026

In this 1829th episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike chats with Joey Cee, a fascinating figure in the Canadian music scene since his high school days. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Ridley Funeral Home, Nick Ainis, and RecycleMyElectronics.ca. If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Toronto Mike at [e-mail].

Hi, this is Joey C and I'm making my first Toronto mic Your first Toronto mic, what? Preview. Preview? Your first Toronto mic appearance. Appearance. Interview.

Luckily, this is not improv tonight. Okay, Joey, let's get into this, buddy. Let's do it. That's okay. You pass the audition. Welcome to Welcome to episode 1,829 of Toronto Miked, an award-winning podcast, proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery. Order online at great lakes beer.com for free local home delivery in the GTA.

Enjoy the taste of fresh, homemade Italian pasta and entrees from Palma Pasta in Mississauga and Oakville. Visit palmapasta.com for more. Fusion Corp's own Nick Aienis. He's the host of Building Toronto Skyline and Building Success, two podcasts that you ought to listen to. Recycle MyElectronics.C.A. Committing to our planet's future means properly recycling our electronics of the past. Ridley Funeral Home, Pillars of the community since 1921. Joining me today, it's improv expert.

Just kidding. This is my new friend, FOTM Joey C. How you doing, Joey? Great, buddy. I'm happy to be here, and I'm hoping you're having a happy new year. Happy New Year to you. What's the last day I'm allowed to say happy New Year to a guest? Done.

Today. Today. January 5th. Okay, I remember a curb your enthusiasm, and I'm pretty sure, Larry David said January 7th, but you say, Joey C says, no, but January 6th is the epiphany. So we're actually on the 12th day of Christmas today. On it. Okay. Drummer's drumming. Okay, today the drummers, I got drumsticks here, Joey, if you want to borrow them here. Okay. How often do people meet you by singing

Joey by concrete blonde? Like, Joey. Not very many. No, am I the only one who thought that that's the, uh, the natural greeting for I do get the odd reference like pal Joey from the movie. That's my pal Joey. What movie is that from? From the movie of Pal Joey. Oh, you know what? What year approximately are we talking about?

Exanatra. Okay, so. Way back. Before you. Before my time. But, you know, a lot of movie, I just watched it's a wonderful life. So I'm not afraid to watch a movie before my time, but I should look up pal Joey. It would have been after that.

Okay. Probably 50s? Yeah, 50s. Okay, because it's a wonderful life. I think that's 41. actually it was around 47 just after I was born oh you know what's four yeah okay you're the met you're the expert joey I'm glad you're here but I want to say hello to an FOTM who said Mike you need to chat up Joey C do you know who I'm talking about um I was mentioned you were

mentioned to me by Dave Charles Dave Charles Dave Charles how do you know Dave Charles oh we go far back he's been the business as long as I've been we're all in radio you know back in the 60s and 70s, especially in the 60s. I was music director at CKFH Radio, and he was at, I think, in Belleville, and then he was in Hamilton, and then he ended up a chum. Right, and at some point, he helps launch the Mighty Q, Q107. He sure did, and so did, I didn't launch it, but I was part of that because I had record week, the newspaper at the time, and we were around, so we were supporting Q107 when they

first started. Okay, we're going to cover a lot of ground, Joey. I'm going to need a bigger hard drive here because I was kind of digging in and I'm pulling some audio and this and that. And, you know, the simple question I want to ask you off the top for those who don't know the name Joey C is what do you do for a living? I make people happy. Okay. I like you already. That's my job.

Everything I do is to put a smile on somebody's face and help them out in whatever direction they're going. and along the way you've you've been involved in music both as a performer as a promoter as a you mentioned a program director at kfh i've got a bunch of questions about music director my apologies who was the program director when you were music director uh it was a guy by name of gary plant who i didn't get along with okay is gary's still with us i'm doing he's not because that's the 60s man that's the 60s i was at that radio station actually from 67 to the end of 69, and I actually joined the station the last time the Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup, and that was a great year because I was part of that parade, because the station

I was working for was CQFH, which was owned by Foster Hewitt. Okay, of course. And we were the hockey station, so we were a big part of that big celebration. Well, a couple of notes strike me here, and then I'm going to blow your mind of a little audio, but Bob Pulford passed away today. Oh. So we've lost another member of that last Stanley Cup team.

Oh, well. I know. It happens. I'm scared to look at my Facebook every day. I never know who's next, you know? As long as I'm not on there, I guess I'm happy. Well, you're here in the basement. Thank you.

That means you're still with us. You know, but just so you know, this program is sponsored by a funeral home. Yeah, okay, don't go there. But you look, so one of the things about Dave Charles, and I want to say thank you to Dave because I know he's listening, but thank you to Dave for saying you got to talk to Joey C because I'm digging into Joey C and I'm like, I do need to talk to this guy. Dave knows, you know, he knows Toronto Mike, but Dave Charles, I know he's in his 80s, but the man looks younger than I do. Do you know his secret? I have the same secret.

But how old a man are you? I'm just turned 79. Oh, you know what? You and Dave are drinking from the same fountain of youth. I think we are. Oh, who's called, is that Dave? That's probably Dave Okay, let's see, so I'm going to blow your mind of a piece of audio, but... It's okay, I'm just going to shut this thing. It's going to say, if that's a call you want to take on the air, it depends who's calling you, right? No, it's not a collecting thing, so I know that. Okay, take your time there. I'm going to play a clip from CKFH.

So it came to my attention. Thank you to radio consultant, Mark Wiseblot, for this FYI. But it was 25 years. ago this week that Zoomer 740 launched. Ah. Just a fun fact, right? Next year, by the way, CFRB hits 100. That's a milestone.

I've seen that go through a lot of stages. I think Dave Charles launched that station, too. Close, you know. Doing math over here. Okay, so 25 years ago, Zoomer 740 launches. The first morning man on Zoomer 740 passed away shortly after the launch of Zoomer 740. I'm going to play a clip of him, and I'm wondering if you remember this chap. So you're ready to go back in the time machine with me?

We're going back to 1967. Oh, 67? Were you at CKFH? I was at CKF.H at the time, yeah. Okay, so I got the right man here. Here you go. This is a, it's going a couple minutes, but I love this clip, so we're going to listen together. Well, Bunny and Clyde are ready for you, but are you ready for Bonnie and Clyde? Well, you better be, because they're arriving this Friday, the end of this week,

of these famous players' theaters. The Imperial, Yorkdale, Golden Mile, Runnymede, well, the capital in New Toronto, and the number five of TEP, drive-in theaters. I'm good with the good sounds on number two radio. Centennial survey number seven.

Yeah. Get me with the show. Okay, let's see how long, hold on here. I think we come out of this song in a moment here. Bear with me. Here we go. Benton Wood on 1430. Give me a little sign, sweetheart.

Two minutes before 4 o'clock and number two, and baseball, in the National League after five innings at St. Louis 4, Chicago 2, and the American League after 5 and a half, it's California 3 and Minnesota 2. Jackie, no weather forecast now for Toronto, mainly cloudy tonight with showers and scattered thunderstorms. So, boy, Wednesday, cloudy with showers and much cooler, when southwesternly 20 to 35, shifting Wednesday to northly, 25 to 40. The low tonight, 58, 8 degrees higher than our low last night, and the high Wednesday, 62. I look for Thursday, fair and cool. Right now, the barometer reading in Toronto, 29.7, 8 inches and falling winds from the south-southwest at 22 miles per hour,

gusting to 33. Relative humidity, 51%. And our temperature down, one degree in a seesaw thing in the last couple of hours, 71. The Toronto Weather Radar Report for this hour shows showers in Perry Sound, Sudbury, and the North Bay Area, which is all right if you don't live in Perry Sound, Sudbury, or the North Bay Area. This hour on the Big Gahoon. Show, you'll hear more music than anywhere else in Ontario. GK.F.H. Still number two.

Still number two. What are your thoughts as you listen to that? Well, Tom Fulton was great. The Big Gahuna. I love that guy. And we spent a lot of time together because he'd be there starting the afternoon show. And he, at the same time, he also started a hair salon on Youngstreet. with his wife or his girlfriend at the time and he used to cut my hair all the time and the weird part is that up until then my my hair is basically curly at times right wavy you know and i always wanted to get rid of that so he it was his him or his girlfriend they straightened my hair with some kind of an iron and it never went curly again it was straight yeah i don't know i always remember but that that actually happened so that was that everybody had a side you know side job right side hustle side hustle and uh that was one of them And the Bukahuna, everybody had a, you know, a name. And it was a family. When we were at CKFH, all the best guys were Don Dane or John Donaby.

I mean, we were family, you know. And going back to that program director, that Gary Palant, I don't mind mentioning his name, he went head to head with me on a lot of things. And I just, I couldn't take it anymore with him. So, but going back to the station, the number two radio, was part of my the big 143 and number two radio were

the monikers we want to use and that was part of that, you know, development. Wow. Only because it made sense. I was a marketer. I was doing, before I joined the radio station, I was already a DJ doing high school dances throughout the city for years and I was writing for the Toronto Star predicting hits,

you know, so it was one of the first columnists for the Toronto Star and music. Oh, the pick the hits column? Yeah, it was the Joey C predicts the hits. And that's That's what got me the job at FH and took me out of a night shift job at the C-IBC. I was working at for four years. And that wasn't the side hustle. That was the job.

