JR Russ Turns Super-CFL Into Cyber-CFL

J.R. Russ has spent a thousand hobby hours to create an Internet version of WCFL 1000 AM, the freewheeling Chicago rock station that during the late 1960s and 1970s was home of Larry Lujack, Jerry G. Bishop and Barney Pip, a trumpet-playing disc jockey who told listeners to “turn into peanut butter.” Russ, 62, calls his project a “labor of love,: accoridng to suntimes.com.

WCFLchicago.com on Labor Day, of course. WCFL (now ESPN 1000) was named for its owner, the Chicago Federation of Labor union.

“Rather than a ‘tribute’ station, stuck in the ’60s and ’70s, I call it a ‘salute station,’ which captures the essence of the original with the jingles, original airchecks and commercials but also plays newer music,” explained Russ, who grew up in New Buffalo, Mich. “There are a lot of ‘tribute’ stations, but I couldn’t find any to WCFL, so I decided to build one. The key was getting the jingle identifiers to replicate ‘that sound.’ ”

The station picked up traction after Lujack’s death Dec. 18. Over the holidays, the station paid tribute to Lujack with hourly airchecks of Lujack introducing songs and reading commercials culled from high-quality “board” (studio) recordings. Lujack’s Chicago career began in 1967 at WCFL.

WCFL-AM and WLS-AM were hot, 50,000-watt rivals. WLS was suits and ties; WCFL was tie-dye and jeans.

TM Studios in Dallas allowed Russ to use all the original ’CFL jingles from its archives. TM created all the jingles. “They said any original master tapes would have to physically be baked in an oven to keep the oxide from falling off the tapes,” Russ said. “Then an engineer would dub the tapes to digital.” Russ had pay for the transfers, but TM did not charge him licensing fees because his station is a historic effort.

Russ works on WCFLchicago from his home studio in Boothwyn, Pa., a suburb of Philadelphia.

The “Chickenman” series created in 1966 by then-’CFL production director Dick Orkin has been airing on WCFLchicago. “The Batman spoof highlights Benton Harbor, a mild-mannered shoe salesman who fights crime on weekends,” Russ said.

LISTEN-LIVE: Click Here

And the voice of labor lives again.

Read More Now