Welcome to JJ-365 Salutes. Over 2018, we pay tribute daily to one of “The Good Ones”. Today we are shining the light on Dale Smith.

For those in on-air roles I have always believed that preparation is a way of life. Having the understanding that ‘local’ is actually what people are talking about locally, and having a strong curiosity to keep eyes out for what the chirp is, is key. I have used Dale many times as an example in that he is out there around folks and sometimes at the local watering holes where he hears the reverberations of the resident storytellers. He always has his ear to the ground. I knew this about him and was very happy to hook up with him when coaching the morning teams in Barrie. I enjoyed working with the on-air talent there sharing feedback and brainstorming to help with different creative content options Dale and those talented performers are led by 365’ers Craig Ross, Matthew Cacchione and Dave Carr.

After a failed university attempt to become a chartered accountant, a friend of Dale's asked him to help him DJ parties and weddings. This led to suggestions that perhaps he should consider doing radio as a career. His father, Al Smith, had been a DJ back in the day and hosted a local “American Bandstand” type TV show as well, but Dale wasn’t convinced you could actually make a living doing this. Still, he decided to attend Confederation College’s Radio & Television program in the fall of 1986.

By December of that year he had pushed past the second-year students to grab a part time job at local radio station 94FM. Through determination, and the willingness to work any and all offered shifts, he eventually was offered the morning slot in February of 1988, while still in college studying radio. The professors all agreed that this seemed rather absurd and asked him if he would accept his diploma and the Dean’s List certificate and leave immediately so they could focus their attention on the other students. So, off he went to earn a stellar $7/hour doing mornings at CJSD-FM- 94FM in Lord Thunderin’ Bay.

While some would have thought they’d made it now, at the age of 22, he knew he wanted more, but he’d have to improve dramatically. He was allowed to ‘learn on the job’ if you will, thanks to the trust that Mike Thurnell placed in him and the help of Darryl Bolton, who was willing to come into the station to work on produced bits at all times and days of the week. It was a daunting task too, since his direct competition, and Dougall Media colleagues, were the Thunder Bay icons of Larry Hennessey & Willy. You want to talk about trial by fire he says… But it seemed to inspire him and after we hired L&W at the FOX in Vancouver, he saw the path opening.

Throughout 1990 he had been sending out demos to numerous radio stations (in both Canada and the US) and while he has a binder full of rejection letters, none of that mattered when the phone rang late one August afternoon and it was Ross Davies calling from CHUM. He had been sitting in his office with legendary producer Zeke Zdebiak when one of the countless demos sent to CHUM slipped past the Brad Jones wall (who he had rejection letters from and took one in to ask, tongue-in-cheek, if he could have back the cassette that he’d sent him before and that Brad was going to ‘keep on file’) and it ended up on Ross’ desk. Ross explained there was a position available on CHUM-FM (Brad Giffen was off to TV) and they agreed that Dale’s demo intrigued them. He was already planning to attend a wedding in southern Ontario around Labour Day, so it was arranged that he would come in for a live interview. After meeting with Ross and doing a quick in-studio demo with Zeke, he returned to Thunder Bay. Two weeks later, he got the call and he was off to Toronto for CHUM-FM baby! Dale told them he wouldn’t be able to join the CHUM team until after the fall book as he wasn’t going to leave his current station in a lurch. He thinks Ross respected that, and it let him know a little more about Dales’s attitude and work ethic.

At 25 years old, he was somewhat younger than the others at CHUM. Yet he found himself sitting around the table with the likes of Roger Ashby, Gord James, and 365’ers Rick Ringer and Bob Robert Mcbride. Very quickly he went from being the arrogant kid who felt he’d ‘arrived’ to understanding that he had a lot to learn. But what better place could there be to learn than at the mecca of Canadian radio…CHUM. He watched the way Roger Ashby effortlessly maneuvered the morning show each day and with such smooth talent, you didn’t realize what hard work it was. And as far as creativity and developing a real zest for the business, who better to emulate than Zeke Zdebiak and the gagman 365’er Larry MacInnis. He worked hard and learned from the best. He was rewarded by moving up from weekend overnights to evenings to weekend mornings and finally to midday's. Along the way, Ross, then Brad Phillips felt comfortable with him sitting in for Roger with Marilyn Denis & 365’er Rick Hodge.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing though. In 1991 and again in 1995, he was forced to undergo surgery to remove polyps from his vocal chords. Pretty scary for anyone…more so if that’s how you make your living. Even though he needed to be off the air for months both times, CHUM, with the tone set by the incredible Allan & Marge Waters, didn’t even blink and he stayed on salary and would come in to help out whatever way he could, from pitching in with promotional ideas to filing CDs.

Early on at CHUM, he was what he calls 'anointed' as the entertainment interviewer. Whenever artist or celebrities were in town, Dale was the one to go meet and interview them for use on air, in countdown/specialty shows. This afforded him the chance to meet artists ranging from Genesis to Fleetwood Mac, Sting to James Taylor and Celine Dion to Paul McCartney. Pretty cool for a kid from Thunder Bay he thought. He was flown out to interview McCartney in May of 1993 for the release of his Off The Ground album. He would only agree to one 1-on-1 interview, the rest being press conferences, and it was with CHUM. Thirty years on, Paul still respected the role that CHUM had played in breaking the Beatles in North America. Being a huge fan, Dale was a little more than intimidated. He even made sure to avoid eating any meat the day of the interview, so Paul couldn’t smell it on his breath! At the conclusion of the interview, he had one request, not a picture or an autograph, but a recorded greeting. Dale was due to be Best Man at a friend’s wedding in a couple months and he and his pal had been big Beatle fans all through high school. What better way to end his speech than with a personal wedding greeting from Paul McCartney. Paul’s manager claimed they were running late, but Paul, ever gracious, waived her off, and after getting their names down, obliged with a greeting.