Everything else was a side hustle. Well, then, Joey, you become the youngest music director ever in this country when Foster Hewitt hires you at C. I believe so. I was only like 18. I'd get T-shirts that just say I was the youngest music director in Canada. Does anybody care? Well, you're talking to me. I care. Oh, you were? You were the

youngest music director, were you? No, no, I care. That you were. Oh, oh, I see. I care. Okay, I got it. Okay, so could we talk about picking the hits? So, I mean, you're in high school, and you're a hit picker for Chum, right? I started off. I was going to St. Michael's College, and in grade 9, I became the high school hit picker for that high school. So what Chum would do is send me a bunch of chum charts, and I would get a survey happening with

the students says who liked what, whatever. And then once a week, the station had a hit picker's, I think it was Dave Johnson that did that. And he'd bring on a different, he would mention the different high schools and what there's a big record is or whatever, that kind of thing. So that got me interested right away because being a hit picker,

I went to the chum hit picker parties where I, you know, I met the Beaumarchs, Bobby Cotola, you know, that was back in 1959, 60, you know. that was just the cusp right there. And I just stuck with that. And then when I left St. Mike's, I went to Western Tech, and I took the commercial course at Western Tech,

and I became the hitpicker for that school. And not only that, I was bootlegging records, selling records to kids of records they couldn't get their hands on because I had a lot of contacts in Buffalo, and people went, I was into R&B a lot.

So R&B records were hard to get, and I was able to get them, and I'd sell them to the kids in my school as well as doing the hip-pickers. But all this, you're still a teenager. I'm still a teenager, and while I was doing that, I was also getting prepped for this career by doing the high school, not the high school dance, sorry, by doing the church dances up at the junction, which was just north of the Western Tech, right? Well, my two of my kids went to Humberside Collegiate. I know this area very well.

So I went to Western Tech, right? And so my church was St. Paul's, the Apostle Church on Dundas. There was little Malta, Maltese, right? So that's... You like the Pistice's? Oh, yeah. Six and six? All and all.

They're great. I just ordered some last week. I walked by it every week. I ordered some last week, actually. Shout out to my first best friend, J.K. at St. Cecilia's. Oh, cool. I remember St. Cecil. Joe Sini, who later I found out, it was supposed to be Cheney.

But for my whole life, we called him Joe Sini. Oh, yeah? Proud Maltese guy who introduced me to the Pistice's, yeah. And shout out to that Jumble Burger, man. That was a big event. We're going to Jumbober. which was at Runnymede and Dendez. Yeah, right.

Yep. I know a little Malta. So that area, it was my grooming area for getting into the music industry. The dances at the church sort of prime me for what I was coming ahead. So I used to do all the dances on Friday nights. I just using honestly God, honestly God, all it was was a regular Sea Breeze record player with a microphone in front of it. You know what I mean?

And I'd use even the connections of the speakers that I put up. I don't know how I amplified that, but I did. That's funny. And I did those dances. And, you know, I started buying turntables and then, you know, amplifiers. And then, you know, in early, at the end of that would have been 62, I was going to turn 16. And I did what everybody should not be doing is quitting school because you're 16 now, right? And that's exactly what I did.

And, you know, it was, I was a good student. There's no problem there. I was a good student, but I guess I had ADHD back then because, you know, I was always all over the place and doing things. I was never diagnosed, but I'm sure I was, right? Sure. And which was a good thing for me. I guess I have the good ADHD.

No, no, it can be a superpower. Oh, it was for me. For some people. It was for me. I speak from experience, my brother. Yeah, there you go. So, you know, you doodle and you doodle and you can't keep detention in the school. And it's like, what am I, I, I would always hit me like, what am I doing here?

Like, I need to be out there. I need to be doing this. I need to be doing that. And I came to realization, and I didn't finish high school. I'm proud to say it from my purpose, but in general, no, right? At least get college or something. But I was never going to make it there. And the final decision was made after I talked to my marketing teacher,

who told me not to be published, but I told them the story, you know, and he looked at me and he said, you're doing the right thing. He says, you're wasting your time here. You already know what you want to do. Right. You should do it. You know, meanwhile, the principal and everybody else was, oh, man, they were all over me.

No, no, you can't, you can't, you can't. And it's a good story about that one too. Well, hit me. I love good stories, Joey C. So, you know, it was Western Tech. And the principal says to me, well, my brothers went to the school there too. And we were like, my real name is Camelary, right? Very Maltese.

You know that's a Maltese. Very Maltese. And so we're always known as the Camelary. brothers. And so, you know, he gave me the third degree. Like, you know, you're going to be crawling back here. Like, you know, you're not going to make it out there. And I'm going, you don't know me. You know, like, so I still quit. And I quit actually right after my, before school break, because my birthday was on December 16th, which was a couple weeks ago. And thank you. And, uh, on January 9th, which is coming up, it would be 63 years ago, this

January 9th that I started my first dances. That was my first ventures and my official entry into being a professional DJ or being in the music business. So I label January 9th, 19663 is the day that I started in this business

professionally. Okay. Is this Canadian bandstand 63? Yeah, it is, yeah. Okay, listen, I, because, you know, I've done my homework here. Okay, so here's what blows my mind, because we haven't even got you to see KFA. Oh, we're not even there yet. But we've got you, if I'll just, Just a recap here for everybody, following along at home.

Already as a teenager, okay, you're the hip picker for your high school, multiple high school, but you're the hit picker for Chum. You're writing a column for the Toronto Star, the pick the hits column. You're now starting up Canadian Bandstand 63, which is you DJN dances at what, all high schools across this wonderful city. Well, I started doing these dances at the three-star dance club at Euclid in College in Little Italy.

Back then, it wasn't really little, little. It was just, you know, it wasn't that great. But they had this dance hall with a dance studio upstairs, and I rented the studio from the, excuse me, the hall from the studio. And the studio's cousin was in the, was Louis Malia, who was part of a band I did a lot of work with. And they're also a multi, nearly all of them. And so we started there.

So I say it's professional because I spent my money to rent a hall, do the printing, put up all the posters, do all the promotion, which I actually teamed up with CKE at the time and J.P. Finnegan. Was Dave Mickey there? Yeah, he was actually. And that was, you know, that's ironic because I was doing stuff with Chum most of the time, and now I'm doing it with CKE.

Editor, right. So they were the ones promoting me, and I was promoting them at the dances. So the idea of the whole dance was to mimic American bandstand. And the structure of American bandstand was to have people dancing and it's school kids. And they have at least one artist coming and performing. And, you know, just basically that's it, except they had cameras. I don't have cameras.

So I had to make it look really good on this stage. I mean, that was the beginning of me creating event, you know, pizzazz, right? Yeah. So I teamed up with a friend of mine who went to the same school, but I just met him after I left school. And his name was Dave Alexander, and we had to call him a professor because he knew all the electronics. He knew all that stuff, right?

And so we teamed up as Joey and the professor on these dances, a Canadian bandstand. So I figured, okay, I've been doing some of these dances at the high schools, but now this is another level, and I need to start working and getting stars into the hall and being guests. So I would call up all the record companies, which there aren't that many at the time, and trying to get Canadian recording artists.

So that was my first start of doing everything Canadian. It was strictly Canadian, Bandsen, 63, it was Canadian. Now, this school, I mean, this hall, I had a strategically picked because it's right downtown and it's within walking distance of four high schools. So the dance would start at four o'clock in the afternoon and go till six. So it was a two-hour dance and midweek. So it was a hump day, get away, come on, dance and you have time to go home, have supper, the whole nine yards. Well, that was the whole plan, right? So I remember when we first opened it on January 9th, we had a snowstorm that day.

It was a Wednesday. And I thought, oh, man, I'm going to lose my shirt here. I know it, right? I mean, you know, people got to walk through this, right? So I set up anyway, not thinking about anything and just making sure that it goes to plan. We created this board because all we had was a table, two turntables and an amp and two big trainer speakers, you know. And that was basically it. So to give it that pizzazz, I thought, how we can do this?

And it had a curtain that opens and closes, you know, at the side there. And so we thought, okay, I need to excite people when they come in. So they're standing around and, you know, now it's don't forget it's winter. So it starts getting dark at 4 o'clock. So now I'm starting to get the darkness in here. So the idea was we started off of the theme song. The mirror ball goes up. So now we're getting all that.

and the curtains are still closed. And when the curtain opened, there was a board covering the whole front of the two desks that we had actually covered in a glitter and cutouts that read Joey and the professor. And the one thing we did, well, my professor did that nobody had done at the time ever was have lights sink to the amplifier.

Right. Right? So that you get the pulsing sound, which is no big deal now. But then it was like, wow. what's that? So he put all these little holes in this thing and put the little Christmas lights in and we fed one line to the amp and the other line. So we were actually getting mono, no, no stereo, right? And so when the curtains open, the pulsating lights are going on

and that's new to a lot of people. And of course, they had these huge sparklers at the side. So sparklers are going, right? And it's like, welcome to Canadian bands and our way we go now. You know, we start doing the dances. Then we have our guests that come in. And getting guests then was like so hard. We started off with Sandy Salsy at that time. She used to be on CBS, CBC. No, sorry, CBS. And then Pat Hervey, who was another good Canadian.

People had hits. And then I was stuck for one time. So I called my friend Art Snyder at Arc Records at the time. He said, I'll send you guys, we've got his new record coming out. If you don't mind helping us out. He says, it's not really pop. He says, it's a little bit of the country. He's a little bit of everything.

I said, I don't care. Just send them over. You know, I just need somebody to do it. So the guy came over and he brought his little pictures with him and he's like very quiet. And he got out there and he starts signing and he starts singing his song, which was, remember me, I'm the one. And you know, you have to think back now. This is the first time you're hearing this guy, first time you see him.

