Roy's Record Room on CKUA
Tune in every Sunday at 1 PM Mountain Time / Noon Pacific Time, to Roooooy’s Record Room, the show that continues to revolve. You can stream it live at www.ckua.com. Fifteen years and counting!
Roy’s Record Room is a weekly radio show on the CKUA Radio Network, Hosted by singer/songwriter/performer/broadcaster, Roy Forbes. RRR is a program that unravels and reveals the roots of today’s tunes, for the pure joy of it. Roy spins some familiar but mostly obscure 78s, 45s and LPs from his ever-expanding record collection – sides that don’t show up on many other stations. He loves all kinds of music and explores that eclectic passion weekly on Triple-R Radio.
Roy first came to CKUA at the age of twenty in 1973, when he was invited to guest on Holger Petersen’s legendary ACME Sausage Company program. CKUA has supported Roy and his music since those early days, with his new album, “Edge Of Blue”, having recently spent some time in the upper reaches of CKUA’s Top 20 album chart. Roy’s Record Room (RRR) launched in 2006.
"I love the sense of history that CKUA gives me as a listener as well as the sense of the now and the future," says Roy. "CKUA is the sound of surprise. You never know what you'll hear next”.
Roy’s record collection is more like a record library - running into the thousands of discs, with some even sent in by loyal RRR listeners. His appetite for music is virtually unlimited and he finds creative revelations everywhere.
More 78s from the Crates
You’ll hear another eclectic batch of 78s from the crates this Sunday on Roy’s Record Room. Roy will treat your ears to some Western Swing from Milton Brown & His Brownies. Jump blues from Tiny Bradshaw. Blood-harmony country from the Louvin Brothers. Skiffle from Chas McDevitt’s Skiffle Band. Vintage jug-band jazz from the Washboard Rhythm Boys. Early Canadian C&W from Hank ‘The Yodeling Ranger’ aka Hank Snow.
And that ain’t all. In honour of John Worthington, CKUA’s Old-Disc jockey, Roy has dug up a red-hot 1939 big band side from Artie Shaw & his Orchestra. Artie and the band blow the doors off the joint on this number. Especially the drummer. Get ready for “Traffic Jam”.
The spin begins this Sunday, March 19th, 2 PM, Mountain, on CKUA. Dial in for more 78s from the crates on Roooy’s Record Room. Always revolving. Always revealing.
And folks … The second weekend in April marks seventeen years of RRR. With this in mind, I’ll be celebrating YOU, the Triple-R radio listeners, on the April 9th show, by spinning an hour of Listener highlights. If you want to get in on the fun, tap out roy@ckua.com. Let me know where you’re writing from and what tune you’ve heard on RRR that you’d like to hear again. You can also use the ‘Open Mic’ feature on the CKUA app to leave an audio message.
Jazz Vocal 78s from the Crates
Roy Forbes just can’t stay away from those heavy old shellac platters. This Sunday, it’s all jazz vocal 78s from the crates on Triple-R radio. Mr. Forbes spins a few sides from the likes of Lil Johnson, Anita O’Day with Gene Krupa. The Boswell Sisters, Julia Lee with Jay McShann, Louis Armstrong, the King Cole Trio, and more.
A highlight of many highlights is a hot Decca disc from the revered Gospel singer, Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Rosetta made several exciting sides with the Lucky Millinder band in the early 40s. She really struts her stuff on “Tall Skinny Papa”. It’ll put a great big smile on your face.
The spin begins this coming Sunday, March 5th, 2 PM, Mountain, on donor supported CKUA Radio. Dial in for a stack of Jazz Vocal 78s from the crates on Rooooy’s Record Room, the show that continues to revolve.
This episode of RRR will be available ‘on demand’ for seven days after the first broadcast – ondemand.ckua.com
A Fingerfulla 45s from the Archives
Roy digs deep into the RRR archives this week on Roy’s Record Room, spinning an eclectic stack of platters from folks like Mendelson Joe with Mainline, Irma Thomas, George Jones, the Byrds, Porter Wagoner, Dionne Warwick, the Shirelles, and so many more.
