About Us
Welcome to CLASSIC1220, Canada’s newest radio station, serving St. Catharines, Thorold and the surrounding area in the beautiful Niagara Region.
Classic 1220, your “Hometown Radio”, offers the best music from the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s and provides listeners with local news, sports, weather and traffic updates, as well as information on upcoming and current events across the area.
Our announcers all live, work and play in St. Catharines and Niagara and know the city and the Region well.
Classic 1220’s predecessor, 1220 CHSC, founded by Robert (Bob ) Redmond, operated on Queenston Street in St. Catharines from 1967, until 2010 under various other ownership groups.
The station’s on-air lineup featured a virtual “who’s who” of Niagara radio, with the early years of the station including legendary names such as Doug Setterington, Jim Marino, Karl Edmands, Peter Borbely, Frank Fanstone, Tim Denis, Ted Yates, Pete Morena, Peter Murray, Brian Master, Bob MacGregor, Bob Privet, newsman Ed Eldred among others. The latter years of the station included on-air names such as Jack Peets, Brian”Bugsy” Baker, Nancy McIntosh, Mike Balsom, Stu Berketo, Rick Woodward, newspeople Armand Romagnoli, Angus Gillespie, Doug Ryckman, Laurie Walsh and Derek Wagner, It’s Your Call sports talk show host Rob Hubbert, “Wally the Muffin Lady” with “The Weather Outside”, Michael Mathie, and morning and afternoon announcer Chuck Lafleur, who returns to 1220 on the AM dial, as News and Sports Director.
One name, however, is synomous with the glory years of 1220 CHSC: The man known as “The Mayor of the Morning”, John Larocque. John was an amazing supporter of St. Catharines, and could be seen at hundreds of events each year. He was awarded the Rotary Club’s Paul Harris Fellowship honour, the St. Catharines Canada 125 medal in 1993, was named St. Catharines Citizen of the Year in 1997, and was awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal in 2003. There will never be another person like him. Classic1220 is proud to recognize John Laroque’s legacy, and that of 1220 CHSC.
Thank you for visiting our website, and for listening to Classic1220. Joined by our advertising partners and listeners, we look forward to becoming a part of the St. Catharines community. After all, we are ‘All About This Town”!!!
From RadioInsight
CFAJ (Classic 1220) St. Catharines, Ontario
Readers know that at least once a year I will have a new favorite station for “oh wow” oldies. Usually this is a station outside the U.S., but also deeper than the average large-market Classic Hits outlet, meaning that my chances at “oh wow” are doubled. The new favorite is CFAJ (Classic 1220) St. Catherines, Ontario, which after a convoluted history and two years of on-air testing, has returned heritage AM CHSC to the air at a time when other heritage Canadian AMs are being shut down.
Classic 1220’s mix is ’70s through ’90s. The ’70s Canadian music includes some pop from that era that has been hard to find on the radio for years. The ’90s are more than the usual handful of safelist songs, meaning that I heard Paula Abdul’s “The Promise of a New Day” into Burton Cummings’ “Your Backyard.” (There was also Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” into Smashing Pumpkins’ “1979.”)
CFAJ is making a point of being by-locals/for-locals. I heard a great hour of local morning show with morning co-host Stef, p.m. driver Pete Dictor (filling in as co-host), and newsperson Chuck LaFleur. Here’s Classic 1220 around 9:35 p.m., October 2:
- Lou Rawls, “You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine”
- Maureen McGovern, “The Morning After” — as a bonus, this came after a Canadian broadcasters’ promo about disaster relief
- Bells, “Moody Manitoba Morning” (Canadian)
- Queen, “Another One Bites the Dust”
- April Wine, “Just Between You and Me” (Canadian) — have also come across the less-known “Weeping Widow”
- Chilliwack, “Arms of Mary” (Canadian)
- Tina Turner, “What’s Love Got to Do With It”
- Lynyrd Skynrd, “Sweet Home Alabama”
- Klymaxx, “I Miss You”
- Ken Tobias, “Every Bit of Love” (Canadian)
- White Town, “Your Woman”
- Michael Johnson, “This Night Won’t Last Forever”
- Anne Murray, “I’m Happy Just to Dance with You” (Canadian)
- Peaches & Herb, “Shake Your Groove Thing”
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I don’t know why Bergsma makes me laugh so hard, but he does.
A 102-year-old World War II veteran was honoured in Beamsville Thursday as she was presented with a Quilt of Valour. @AdamCHCH was there and has the story.
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