Yeah, you're in 63, right? That was Gordon Lightfoot. Gordon, so that's a mind blow. That was Gordon. So one of the big acts you lure for Canadian bandstand is a very young Gordon Lightfoot. Very, yeah, very young Gordon Lightfoot. Yeah. And that was like, you wouldn't know it till later, but like, you know, it's a feather

in a cap, right? No, that's, that's, as far as Canadian music goes. And then we got people like the Hollywood Argos, the ballmarks, you know, they all start coming in and doing stuff. And at the same time, people were getting to know me through the CKE connection through the dances at the dances. And so I was starting to do all the dances. And then one time, I got booked into Kipling Collegiate to do.

a dance. And Frank Tasky from the Toronto Star said, look, I'm going to come over, I want to do a story on you. And I goes, okay, fine, but I want to do one of your dances. I goes, okay, so he comes over to Kipling Collegiate. Is Kipling, is that Lakeshore Collegiate now? L.C.I. Kipling is on, it's up north. It's on

the Westway. Gotcha. Gotcha. Okay. I don't think it's even called that anymore. I think it's not in school altogether. Right. Anyway, so I did there, and he came there and he just loved the whole idea because I had my own console I designed by this time I had designed a console with that lights and flashing lights and the whole nine yards right that was the first mobile DJ basically I'm like the godfather mobile DJs because nobody was really out there doing stuff right yeah um so and I think that helped in getting people talking about it and I don't think it was about the music was mostly about that

um and then you know uh so Tetski calls me in one day after the story he says we got a lot of response on that story I goes oh that's good you know whatever he just come into the office now here's another story. So, you know, these, I go off forever, man. One story leads it to another, right? But this is an, I think this is an important part of Toronto music history that if we don't cover it here, Joey, who's going to cover it? It's true.

It's true. So going back, so Teske calls me up and he says, come on down to the office. So now you have to understand, I'm going to the Toronto Star. There's is the, this is the original building on King Street. Right. Okay. Right. Now, I mean, at the time, I never really thought much of it.

I'm going to this building. I'm going into the offices and, you know, and every week I'd go in and, but the first time I went in, he just wanted to talk to me. And he says, look, he says, you do all these high school lines, you know your records.

He says, you seem to get the records first before even the radio stations get them. I goes, yeah, I do because I, I sourced them, you know, before and I got to know the PR guys and everything else. Because the record companies were, at that point, were starting to give me records to test at the dances before they even get to radio. Right.

And, and, um, and the, uh, At that time, the thing that triggered everything was the fact that Paul White was a good friend of mine. He was pitching me capital records all the time. He brought me the first Beatles records. So I was playing Beatles records in the dances a year before they even hit radio because I was using the UK copies.

Yeah, of course, the imports. And he just knew that, right? Yeah, it's working, you know, and there you go. So, wait, were you just naturally able to pick the hits? There was something about, yeah, I sort of always had that knack about, of picking what the, I guess because I was dealing with a lot of these kids when they, you know, when they first hear it the first time. And I gauge the reaction right away. And, and who likes it, who doesn't. Like, if you go to a dance. So you're reading your crowd. It's not that you're in a lone in a room listening on your headphones and you're like, we got a hit here. No, you could see how the teens respond. Exactly. So if you get like 80, 90% on the dance floor already, go, okay, we're looking. We're doing it. Right. So. Yeah, so that's the way that happened. So at that time, he says to me, look, he says, why don't you write a column for us on a weekly basis?

We don't really have anything on music here in the Toronto Star. And I says, okay, he says, come up with the idea. And I said, well, how about me predict the hits? Yeah. Right, I get the records. I'll pick what I think is going to happen. And I'll give it a little one-line blurb or something. And you post it, right?

Right. So I did that for two years while I was doing the dances. Right. and working night shift at the C-IBC. Right, because that was your job at the time. And the reason why I picked that job, I hate working night shift. Oh, I hated it. But it kept my Friday nights open and my Saturday nights open.

Right, for the DJ. Exactly. Listen, I'm, Joey, I love what you're putting down here, man. I would say that Joey had to walk at the star so that Ben Raynor could run. Okay, he said it to Ben Raynor. Hey, Ben. He's listening. Don't worry.

But they do all columns. I wasn't doing columns. No, I know, I know. listening and I just want to work Ben into the chat, you know? Like, who do I know who covered music for the star? Oh, yeah, F-O-T and Ben Reader. There are quite a few people. So who do you remember who covered music for the star?

Back then? Yeah, back in the day. Well, I'm trying to remember that far back. Yeah. I don't, I can't remember. I remember Peter Howell doing it. That was later, much later. That's when I'm coming up.

Most of the people I know we're back in the 60s, in the 70s in the 80s, right? In the 70s and 80s, you'd get, you know, Peter Goddard and those kind of people. Peter Goddard, absolutely. But back then, I was the only guy doing that. But this is what I, when I, when people ask me, why did I stick with it? I goes, well, it's perseverance and you know something's going to happen. You just feel it, right? But you don't know what it's going to happen.

It's like going to the music business. I knew it was going to go to the music business. At what level I had no idea, what territory I was going to cover. I had no idea. I just knew it had something to do with music. So I got on that train and I wrote it, you know, into wherever I could get it. And I got off of the stops. So. Well, I got questions, Joey.

So obviously, I do want to talk about you as a performer. I don't even think we referenced the fact that you also are a musical performer. You're not just a promoter or a DJ or a hit picker. Yeah, I mean, I segued into different kinds of, you know. You're wetting your beak and everything. Yeah, yeah. And I wouldn't say a performer because I didn't really like live at, live from a, you know, a performance. But just like a studio musician?

No, I was a singer. Yeah, a singer. And I had like 12 records out. Yeah. And the irony of all that is, here I am not a performer, but a singer. And the dream for any singer or any band for that matter was to get on a major label and blah, blah, blah, you know, do all that. Well, it's ironic that I was on capital EMI records. I was on A&M records.

I was on London records. I was on private stock records. And I don't even have a band and I don't tour. So, you know, that alone, it makes sense to me. An enigma wrapped in a riddle here. So you would also record under different handles, right? I would. And that's because I was working in radio a lot or magazines.

And I, and so I couldn't really come out and, you know, record because it would be conflict event, not really conflict of interest. I don't care. I create my own thing. Let me play my own music here, J.O.C. So I tried to keep it as, you know, low level as, possible. At the same time, I want to make sure that whatever I recorded, whatever I picked to record, or whatever I did, it did something on its own merit, not because it was Joey C.

You know what I'm saying? It was great. It happened, right? And my very first record, I mean, I've had people, there's stories here, like, even before I did my first record, which would blow people's minds. I mean, I'm jumping back and forth here, but I'm trying to keep a sequence here with it. No, it's like a Tarantino film. We're going to jump around. Yeah, okay. So now we're going back to FH, years of FH. So the early years of my FH days was while I was working there, first of all, I got that job. Well, you know, that's a great point. Let's get you to, like, let's get you to C.K.F.H.

That's right. CK.F.F.F.F.F.F. Foster Hewitt is the F.H. I know this. Shout out to Fred Patterson from Humble and Fred, who did work for Foster Hewitt. Do you know Fred, E. P.?. Yeah. Okay. Good relationship. friendship of Freddie P? I don't know that well. I mean, we've gone to cross pass. Yeah, cross pass.

Okay. So how, like, you get a tap on the shoulder after DJing a set or something, and they're like, Joey C, you know how to pick the hits. We need you at CKFA. No, what happened was I was doing the night shift. And same time, doing the dances and writing for the Toronto Star. That was the trio right there. Then I got a call one day from Ron Hewitt at CKFH radio.

At that time, up until then, were like a jazz station, and they were just going to change format. And they were 1,400, right? Am I wrong? 1430. But weren't they 1400? Maybe that's before your time. What's that?

Like, before they moved to 1430, I do believe that station was 1400, but that's probably before you get there. So it's irrelevant. I know it was 1430. So I went to 43. And he called me in for a meeting, and he says, how would you like a job here as a music librarian? And I goes, okay.

I didn't even ask how much. Nothing. I just know nightship goodbye, you know? I says, yeah, I'll take it, right? Any job, as long as it has to do with music. He says, well, we have a music director, not a music director, a librarian, Susan Taylor, who was also recording ours at the time on Yorkville Records. And I said, sure, I'll work with Susan. So I went there and I started working there. I quit the job. Great. That was a big relief right there. And then, you know, I figured, well, this is the train I was waiting for, right? And unfortunately, Susan and I, I mean, she was great. I love her. But at the same time, we had different thoughts of how to run a programming, a record programming system because I've been doing it for myself for like years. And I remember that right now there's no, that time, no computers, no nothing, you know.

So it was a job. Like people say, oh, you just pick, record. No, no, it's not like that. It's like, it becomes a really daily grind, but you love it, right? Anyway, so Susan left and I guess you couldn't put up with me anymore. And then Bill Hewitt, Foster's son, right. He was the station manager. He called me and he says, listen, you're going to be music director from herein.

I goes, okay, great, I'm music director. And he says, well, here's the deal. I says, I pick the songs. I programmed the songs, nobody busts in, nobody comes in and tells me what to do with the change. And he says, deal. So I goes, okay. So now we've got that figured out.

So I had, it was me, he was going to pick any record that was played 24 hours a day on that station. Every day except for Sunday mornings. That was the glitch. Because Sunday mornings at CKFage radio was religious programming. Oh. And also, we had some, Johnny Lombardi was on there with his Italian stuff.

Chin stuff, right? So basically that Sunday morning, we had to jump over to get back into our Sunday afternoon programming. And then when hockey came in, I also had that to deal with. So I had two different things to deal with and keep a program going constantly, right? And as a music director, what I would do is, man, you know, everybody came through that office. Literally, every star you can think of came through that office, you know, through their promo guys, you know, and laid on me all the newest records and pitching me and all that. I didn't realize how many records actually are made each week, you know.

I would have a stack like this, you know. But how do you know what's going to be a hit if you don't play it for the teams? No, I pretty well had in your, now that I knew I, yeah, once I knew, you know, here's a deal. If you brought me in a record, I have my big turntable, my big McCurdy, you know. Yeah. And, uh, Joyce for CBRA.