Dale always enjoyed filling in for Roger, because Marilyn and Hodgie were so great to work with. With Tom Jokic operating and Larry McInnis’s humour and infectious laughter, how could it not be fun? On one of his chances to talk with James Taylor, he got him to record a prank about the origin of his song “Her Town Too”. Knowing that he would have a chance to play a clip of the interview to promote it coming up on the weekend countdown show, he got Tom in on the joke and left the mics live. When it came time for James to reveal the ‘inspiration’ behind the song, he reveled that it was written about a woman he’d met briefly in Pittsburgh, but had lost touch with, named Marilyn Denis. Marilyn, who is a massive James Taylor fan, let out a loud screech and iterated that she had been in the fourth row at his show!

In the summer of 1998, Ross Davies (who’d moved into group programming) wanted to float an idea to him. The company was pleased with the way he had filled in for a vacationing Roger Ashby and felt perhaps he could replicate that feel for a show at The River ttheir Radio-4 property CIDR-FM in Windsor, which would target the Detroit market. He was 33, and had a good job at CHUM, as did his wife of 26-years, Cathy, who was working with the late and great Bob Laine in the CHUM Satellite division and doing quite well. But, somewhat nervously, they decided to sell their condo and pack off to Windsor for an adventure. Many thought he was crazy to walk away from CHUM-FM, but he sensed things were changing at 1331 Yonge, and in hindsight, he was right.

At The River, things were different than CHUM. It was Triple-A station, so gone was the high-tempo, energetic style he’d settled into over the previous 8 years and into playing album tracks and college hits. Still, the music was good and the thought of going up against the big guns in Detroit was exciting and an amazing learning opportunity. He was eventually teamed up with Dave Hunter (WRIF) and Chris Mauer, to form “Dale, Dave & Chris”. Dave handled news and Chris handled traffic. They worked off the Roger, Rick & Marilyn template, even using Gagman’s prep service each morning. They did begin to get traction, gaining a full share-point in mornings in the Arbitron ratings (which in a market of Detroit’s size, made them feel quite good). Still, by the spring of 2000, there was change in the air. Chris opted to leave the station after failing to come to an agreement with management and after Dave and Dale working through the summer, on August 25th, 2000, he found himself in ‘the meeting’ with Wendy Duff (CHFI) and GM Eric Prosch. And so, he was out. Done after a decade with CHUM Group. At the time it didn’t seem like it, but he says it was the best thing that ever happened.

Wendy Duff had always been very supportive while he was in Windsor (they already had a working relationship from her time in promotions at CHUM). And following his dismissal, she kept her ear to the ground for any possible job openings. And, by November of that year, she informed him of a position opening up on a new frequency in Barrie. They were looking for someone who could appeal to the large commuter crowd heading into Toronto each morning, and a former CHUM jock seemed to fit their bill. After reaching an agreement, they were heading up to Barrie.

Star 107.5 was unveiled on January 2, 2001, with the “Dale, Don & Sue” morning show. By 2002, management, with the encouragement of consultant Mike McVay (Cumulus) decided to make a PD change and he accepted the position. Bad idea he says: “I had learned programming watching the managers at CHUM. I soon realized that style of management was not going to work with the personalities at Star. Eventually, the ‘offer’ came from Doug Bingley (owner of Central Ontario Broadcasting) to return to just focusing on the morning show and relinquishing programming duties. I gladly agreed.”

It was at this time when it was decided that the station was to undergo a re-branding. And so, 107.5 KOOL FM was born. Dale was paired with 365’er Deb James on the “Deb & Dale” morning show. The chemistry worked, and the station took off. They managed to rack up pretty solid ratings, but then some guy named JJ talked Deb into crossing the street (sorry abut that) to become CORUS Barrie's Program Director. After briefly working with Laura Hampshire, Dale was teamed up with the very talented Charlie De Santia for “KOOL Mornings with Dale & Charlie”. Charlie brings the perspective of, as she calls it, “Mom of the Year” to the show, and the gap in their ages (which he says if you believe her is getting wider each year) provides for some interesting dynamics. 

Dale is now having the most fun he’s had in ages and has no trouble getting out of bed at 3:30 every morning, because he loves his gig and partnering with Charlie. He feels pretty lucky to still be doing what he loves and enjoying success after 32 years in the biz. He's fun, humourous, smart, always prepared, creative and full of passion for the biz.

Thank you, Dale Smith for being one of “The Good Ones”. Feel free to like and share Dale’s positive story. Who is the subject of tomorrow’s JJ-365 Salutes? As they say, stay tuned.

Jim JJ Johnston is the CEO, President and Chief Talent/Content Coach for JJIMS INC. and works with talent in many different industries. He can be reached at JJ-IMS.COM.