Early years (1963–1974) The station was founded by
Geoff Stirling as CKGM-FM. It was a
sister station to
CKGM, then broadcasting at 980
kHz. CKGM-FM
signed on the air on July 16, 1963. After a few weeks as a
simulcast of CKGM, CKGM-FM launched an
automated beautiful music format on September 1, 1963. CKGM-FM played quarter-hour sweeps of mostly soft instrumental music with low-key announcements and commercials. On October 28, 1969, CKGM-FM changed its format to
album-oriented rock (AOR). On-air advertising was kept at a minimum. The first song played by Doug Pringle after the format switch was
Richard Strauss' "
Also sprach Zarathustra", followed by
The Beatles' "
Here Comes the Sun". Management wanted to give the FM station its own identity, separate from the
Top 40 format found on CKGM. CKGM-FM changed its call sign to CHOM-FM almost two years later, on October 19, 1971. "The biggest scumbags on the planet as I've said all along are not only the French in France but the French in Canada." "Anybody who speaks French is a scumbag. It turns you into a coward, just like in World War Two the French would not stick up for us." "I think that the French from Quebec are as silly as the French over in France." "There is something about the French language that turns you into a pussy-assed jack-off." "French-speaking people in Quebec have been fighting this... they are a bunch of snivelling cowards." His show was cancelled a year later, on August 27, 1998, after numerous complaints to the CRTC. Those gripes included
politically incorrect remarks interpreted by complainants as
sexist and
homophobic.
Classic Rock and Standard Radio ownership (2002–2007) Over time, CHOM relied less and less on current and recent rock releases. Nearly all songs on its
playlist were
classic rock, familiar to its audience and recorded in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. This continued for nearly two decades. But by the 2020s, the station returned to a mix of classic rock along with a few current and releases each hour. Effective in January 2002, the station was sold to
Standard Broadcasting, which already owned
CJAD and
CJFM-FM in Montreal. The deal was in exchange for Standard's
CFWM-FM in
Winnipeg.
Astral Media (2007–2013) Ownership changed hands again on October 29, 2007.
Astral Media took control of Standard Broadcasting and its assets, including CHOM. On June 22, 2011, Astral Media announced that popular
disc jockey Terry DiMonte would be making a return to the station. DiMonte had hosted the morning show for several years on CHOM.
Bell Media (2013-present) In July 2013, Astral Media was acquired and merged into
Bell Media. With the merger, CHOM was reunited with its original AM sister station CKGM, which
CTVglobemedia (now Bell Media) acquired from CHUM in 2007. On September 22, 2017, longtime radio personality Robert "TooTall" Wagenaar retired from his midday show after over 40 years at CHOM. His replacement was Randy Renaud, a 30-year veteran of the radio station. On May 28, 2021, Terry Dimonte left the station.
Studio locations When first launched in 1963, CHOM (then known as CKGM-FM) had its studios and offices at 1455 Drummond Street in Montreal, along with CKGM. Like CKGM, CHOM moved to 1310 Greene Avenue in
Westmount in the late 1960s. In 1972, CHOM relocated across the street to 1355 Greene Avenue, while CKGM opted to stay at 1310 Greene. CHOM eventually returned to the CKGM building a few years later. It remained there until its acquisition by
Standard Broadcasting in 2002. At that point, CHOM was moved to 1411 Fort Street in Montreal. That building also housed Standard's other two existing Montreal radio stations, CJFM-FM and CJAD. In September 2012, Astral Media relocated its local English-language radio stations (including CHOM) to its French-language radio studios at 1717
René Lévesque Boulevard East in Montreal. ==References==