Okay, Joyce. shut you off right now. I thought I shut it off. Oh, I thought that was Neil Diamond calling. Well, that's another story. I know.

I know all the stories, so what happened was, um, uh, where was I? Well, you know, we were talking about how you,

you're now picking the hits that you're going to play on. Oh yeah. So you're giving me a record. I used to get so many people saying, listen to the record. I'm it's going to be hit. It's going to black goes, I'll tell you what.

Just leave it with me. If you hear it on the air, I think it's good. And if you don't, it doesn't mean it's bad. It's just that there was only so many spots every week to go into the programming.

Like, you have to look at it this way. You're getting about maybe 50 records a week. I'm not even counting albums. Just 50 singles a week, right? Right. Now, you know, we're talking the mid-60s now. Everything gets a big classic record now. It used to be just new to me, right?

And And when they'd bring it in, it's piling up. So I'm going, okay, see this, out of this, I can only pick five or six. Now, I want to play Canadian. So I would look at least getting one on there, right? So whether it was the guess who or whoever, you know, I'd get it in there. But the other ones, I mean, you've got a lot to choose from, everything from everything from Motown stuff to, you know, stacks to whatever.

And so it was tough to get on the air back then. But I did my best to help people up, but I also had to go by, you know, the merit of the actual record. And, you know, the bottom line is I'd play the beginning of it for about five seconds, intro, center, end. That gave me a whole idea of what that song was going to be like. So it's got to grab you off the get-go. There's a tip.

Now, you know, the big top 40 stations, I guess, at the time is you got 10-50 chum, right? You got, in Hamilton, you've got 1150, what's at C-K-O-C. And is it C-K-E-Y? Is this the, are these the big- KUI was not there anymore. Not there anymore. Okay. So are you listening to 1150 and 1050?

Nope. No. What, like, so, I'm doing to me to talk over you there, but I'm curious, like, what artists or songs did Joey C. Break in this market? Okay, for each one is a story. Okay, well, pat yourself in the back. I got to hear these jams that you're kicking out and breaking in Toronto.

All right. Well, let's, okay, let's, let's see. There was about a dozen of them in a period of, you know, three, You're kicking out these Joey C. jams here. Yeah, well, let me go back to, before I even talk about those, I'll tell you one good story. Because at the time, when I was a music director, I was also the house emceecee at the embassy club in the village. And they would have big artists every week, for the whole week, everybody from Gladys Night and the Pips to Fats Domino, to Jerry Lee Lewis, to Eden and Sylvia, to you name it. They all played that place, right?

Well, the one that had his first full week gig was Neil Diamond. So I spent a week with Neil Diamond, you know, every day, literally every day. Because in the evening, I would meet up with them and eat upstairs that Steaken Burger because they had a Steaken Burger restaurant up there. Harry Rosen is where it is right now, but it used to be a Steaken Burger there. Right. And I would have supper with nearly every one of them, you know. up, that's how I really got the contacts going with all these major stars and their managers and their record producers.

That's where it all really started rolling. Anyway, with Neil, we'd have supper and then he'd come down at lunchtime because he had nothing to do. He didn't know anybody in town. He'd come down to the station and we would go up the street about half a block, this little Italian place. And we'd just shoot the shit all afternoon. Like, you know, there was no schedule, you know what I mean? So I got to know them well enough that then I start doing some shows with them. I did Hidden Valley as his MC.

I did Coliseum. I did a bunch of other ones, right? We just liked hanging out together. And actually in the evening sometimes, I would drive around and help him go buy, get him deals on his leather jackets. He was looking for leather jackets all the time. I would help him go get deals at, you know, the different places. So that was a nice, tightness. that little friendship thing I had going.

The fact that I start recording later on all came from his excitement about me even mentioning it because I have to tell you this because all the stories won't be complete because I would, during their lunch time, lunch period at one time, he asked me what I'd like doing. And I says, well, I'd like to do this.

I'd like to record at some time. I'd like to have a record out. He goes, can you sing? I used to be in a choir and, you know, I've done the odd thing. Well, the St. Michael's boys, Choir is a world renown. Yeah.

So, yeah. I know, I'm a Michael Power grad. I remember the same Michael's Point Choir. Come on. Our mortal enemies. And he says, he says, he says, he says to me, he goes, well, what's your real name? What name would you use? I go, Joey C.

And I goes, what's your real name? It goes, Camilleri, he goes, I'd use that. And I go, nah, I, you know, nah, I don't think so, right? So he started talking about that. And he says, what song, have you have a song in mind? And I says, actually, yeah. I goes, it's one of yours. And he goes, oh, okay.

He goes, what song? I said, this song you record a call, you'll forget, which I believe was the other side of girl, you'll be a woman soon or, or, yeah, it was one of the, it was a B-side. He goes, yeah, he says, we were going to release that as a single, but we made a couple of mistakes in there that I didn't, I wasn't happy with, so we just put it,

I was a B-side. He said, you know what, if I'm in the area, you know, when you're ready to go recording is I'll help you out, I'll help you produce it. I go, okay, yeah, you know, whatever. Yeah, sure. That's as far as that went, you know what I mean? Because he broke out, he broke out, like, after one more record, he was like, done.

You know, like, you know, sweet Caroline, all those came up. No time for lunch with Joey C. Actually, he broke out when he had Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show. That's when he broke out, and you couldn't even get near him after that. Right. So, yeah, the once, and then shortly after that, I was in New York, which is going to lead to another act, which goes to the Gold Record Act, is this New York with Ed Preston from RCA Victor

Ed says to me he says come on listen I want you to come down and listen to this new group that's a Dunhill Records has just signed up and they want you to figure out you know what they want to know if you like the act and if you can help you know play the record or whatever I goes okay I'll take you know go down you know Spence is paid

Ed pays for it and all that and we go down that was what I call my magical night that night that one night like is in memory as a one of the best nights ever like so much happened and it was i'm talking about like starting it around 10 o'clock at night till 7 in the morning that one lots of stuff happened there um going back to deal diamond i was in a restaurant we were so hungry after the whole the whole thing at steve paul scene and he and we're at this diner in new york and he someone's the bright light

diners you know like delicatessing type and it's three in the morning and you can hardly see outside because it's a glare and and we're sitting there there was about four of us in sitting there and I hear bang, bam, bam, bann, and all I could think of was in mafia shootings, you know, whatever, you know. I didn't know in New York that well, you know. You know, I just, what I know from what I know. And his bang, bam, man goes,

he's waving for you to come out and see him. I goes, who is it? I can't make it out. He looks like he's carrying a guitar case. And he goes, he goes, okay, so Ed says, I'll come with you to the door, you know, go to the door. It's Neil Diamond. And I said, what the hell?

He goes, he goes, I guess, how would you recognize? He said, I'd recognize any. anywhere. He goes, he goes, what are you doing here? I goes, I told him I was a Steve Paul. See, oh, yeah, yeah, he says, that's cool. He says, I says, where are you doing? He says, oh, he's just come back from a recording studio. They just finished doing another, another recording and, and he says, here, you might, give me your opinion on it. I'll give you, he gave me a little demo, right? It was, it was Brooklyn Roads. He just finished recording Brooklyn Roads. And anyway, that was, that's an amazing, like, you know, thing that happened that, you know,

in my memory, right? So anyway, that's it. So now, let's go. back to the gold record thing. So now I'm at Steve Paul's scene. I don't know if you know who Steve Paul was. He was the one starred Blue Sky Records, which he had, you know, Edgar Winter and Rick Derringer and all those guys, right? Right. Dan Hartman.

And all I knew about this club was what I heard through the grapevine, you know, that this is like the place where everybody hangs out, blah, blah, blah, blah. And that goes great, beautiful. And it's in the village. and so I go go in and I'm at the bar because the band isn't on yet and I have no idea who this band is it's a brand new band and I'm at the bar and I'm sitting with this guy who's like getting pissed you know drinking and we're from where I'm from Canada oh you're from Canada I go I bet you're not even playing my

record I goes nobody's playing my record I goes I don't know who you are and I don't know what record you're talking about he goes he goes, well, what's the record it's called? He says, it's early morning rate unless, unless you're Tim Rose. No, we're not playing. He goes, I'm Tim Rose. And that goes, whoa, okay, here's a good start, even though he was half pissed, right? So while I'm sitting there, Rick Derringer walks by, Joey, what the hell, you know?

And don't forget, Rick Derringer was the McCoys. Right. His cousins of brothers, like, right, the Zeringer brothers. and Rick, Rick Derringer, it was Zerringer, right? Right. And, uh, you go, what are you doing here? I goes, oh, I'm here to see this new band, right? He goes, oh, shit, you got to hang in, man, like, you got to come and see us.

We got this new album called Human Ball coming out. And I go, yeah, okay, well, right now I got to listen to this band. And I goes, okay, because he says, well, here's my number calling me. So Rick says, give me a call before you leave New York. And I goes, okay, fine. So now, here comes somebody else. I know. And it's Jerry Edmonton.

And then Goldie McJohn. And I goes, what the hell are you guys? I goes, I can't believe I had to come to New York to even catch up with you guys. Because now you have to understand something. These people, Goldie McJohn and all these guys, used to be the sparrow in Toronto. Used to be Jack London and the sparrow. Then they were the sparrow. Well, I used to do guests singing with them throughout the whole village area

constantly, at the Chey Monique, at Purple Onion, all these places, right? So they were like really good friends of mine. We knew each other well. The last time I saw them was I did their going away party at the Shea Monique in Yorkville before they went to play Arthur's in New York City. And then they got signed to Columbia in New York City as the Sparrow, right? And they put out an album and didn't really do that great. And then they, of course, and then they disappeared.

