Jan. 28, 1990: ‘Edmonton’s Dick Clark’ loved mouldy oldies
By Chris Zdeb, Edmonton Journal
January 28, 2014 6:17 AM
Barry Boyd was the king of old rock ’n’ roll — ‘Edmonton’s Dick Clark.’
A freelance radio disc jockey, he’d been playing, enjoying and dancing to ’50s and ’60s music for 34 years.
On this date, Boyd was in his seventh year hosting a three-hour CFRN radio rock ’n’ roll show which aired every Sunday morning. “There’s a great bond between the people that are into the ’50s and ’60s music,” Boyd said. “It’s almost like they all went to school together.
“I believe in playing the originals — that’s the way people remember them. I think people want to remember the good times.”
Boyd began dancing at 14, and as a grandfather, was still jiving, twisting, bopping, jerking, swimming and strolling on stage during his thrice-weekly ’50s and ’60s lounge shows at the Mayfield Inn.
”I tell people you don’t need chemicals to get high. Music and your own exuberance will do it just fine. Dancing is the best exercise and I haven’t lost a step.”
Boyd was born and raised in Vancouver and broke into radio in Prince George in 1956, during the birth of rock ’n’ roll in North America. In 1959 he moved to CJCA, which along with CHED was one of the Edmonton top two rock radio stations. He played Top-40 pop hits on his weekday afternoon show as well as at “record hops” or “platter parties” on Friday and Saturday nights. He would host these events in various towns and villages around central Alberta, cruising in his big white 1955 Cadillac.
At least 30 couples who met at his dances got married in the 1960s and they all invited him to their weddings.
Boyd was also a singer/songwriter who had a minor Canadian radio hit, Wishing, in 1963. He left CJCA the next year for bigger radio markets in California, returning to Edmonton and CFRN in 1976.
During his career he was instrumental in bringing many top rock artists to Edmonton, including Roy Orbison. He also hosted the performances of more than 250 other rock and country recording stars including Gene Pitney, The Champs, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones.
Boyd, who wouldn’t divulge his age, was believed to be in his late 60s when he died at Misericordia Hospital on Jan. 12th 2001.