A rollicking highlight is a 1962 Ace 45 from Huey ‘Piano’ Smith & the Clowns. We lost the revered New Orleans piano player a while back. It’s good to have his records spinning on the Triple-R turntable to remind us how much joy there is in life and in music. Get ready to do a little dance with Huey ‘Piano’ Smith & the Clowns – “Popeye”.
The spin begins this coming Sunday, February 26th,, 2 PM, Mountain, on donor supported CKUA Radio. Drop in for a lively batch of 45s from the archives on Rooooy’s Record Room. Always revolving. Always revealing.
Black Musical Pioneers at 78 RPM
This week, on Triple-R Radio, Roy journeys back to the dawn of recorded sound for a celebration of Black Musical Pioneers at 78 rpm. He starts in 1911 with the Fisk Jubilee Quartet and winds things up in 1935 with Duke Ellington’s “In A Sentimental Mood”.
In-between, you’ll hear an eclectic batch of performances from folks like Clifford Hayes’ Louisville Stompers (1927), Bert Williams (1919), Kokomo Arnold (1934), the Spirits Of Rhythm (1933), Noble Sissle & Eubie Blake (1924), Ethel Waters with James P Johnson (1928) and more, all spinning from ten-inch shellac 78 rpm records.
In the middle is a triple-shot of caffeine from the wild man of early Jazz, Cab Calloway. Cab and his band turn in a frenetic performance of “Some Of These Days”, a song written in 1910 by the black Canadian composer and singer, Shelton Brooks. Shelton also penned “Darktown Strutters’ Ball”. Both songs now reside in the Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame. Hang on to your hats when the hi-de-ho man takes control of the turntable on RRR.
The spin begins this Sunday, February 19th at 2 PM, MT on donor supported CKUA Radio. Dial in for a celebration of Black Musical Pioneers at 78 rpm on Rooooy’s Record Room, the show that continues to revolve.
A Mid-Winter Rockin’ 78s Dance Party
This week on Triple-R Radio, Roy’s really gonna rock the bop with his annual RRR Mid-Winter Rockin’ 78 Dance Party. Tune in for a whole lotta shaking from Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, Wanda Jackson, Janis Martin, Lonnie Donegan, Carl Mann, Little Richard and more, spinning from the original 1950s 78s.
An undeniable highlight of this dance party is a 78 by a guy named Joe Clay. Born in Louisiana, Joe made a few hot sides for the Vik label in 1956. Unfortunately, he had a domineering manager who didn’t let him tour much outside of the New Orleans area. As well, sometime in 1956, Joe scored a spot on the Ed Sullivan show. Instead of having Joe sing his current single, “Duck Tail”, Ed insisted that the lad sing “Only You, a current Platters hit. Joe was only seventeen years old, mired down in the music biz of the 1950s. Roy spins the tune Joe should have played on the Ed Sullivan show – “Duck Tail”.
The non-stop excitement begins this Sunday, February 12th, 2 PM, Mountain, on CKUA. Consider yourself invited to the annual Mid-Winter Rockin’ 78 Dance Party on Rooooy’s Record Room, the show that’ll shake your nerves and rattle your brains
Jazzy 78s from the Crates
It’s a jazzy shellac world this week on Roy’s Record Room as Triple-R host, Roy Forbes, digs deep in those crates of 78s for some serious early jazz action. You’ll hear indispensable sides from the likes of Bix Beiderbecke, Jay McShann’s Kansas City Stompers with Julia Lee, Sidney Bechet & His New Orleans Feetwarmers, Count Basie with Jimmy Rushing. Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and so much more.
Among the many highlights is a 1932 platter from the Washboard Rhythm Kings, an informal collective of top-flight jazzers who made numerous loose, jug-band type discs between 1930 and 1935. Their washboard-driven recording of Irving Berlin’s “How Deep Is The Ocean” features some inspired wordless vocalizing from early scat pioneer, Leo Watson. Not to be missed.
The spin begins this Sunday, February 5th, 2 PM, Mountain, on CKUA. Dial in for a stack of jazzy 78s from the crates on Rooooy’s Record Room, The show that revolves and reveals. Sixteen years and counting.