I goes, what happened to them? I just thought, well, maybe they broke up or something, right? Well, here I'm seeing this new band called Steppenwolf. There you go. I was waiting for it. Steppenwolf. Remember, at the time, though, what Steppenwolf was another band, another name, right? You don't know, right?

So they said, Joey, let us know what you think, what records, what songs do you think we should release or whatever. I says, listen, I was flown down here by Dunhill Records to be introduced to you. now I'm introducing you to Dunhill Records because they haven't even met them right and I'm going this this whole this whole thing was so weird right and I

so I listened to them I thought oh man he's got like I've really changed and like it's unbelievable what they've come up with right and so after the beginning I says I think what was it that came up to me Nick and he goes so what did you think

it goes I go what can I say and John Kay thought well you know you got an opinion I goes well, it's all positive. He goes, what song do you think would make it? I go, it was born to be wild. There you go. And then he says, what would be the other one?

I goes, Magic Harper, right? Yep. Two for two, Joey C. And I thought, okay. And I goes, I just thought it was just left out with that, right? Yeah. So the next week I got the album in and the single that was born to be wild. And I goes, okay, I like the record because I like the record.

Now, how am I going to do this and play the record? And I know the, I don't know the, basically, I don't know this band. and I've got to play this record. So I did. And I kept playing it, and I was waiting for a chum to pick up on it, and everybody else across the country, even in the States, nobody.

And here, at the time, you have to understand something. The only communication we had between radio stations in North America was through the quarterback, the Ted Randall quarterback. Every Monday we got these tip sheets, which were like 10 pages, 20 pages of, you know, a mail to us, and it breaks down all the different radio stations

and music directors and who they're playing. who they're not playing and mine kept coming up as born to be wild stepping above. Nobody was following me. And then slowly they started to pick up on me.

They go, they goes, well, Joey's playing it like, well, I kept thinking, why isn't Chum playing this? Chum,

where he goes by sales. There ain't no sales. So they don't do that. I was wondering if maybe it's a little hard. What's that? Like a little hard, like born to be wild,

it's kind of a hard song. It was, it was in line. It was in line. But the thing is, that was the difference to he's FH and Chum. Is that,

They followed the charts and they followed the, and I didn't. I broke records. I played, I played what I wanted to play. You're on the bleeding names. What I thought was what should, you know, what should be happening here. So anyway, I played it, and I kept playing it. By the time I had it number one for me, it was just starting to pick up into all over the states, right? Now, the help I had was with Rosalie Tremblay and Frank Gould and Montreal and Kevin in Hamilton.

We were like the quartet. so if all four of us went on something they would all go and boom boom boom boom boom it would just pick up Rosalie would take it over because we'll go into the states right so then boom boom but we just pick up so we would always sort of bounce off each other what do you think and that goes yeah I'm going to do it I'm going to do it okay we did it so

that's how most records happened you know back in Canada um so this makes you a very powerful figure in Canadian music you know this well I don't look at it that way but well you might as well look at it that way. Like, this is the chance to look back and realize, okay, your ear picks up that this song

is good, regardless of sales, okay? Born to be wild, for example. You're going to play the hell out of this great song. It doesn't matter how it's selling. And then eventually, these, you mentioned Rosalie Tromblay, and you mentioned, is it Kevin Grant? Nevin Grant. Yeah, Nevin Grant from C-K-O-C-O-C, right?

Yeah, and these are, you know, once that consortium buys into a song, you're off to the racist. But that spark, though, was you. Yeah, but it was Central Canada, too. Like Western Canada was Robinson and a few other people, you know. And they were all great people, you know. And we were all good friends, all of us, you know. I mean, I was even friends with the guys at Chum, except I wouldn't show my cards, you know, to the guys at Chum.

Dave was, I think, was at Chum after that. And, I mean, I, there were people that were friends in my, Duff Roman. I mean, you know, I mean, we're all friends now back then, you know. And, you know, we made them work. We made them work anyway. So that's how the Steppenwolf one happened. And what happened was one day, Ed Pressing came, and he says, listen, we just came back from the RCA convention in Los Angeles.

And RCA, Canada, got a gold record for breaking Born to be wild. And he goes, well, great. And he goes, no. He says, we told them right there on stage that this belongs to me. And I go, well, why do you say that? And he goes, because you're the one, without you, you wouldn't have. And I says, without you, I wouldn't have met them down there. So, yeah, you deserve it.

He goes, all right. So then they created a gold record, and they came over and presented me with a gold record in the whole nine yards. So that's that one. Can you still have that gold record? Oh, yeah. I still haven't. Beautiful.

And, yeah, so that was one of the, the first big one, obviously. And the second one wasn't a gold record. And I still don't think that even, I still don't even believe that either Burton Cummings or Randy, even though the story, because I hear different stories about, oh, it was Rosalie Trombly, didn't know. No, that's not the way it happened. Like, you know, when I know the story, I don't go, you know, telling that story, right?

Unless I read my book. Well, I'm writing my book. So I would put everything into there, right? Right. But the story there was, Jack Richards, it was a good friend of mine who produced their stuff. And the studio was up at Nimbus 9. Archie McDonald was their promo guy. And he would come in, the odd recording coming through and, you know, different artists.

And tell me what's going on. And I'd always talk to Jack. And he came in one day to the station. And he says, listen, we've got this new, we're just finishing up this album with the guess who. And I says, yeah. And I think it was a wheatfield soul. And he says, he says, Jack wants to know, wants you to tell him what you think the record should be released. And I says, okay, hold on a second.

Number one, I can't do it here. So you're going to have to, we have to do this after hours. I can, I'm not going to sit here and do this. And he says, okay, I'll come over to your apartment. So he brought the reel. And he brought it over to my apartment in Toronto. And I'm smiling Archie. He says, okay, he says, here, let's sit down here, relax, have a beer, whatever.

Let me listen to this whole thing. Because I always like Burton Cummings voice. I thought he has one of the best voices ever on a coming to Canada. He does. He does. And he's very creative. He's very, very good. And so I was excited to actually hear what, you know, what this new album was like.

And he says, well, what should I? tell Jack. And I says, well, these eyes, undone, and laughing. Yeah. Those are the three. And that's how they came out. Yeah. These eyes is the big, the big breakthrough.

Yeah. And I, and I says, they're the songs. And he goes, okay, I'm going to tell Jack. And I didn't talk to Jack. I was going to find I got these eyes on my table. I was, okay, that's great. I never thought big of them. I was giving advice and they came out, whatever, right?

that would have been the next big one, which I got credit for, but like not, no gold record right? Like I said, I don't even think those two even know the whole story, right? And now Robert Lawson knows the story who's listening right now. Hey, Robert, now you know. So, anyway, so that's that happened. So the other one that I near lost my job on. Let's hear that story. Oh, yeah. So, yeah, I want that story and then I want to give you a couple of gifts because you gave me a gift, but let's hear that story. Okay, so this one here, Gary Palant was the

program, right? This is where he came to heads, man, like big time. And it was towards the end of my leaving. And he says, I didn't like what he was doing. He's an American coming in and his office was next to mine so I can hear him listening to demo tapes from different jocks. And I'm going, these are all American jocks she's listening to him, man, I'm going, what the hell?

And then he'd be best in the balls of all the other jocks on the air now, right? I remember when John Donovan got fired. I know when Don Dana had the ultimatum of either do this or do that or leave. I remember all, I got, he says he was breaking up the family. He was breaking up the family. Those are two legends. And it was pissing me off. Like, you know, and I thought, okay, you know what?

I do not like what you're doing. And I know what you're doing. You're just going to change over the whole thing and Americanize this whole station, right? that's what you're done to do here. And you're firing the guys who had the highest ratings. Like, what's wrong with you? Like, you know, and anyway, so we never got hit to hit. So anyway, as a music director, you know, I get the records.

I play them. It's not of his business, you know, and he thought he had power over me. And I goes, I don't give a shit. No, I have an understanding agreement with Bill. So, you know, you can go, you know. And anyway, so I don't know. Somebody came in and brought me a copy of Jetem, which was the French version.

version, which was banned nearly all over Europe. And it's all I kept hearing about this song. It was band, it's banned. It was never released in North America. And I says, I says, let me hear this record. And I goes, and he goes, yeah, let's tell you. Here it is. And I got to, and I went, oh, I got to play this.

And I'm listening, like Jane Birkin and Serge, right? And I guess it's passed away. And I listen to, I goes, why aren't they playing this? Like, what's a problem with this? Okay, it's suggestive. That's it. It's suggestive, right? and I go, but what are the lyrics, you know, but I'm not French.

So what I did was, I said, I called my guys at the French radio station, CBC Radio, French. I said, translate this thing for them. I said, have you guys heard Richard Temi goes, well, we heard about it? I goes, I'm sending you over the copy of this. I'm just taping it. I'm not giving you the copy, but I'm going to tape it. Sending it over to you, tell me what the lyrics are. So they come back to me, and they goes, well, it's nothing really.

It's, I love you, and it's, and you lose it in translation, you know? And I goes, so you're telling me there's nothing really bad said in here? Like not swearing or nothing? Nothing explicit. No, it's all just suggestive. And I went, okay, thank you. So I said, I'm playing it. So I thought, okay, I'm waiting for the backlash here.

So I went and told Bill, I says, let's before I play it, I'm telling you right now that I'm playing this record. And I'm telling you right now that's banned all over the place. And I'll play it until we get, you know, noticed that we shouldn't be playing it. And he says, you're the music director. you do what you have to do so um the program after i heard i was going to do that and he says listen i don't think you should be a plan i goes i don't care what you think i'm playing and he goes are you willing to put your job on the line for this and then he goes yeah and it's thanks

thanks for the alternative but yeah i'm going yeah i'm going to do that and i just in spite now i'm going yeah i'm playing this damn record and he goes okay well you know if we have troubles if we get trouble you're you're you're it i goes fine i you know so i programmed it actually for tom fulton show tom fulton so because i'd be going home i'd be in the car at six o'clock when he's when he's on the air so i says tom look it you're going to be playing this record and only play that once and you're programming it because i want to hear it okay no problem so he said okay he doesn't even heard it so i got everybody off guard nobody knew i was going to play this record at six like I'm listening to it and I'm going, it sounds really good because you're listening to a radio

station on AM, you know, and got to get the feel, right? And I said, sounds just as good on radio. So I listened to it and it was a pause and he played it again. I went, oh, what's happening here? So when I got back to my apartment, I'm trying to get through to him and he's not picking up. And I go, something happened? Why did the record go twice? And the regular program went through. Anyway, he, um,

next morning I come in. I, I'm always late, right? I'm always late. I'm just not one of those morning guys, right? Right. Barry Nesbett,

the manager would always come in and look at us and go, and I do the same thing when I'm leaving at night at six o'clock. I'm going, yeah, you know, um, he says to me, uh,

well, when I came in, you have to understand, CKFH, I have to tell you this. CKFH, if you want to get an idea what this station was like, it was like walking onto the set of WKRP.

I thought you might go there. I swear that that station was modeled over of CKFH. We had the same type of blonde sitting in the front. We had the same kind of salesman. We had the same kind of salesman, Herb Tarlek. We had the whole gang, man. Did you have a less nestman? That's what I wanted.

We had that too. We had all these characters, right? I go, every time I was WKRP, I can picture that, right? Anyway, so. And you're Andy Travis. I guess I was, yeah. I never thought about it. So, so, yeah, so he tells me,

but past that. So now the next morning I come in and everybody's got this gloom face on, you know, and messages, I have, it's only like half past nine or something, and I've got like a stack of messages like this. Right. And I'm going, what the hell is this? And they go, okay.

So I, um, I go back to my office at the back room. And he's, and, uh, before I could even go through the messages, uh, Barry Nesbitt walks in, the manager and he goes, and he says, uh, have you listened to any of your calls? I goes, I said, I just got in. I go, what's going on? He goes, uh, well, he says, I got some calls already from, you know, the mother's liberalist or the church this or, because don't forget, we are a state, we were a church station.

We were a church station on Sundays, right? So I never even thought about that. I didn't even think about that. And I thought, oh, no. Toronto the good. Yeah. And then I thought, oh, no, we've got clash here. I'm getting clash.

So I wouldn't think those people listening to the station otherwise, right? Anyway, so there's that. And he goes, yeah, so I goes, I says, he says, do you think we're in trouble? And I goes, I don't think so. I says, do you see the CRTC coming in here or the bounty police coming in here? And I said, let me tell you something. I don't think they will. And he goes, so I said, you talk to these people, you know, that called in.

And he goes, yeah, he says, what did you tell them? He says, well, I told him to go listen to another radio station. And I go, what? And he goes, did you listen to all? Did you read all your messages? And I goes, no. So I goes, it was nearly all record stores looking for the record number. Wow.

And there's only half past nine. And I'm going, what is this? And he goes, they all want to stock that record. And I went, what the, what? I love this twist. but did Tom play it twice? He played it twice because he was getting calls. And he says, I've got to play it.

So that's why he played it twice. Oh, my goodness gracious. So anyway, so, so I had it like number one within like two weeks. And I was waiting. I was waiting, okay, when's the CRT's going to? When's the, you know, the morale squad coming in, you know? And nothing. And then the program director comes in.

He goes, it's going to be great if this thing because he hit it all worldwide. I goes, what are you talking about? He goes, well, it'll be great if we got a gold record for this. I goes, who's we? And he goes, well, you already got gold records. You know, get lost. Go, you know, get lost, you know. Like he wanted to get the credit for something I put my job on the line for.

And something he told you not to do. Not to do. So now that creates another situation. So here we go. Yeah. This is a bit of a story. So you like stories. You're going to get them.

And then I'm giving you gifts. So here we are. So here we are. Now I'm going to dispel the fact that Chum only goes charts by record sales. London Records rush release that record out, put it out. They couldn't even keep it in stock. It was the number one selling record everywhere in the area. And no number one on, no, nothing on Chum.

Chum was not playing at all. They wouldn't even touch it, right? And it was already number one on my, my charts, right? So I thought, okay, so now it's being reported all over North America that I'm playing this record. So other stations in the States tried to do it, and they got hit by the FCC. So they all got scared and they didn't play it. Right.

Right? We were the only ones that were able to play it. Remember, they took Louis Louis off the air because they thought it was suggested. Yeah, you know, it was made up in word. That's all it was. Yeah, right. And so, you know, I said, okay, so anyway, you made it a hit. It was big, was number one.

We played, when I ran its course in the whole night. mine yards. But in the meantime, I get a call from my friend Don Gooch at Motown Records. Now, Don Gooch used to be our engineer at CQFH radio. Okay. He is now the engineer at the studios at Motown. Right? So he says to me, Joey, what's, what's this record that you guys are playing? I goes, what did you say to him? He goes, yeah, he says, man, he says, I wish we could do something like that here. I goes, I goes, why? Well, I don't know. What do you want to do? He goes,

he goes, what about if we did an instrumental of that record? Would that work? And I goes, well, if you did the breathing, maybe it might work and whatever. And he goes, no, no, just because people know the tune, right? They know the tune. And I goes, all right, then put out an instrumental version of it. He goes, because he says, now I'm in charge of the rare earth label, and we're looking for something new, right? And I thought, well, you know, I says, why don't you put it out and give it a different name, you know? And I think he called it Sounds Nice, I think it was called. And by love on, not it was called, sounds nice.

But anyway, they put it out, right? And it was number one, like in a week, right across the board. It was a first record right out of the hit, boom, you know. And you're so young still. And you're the youngest hitmaker we have in this country. Fair to say that. And this is one of, you know, a dozen or so big songs that you broke. Well, if you want, yeah.

I mean, the term was breaking it, yeah, I guess. I mean, you know, I can't take away from the other people like Rosalie and all, and, you know, Nevin and all those guys, because they were all supportive. They did their share of breaking records, too. You know, I mean, we all did our bit, right? But these had sort of backed up stories for these particular ones, right? But I went on on the limp for a lot of different records, including progible harem, whiter shade appell, boogaloo down Broadway.

But my last one would have been David Bowie Space Auditie. which nobody even listened to for two years after that and boom you go back and you go yeah I remember this record when it first came out like you know

and nobody was touching it you know okay Joey here's what we're gonna do I'm gonna give you some gifts and then I'm gonna blow your mind by playing a song and you're gonna tell us what we're listening to

and then we're gonna do some just more rapid because I don't have unlimited time of course I'm making time for some of these great these great stories but we got some quick hits

to do you know post CKFH because this is the 60s. We're still in the 60s here. We don't have, we can't go that same pace through your whole entire interesting career. As you can imagine, we're still in the 60s Joey, it's been an hour. Okay, here. On my book, I'm still in the 60s.

Well, listen, when is this book going to be done? Well, I'm doing in five chapters. I'm five books. The 50s, excuse me, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and then 2000s. Okay, what is this? Game of Thrones? What are you doing here? Because every decade, I've, I reinvented myself, like, and I did different things, right? based on the previous thing.

So then they all have their own stories, and I can fill up a whole book, no problem. Well, we're going to do the shorter version in this chat, and then you'll come, when this book, when I can read these books, you're coming back. That might be quite a while from now. Well, I can wait. I got nothing but patience.

But you came all this way, and I know you're proud Maltese man, but I've got some Italian food for you. Is that okay? I got a lasagna in the freezer. No problem. I just brought some Italian wine. Yeah, so it's here.

Okay. Oh, that's another thing you should look at. Look, look at it. Okay, well, here. let me see I'm uh okay buy the C

but C is spelled CEEE as in Joey C this is your private stock collection you know you are what I would call a raconteur a renaissance man you wet your beak and everything stick your hand in there this more

I should okay there is more here okay so let me put that here from your private collection oh this man knows this is C C C Bonds which is also spelled C-E-C-E-C-E-C-E. You are Joey C. This is chocolate. Dude, you know the weight of my heart, man.

So let me return the face. So this is amazing. That's great. No, thank you for, okay. And then Maple Music Cafe. This is an online radio station. Those are all my business card. Oh, Canada on demand. Everything I'm doing is on that card. TorontoonDemand.com. People should go there, your southern Ontario entertainment planner. No rest for the wicked, eh, Joey? No chance of slowing down here. I didn't know. Is that wicked? So this, this, this. chocolate i'm now seeing here Toronto chocolate festival.com

which i've been producing for 20 years you promote that event you've got produced it for 20 years produce it for 20 years my apologies maple music cafe.com which is that online radio station we discussed coast to coast travel discoveries that's canada on demand dot com and we mentioned

sorry well it's actually says dot com over here Joey we got to fix this buddy so dot ca we'll fix it in post we'll fix it in post but listen so thank you but i want to give you a lasagna from Palma Pasta. That's an empty box, but it's in my freezer right now, Joey. Don't worry, you're going to get... I'll have something tonight.

No smoking mirrors here. Thank you to palmapasta.com. They're in Mississauga and Oakville, and I actually saw your friend, Dave Charles, at our most recent gathering at Palma's Kitchen, which was late November. It's just seeing him and his wife. His wife was Italian.

Oh, you know what? I was there, but I couldn't get to you because it was so packed, and you had so many people on the stage. You were there. You know, Joey. Dave told me you were coming, and I actually thought, until this moment, I just thought you couldn't make it.

You were there. I was there. I came by him. You should have kicked, you know, like when George gets to stand, I had to. It was a really hard to do. It was a busy day, right? It was a lot of people, yeah. And plus, I was a little problem with my tinnitus, so it started on there.

It was like, it really. Well, thank you. Did you get a free meal from Poma Ponsville? No, I just got there. I just got there, and talk to Dave, and that was it, basically. Okay, well, thank you for being there. It was great to see Dave there. I got him on the mic, and it's good to, we can finally do that.

to the palm pasta lasagna, I have fresh craft beer for you from Great Lakes Brewery. So you give me your wine. This is from my private stock, okay? Fresh craft beer, brewed right here in Southern Atobico. Much love to Great Lakes Brewery. Also, quick piece of

advice. I don't know. Do you still DJ? No. No, you've retired from the DJ. No more ones and twos. But if you have any old cables, old electronics, old devices, don't throw them in the garbage. Go to recycle MyElectronics.ca.

Stick your postal code in there and then find out where you can drop it all off to be properly recycled, Joey C. And I wanted to give some love to Nick Aieny's. He's got a couple of great podcasts you should listen to. Life's, I was going to say Life's Undertaking.

That's actually the Ridley Funeral Home podcast. The Nick Iini's podcast, but speaking of Ridley Funeral Home, this measuring tape is for you, Joey C, courtesy of Ridley Funeral Home. I hit to ask what we'd be measuring. What would you like to measure? with that. Joey, what are you doing there? What are you doing here? Please. Okay. But Nick Aienes has a great podcast

called Building Toronto Skyline. He's with Fusion Corp. He has another podcast called Building Success and he's visiting Friday to record some new materials. So thank you to all the partners of Toronto Mike. And of course, there is an opening because we had a seasonal sponsor. We're now in January. So if you're interested in joining the family here, I'm Mike at Torontomike.com. Let's make some magic happen. I want to play a song. Well, okay, so why do you leave CKFH? Because I had an ultimatum. I just couldn't get along with the program director,

and what happened was I happened to just have an appendix attack just before Christmas, and I was laid up for like a week or two, and I went into the station just because, you know, I'm my concern, I want to make sure everything was in good shape, you know, and everything was running smooth. I walked in, and the place was a mess. It was turned upside.

down that they just, you know, just went crazy with this thing. And, uh, Polant walks in and he goes, uh, listen, I need to either put together the top 100 of 69 or 68, whatever it was, 68, I think. And I go, are you crazy? I go, no, I'm not doing that. And he goes, it's your job. I go, I'm not even supposed to be here. I'm supposed to be home. I'm not, right? Right. I'm not taking orders from you. And he goes, well, you got to do, that's your job. And I go, oh, no, don't tell me he's going to pull this off now, right? So I waited. And I, so as far as the manager calls me in and he, and he, you, He's sitting there, and he goes, okay, listen, you guys can't seem to, you know,

and I told him, I basically ripped into him, and he, and he says, you two can't get along. Something's got to happen here. He goes, I says, what do you want? Do you want to fire me? You know, and he looks at me like, you know, Barry didn't want any of that stuff, right? And I goes, well, why don't you just quit? And I says, no. I says, why don't you fire me?

And he goes, you want to be fired? you're fired I goes good thank you first of all it was at the end when all the jocks were pretty well gone it wasn't fun money anymore you know right and I was looking for something new anyway to go to I had no idea where I was going to go to right which worked out as a good thing actually so I says to me I I I says can I clear my desk out now and he goes no you got a week to do it I goes no I want to do it now so what happened was I went back there I got these big boxes and there's a whole

library of all the oldies on there and I just start going and he goes what are you doing what are you doing he goes I said this is my library I'm clearing up my desk your personal collection and he goes you can't do this I goes yeah that's all his he goes he came in with all that we had the best oldie collection of all wow and that's it so I and I still have that vinyl I wanted to get fire me so I could collect Pogi for the next three months right and I did I said the vinyl I have well I just donated 20 thousand albums

to Metalwork Studios. It's in their school. Okay, shout out to Gilmore. FOTM Gilmore. He's got the Joey C. Final Vault at Metalwork Studios. Small world we live in here. My goodness. Okay. So, can you please, we're going to do some hot spots here, and then I'm waiting for the books, okay? And then you're coming back. But where, like, tell me about CBC music.

Is it action set? Okay, so just give me a little taste of this. So when I left FH, I was laying low, I thought, okay, don't know what I'm going to do next or whatever, right? Within two days of after I got, after I got fired, when I should have, the same thing as being quit, but I don't get money if you're fired, if you quit, sorry. So like two days later, I get this call from CBC Radio,

and he goes, you just leave FH? And I went, well, I said, boy, word sure gets out fast. He goes, oh, yeah, everybody knows. I goes, holy, I didn't even tell anybody, you know? He says, no, we know. He says, we want you to come in and talk to us. I goes, about what? He goes, just come on in.

I goes, okay, so I went to the CBC Studios in Jervis and sat there with John Castner. And John was doing the action set weekend, which has syndicated like an over 90 stations across the country. And he says, we want you, we want to come up with a show for yourself on this, on the station. And I goes, okay, now let's get one thing straight here. Number one, up until now, because, you know, when I was at FH, I used to get a lot of requests to do dances. right uh joey c but i was never a dj on c kfh but everybody thought i was but it was number of times i was mentioned it just as a matter of fact a lot of the jocks at one time boycotted me and they went you know what joey's getting all the bookings because we're not getting

as much bookings and because he's booking himself i goes no i guess i'm not doing that and i had a track record already right so what they said was uh i said you know what you guys do the bookings so they did that for about a month and they says you know joey better do it again because they keep asking for them. So I goes, okay, great. So I guess I got this thing at CBC, and CBC says, well, you have your own show. And I went, okay, I go, what do I do?

It goes, come up with my idea. And I was, okay. So I says, I believe in the Canadian music. They don't have much of a chance to do a lot of stuff. They don't have many openings unless you're in the States. And I says, I want to start, I'll do a one-hour show called Music Canada on Joey C. Presents Music Canada. And they liked the idea.

I said, I only interview Canadian artists. I play Canadian music and all the new stuff. This is not an oldie show. It's just a mixture of everything. And they went for it. They said, yeah, great. So I was on there for over two years every Saturday. And this is the first time you're actually, you know,

hosting your own, your broadcasting. This is your voice. Yeah. Yeah. So on the radio. Yeah. And that came out of two days after F. Which I had no idea what I was going to do that.

So, and that started the music Canada and then I published a chart that was distributed in 90s stations and blah, blah, blah. I just went on into publishing. Well, here, so let's, let's, again, well, we're going to get you back for a deeper dive into some of this, you know, 70s and beyond. And I'm going to blow your mind of a song in a moment here. But you mentioned Q&07 off the top and we talked about Dave Charles. So you produced a high school confidential. Great. The, not the song.

No, no, not the song. You weren't with Carol Pope and Kevin Staples in the steele. Because, you know, that's a line. they had to edit for radio, cream, cream my jeans. Carol Pope, you got to clean that up for Chim of them. All right, but then, so you're, that's your role in at Q107 and just a couple of quick hits here, but you guest co-hosted CBC TV's Music Hop. Yeah, I was a guest every once in a while with their Jay Jackson and a bunch of others.

And don't forget, Alex Trebek was the main. Was it Alex Trebek and then Dave Marston? Yeah, I think so. Yeah, it's funny, because we talked about Mickey earlier. Yeah, I like Okay, I feel like There's been a lot of Marsden on the mind lately because there's a CF and Y doc

debuting tomorrow on TVO Oh, great. Marsden's all over this thing. It's like a love letter to David Marsden. He's a real good friend of mine. He actually, he had his office right down from my office at Carleton Street. He was a subtenant.

Amazing, again, small world, but it's all Marsden all the time over here. Okay, and you would pop on a bunch of stations, right, doing like radio reports, I don't know, CKF, which is 99.9.9, became mixed 99.9.9 at some point. I came up with a concept because I reached my lowest, after a folded record week, I left record week.

About four months later, I was working on my mom's basement again, where my studio was and everything. And when I went to pick a, I went for a trip to Washington to do a little bit of business, and the place burnt down while I was gone. So I lost everything. literally everything inside that house went my goodness so i lost about a half million dollars were the records i've got equipment you just name it everything you have insurance no no it was back back then you know you're not supposed to work out of your house you know so my insurance that

my mom was covered and the house was covered but for me i'm dead nothing anyway it's a long story but the thing is so i went up for a dry spell for about three years four years like nothing no work no nothing i didn't even have a car um so it was my lowest lowest point so you know me, I just have to bounce back and think ahead and the way we go come up with something else. You're a visionary. You know, but I always just said everything is for a reason when it happens and I always thought there's got to be a reason for this. Like, I don't know why.

I have no idea, but about three years later, I realized what the reason was. And that was it took me out of the music industry into the entertainment industry. Two distinct things, right? Right. Entertainment includes music, but music doesn't include entertainment. So I started working with nightclubs. I got some breaks where I would start working with some nightclubs as their PR people. as my PR guys, excuse me, as a PR person.

And at one time I had like eight clubs going at the same time. And I was making a lot of money there. And I thought, holy crap, you know, this is great. And then one day I just had this idea because I brought the idea of publishing and broadcasting and clubs altogether under one pot. And I went, you know what we don't have is like these people, these clubs are advertising on these dance stations or, you know, dance music stations um but you never know what happens on the weekend like okay on friday

on saturday blah blah monday comes is done nobody knows what's going on right i goes now i'm going to change that so i really started the first most most remote uh reports basically on all on genres uh by starting the hotspots network and the hotspots reports and what i did was um i basically had a team of four reporters, two supervisors, two limousines, and every Friday and Saturday night on CQFM, the mix of the time. Well, it wasn't the mix yet. It was CQFM 999. Right. And it was they put dance music on Friday and Saturday night. So starting at 7 o'clock to 1 o'clock, we would be going from one club to another every half hour reporting live and giving the listener a one-minute recap of what's happening at this club that we're live at, what's happening at

this club in the west end and the west club in the east end, you know, we're giving like traffic reports. How long's the lineup? What's their feature tonight? Who's the guest tonight? What should you look out for? Basically,

it was an actual report. It was a traffic report for nightclubs. And after I did it with CKFM, who believed in my concept, and it kicked off in September 85, and it just took off. And the bottom line is that I was producing that segment, right? Right.

And it had not. to do with the station because the deal was you give me one two minutes an hour to sell I will provide you with that service which will be you we're promoting you right and they like that idea so I goes okay so I sold us that you know I was telling like 28 clubs every quarter and they were sold out every time so after the first time I went okay this is this is working so I took that concept and I took it to LA and we were on power 106 Los Angeles the number one radio station just starting up. And then we went from there to Hot 103,

New York City. They went to CCMF Montreal. Well, it's hot 97, right? It's 97, yeah. Okay. And then they were both Emmis broadcasting stations. And then we took it to Montreal and CKMF Montreal to Magic 102 Buffalo. It looks like I had five cities, five stations going every weekend,

total of 30 reporters, 10 numazines running around and covering a total of about 150, 200 clubs every weekend. Okay, Joey, there's a lot here. There's a lot in the Joey C. No, I asked. I asked here. So here, for timed purposes, because I know how I want to close here.

I'm going to read something from your bio. Okay, I'm just going to read this. Okay, we're covering a lot of ground in one sentence here. It might be a run-on sentence. You can see if the grammar police come after me. But, okay, he's published Hot Toronto Magazine for two decades, owned an art gallery, emceed for Neil Diamond, The Who,

Tina Turner, Bachman Turner, Overdrive, and many more, owned and operated his own record label, Night Flight, produced a record album for Playboy magazine owner Hugh Hefner, published concert books, set up a celebratory Canada Day in Los Angeles, being a Juno judge, coordinated Toronto's chocolate ball and chocolate festival, that's why I have the chocolate here, and has been associate director of the Beaches Jazz Festival for 26 years.

Okay, that's an old bio. Toronto is now three decades. Okay, listen, we get to update this bio here. Here, okay, so the bottom line is we get the idea. Lots going on here. I'm going to play a song so we don't run out of time here. Just listen to me. Listen to this song, Joey, and tell me what you think about.

I remember December, coldest night of the year. a few weeks to Christmas And all I shared were tears I remember December When the whole world died Nothing stayed but the memories After the music died

All he wanted was a chance To make out dreams come to true. He tried to be an example for me and you. Who's voice am I hearing singing this song, Remember December? A young Joey C. A lot of your earlier jams are difficult to find. Like, I don't have the vinyl, but it's

Tough to find, but I did find a, you hear this, they can hear the crackle in the background. Somebody digitized this record here, and we get to hear some Joey C. Some of the were available from different countries. I've had records, at least in England and Australia. I even had to buy them just to find them. But they're out there somewhere.

They're out there somewhere. And this song is about John Lennon. It is. I wrote that right after he died, basically. I was really moved by the whole, everything was going on. and I just, for some reason, I just came up with that whole tune and that idea and that the fact that it was winter and, you know, it was one of those things that's going to be remembered. And we were in the studio.

I was producing the Jive Bombers at the time at actually Moses Nymer Studios, Thunder Sound. And I had Patricia Dahlquist singing. I had a bunch of different people in the background. So I thought, wait a minute, I got time here. I thought, let's put everybody together. Let's see if we come up with something. Barry Keene, Gordon Lightfoot's drummer was on there. Oh, here's some John.

You know, I hate to say his name again, but he's a sweetheart, but David Marsden, I believe, was with John Lennon during his bed in. And Donoughby, too, maybe? Yeah, and I got the album signed by John Lennon in bed. Shout out to Jerry Levittan, the teen major. Oh, good old Jerry. Jerry lives in this neighborhood.

Does he? Yeah, he was at that TMLX event at Palmer's Kitchen that you, I didn't, I really didn't recognize a lot of people. Well, it was a busy room there. This section here, this is from the, the concert here at Varsity. And, of course, that was from the album. And Yoko Ono approved me to do that, to use that. Anyway, so that was the story on that one.

And you'd hear that one on the anniversary, just certainly after that, every anniversary for like 10 years, and they would play that. All right. So my final question, because, again, we can't cover your entire life. It's sort of like watching Forrest Gump. but it takes a couple hours to do that, okay? But... Never heard that one, okay. Big question for you.

Where is the Mississauga Music Walk of Fame? It's at Centennial Park in Port Credit. Okay, I bike to Port Credit all the time. Right behind the library. Right, okay, and there's a... On the walk. I do, and there's like a playground there? Right next, yeah, that's that walk that's right in front of the playground.

I'm going to go check it out because you, my friend, have been inducted into the Mississauga Music Walk of Fame. I'm there. I'm stoned right there. Jeez. Okay, well, I'm going to take a photo of that when maybe, maybe later, maybe next week. But like, I mean, I thought we'd close with walk of fame chat real quickly here on our way out here because you nominated Norman Jewison for his spot on the Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard. Correct. And you wanted to do a like a Walk of Fame in Toronto.

I did. And after, because I was so involved with the operations in Los Angeles with Hollywood. And I knew how they do it. I knew what the protocol was and all that. And I really thought, well, we don't have one in Toronto. And the one thing I did, you know, realize from day one was we can't do it outside. It's got to be inside. You know, we have winters.

They don't have winters. That's a big difference. And anyway, I had the idea. And you can check it out. It was registered back 10 years before the actual Walk of Fame happened. And I could. couldn't get the mayor at that time, Art Eggleton, to endorse it. But I already had the place to put it in.

I already had... Where was going to be the place? Right inside the Eaton Center across the walk, right through. That would have been the perfect place for it. Yep. Nope, because Art Eggleton had a little walk or whatever star thing at the Skydome, which he was involved with, and that put the kibosh on me doing that. So, for a fight, so Eaton Center said, unless you get his support, we can't do it.

I didn't get her support, so we couldn't do it. Couldn't do it. So there you are. 10 years later, it comes up like a whole new idea. Yeah, really? Okay, whatever. So, you know, you had all this experience, you know. I'm always ahead of the game.

Yeah, but it's neat that finally you got into a walk of fame. Like, Joey C. finally recognized in a walk of fame. And now I'm on the board of directors for that. You're on the board of directors. And let's not bury the lead, Joey C. You're now an FOTM. You're a friend of Toronto Mike. You join Dave Charles in this esteemed list.

a great club to be in. The late great John Donabies in this club, the aforementioned David Marsden, a lot of people you know and love are in this club, and I'm glad to have you here, Joey. It's a friendly gathering. It's a friendly gathering. How was this for you? Do you think, was there one story that you were driving here? You're like, I got to tell this story.

And now that I'm playing you out, you're like, oh, I never got to that story. No, but did you cover all the high, hot spots? There'll be a thousand more. There'll be a thousand more. I guess, you know. you touched upon a couple of good ones Well do you want to take any credit for the What's the Robert Plant

Sea of Love? Honey Drippers Do you want to take some credit for that? A little bit, not much, but a little bit. Again, I was in studio recording a group at the great studios out in Pickering there And we had extra time And Freddie was the singer of that band

I said, listen, why we put a song together that you and I used to sing before, you know? and see of love we used to always do, you know, as a classic. And I thought, let's be something different. I want to do it because I like the whole soft part of it, right? It was always hard, come with me, you know. And I said, give it a soft feel to it.

And, but bump it up with the guitar. So we did that. And so we shopped it and private stock picked it up. And it did really well. Like, you know, the weird part is, I'm at Medem one year, and I just happened to go into the private stock booth. and he remember the that came out as the puppies the group was called the puppies Mel Shaw was going to produce it and create cartoon characters and the whole nine yards

it was going to be like the Archie sort of idea shout out to Andy Kim yeah right and yeah hi there Andy uh so this would be like this would have been the same idea but never never came to fruition it from that point but yeah one thing I remember the most was I walked into a private stock and I says yeah he says I'm on your I'm on your label and he was what yeah he goes uh Joey C yeah I goes, no, he says the puppies. I said, the puppies. And he goes, see you're the love?

And I go, yeah, you're the singer? He goes, yeah, he was so excited about it. I go, whoa, okay. He goes, and he goes, you know what? He says, I'll tell you something. I'll tell you who liked that song. And I goes, who? And he goes, Jeff Beck.

And I go, Jeff Beck. I goes, yeah, he's on our label too. I goes, I goes, well, how would Jeff Beck? He goes, I was playing it one time in the office and he happened to come in and he didn't know who that was. He liked the guitar break in the way we did the guitar. And he really liked it. And I goes, okay, that's cool.

like that, right? Well, you know, go fast forward to two months, two years later or so years later. I'm listening to the TV and MTV is on or is one of the TV channels. And I'm listening to See, I've love. And I'm going, who the hell is that? And it's the honey drippers. Jeff Beck.

I love that we close with that because that's not a coincidence. We're not stupid, Joey. That's not a coincidence. And that brings us to the end of our 1,829th show. go to Torontomike.com for all your Toronto mic needs and JoeyC. JoeyC.com.

So Joey C.E.com. That's where you go for all your Joey C needs, whatever they may be. Much love to all who made this possible. That's Great Lakes Brewery. Don't forget your beer, Joey. Palma pasta. I've got your lasagna in the freezer. Nick Iini's Recycle MyElectronics.ca.

And Ridley Funeral Home. You mentioned Stacks Records earlier. We're going to be talking Stacks and more in the next episode with Rob Bowman.