CHFI-FM

CHFI first signed on the air on February 1, 1957, and was initially owned by CHFI-FM, Ltd.[2] CHFI was the first commercial FM outlet in Toronto to provide its own distinct programming rather than simulcasting an AM station, with the call sign chosen to represent the words "Canada HiFI" or "high fidelity", providing a higher quality sound than on AM radio. CHFI also initially provided a special Muzak-like background music service for offices and retail outlets in the city.

The station was acquired in 1960 by Aldred-Rogers Broadcasting, forerunner to Rogers Radio. In 1962, an AM counterpart, CHFI-AM, was added, which originally simulcast CHFI's programming.

CHFI-FM pioneered the "beautiful music" format in Canada. The main programming heard from dawn until midnight was traditional easy listening fare, mostly instrumental cover versions of popular hits, as well as Broadway and Hollywood show tunes.

Music director Michael Compeau created a number of the station's much-imitated programs. The most famous was the popular and long running Candlelight and Wine heard evenings from 6 to 11 p.m. The program, hosted by Don Parrish, mixed soothing instrumentals, soft vocals and occasional light classical pieces in "pop" arrangements. The program spun off a series of best-selling record albums, many of which are now highly prized collectors' items. Compeau also created the popular Classics 'til Dawn, an overnight program of popular classical music. (In 1984, Compeau would become program director of classical station CFMX-FM and use this same format for its overnight program.) Another of Compeau's innovations was Front Row Centre, heard Sunday afternoons at 2 p.m. This one-hour program featured full original cast recordings of popular Broadway musicals, with host Don Parish explaining the story between songs.

In the 1970s, Todd Russell began hosting a late evening program called Reminiscing featuring modern recordings of popular songs from the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. In 1973, Compeau decided to add some spice to the program by sprinkling in a few original period recordings. Since very few had been reissued on LP at this time, a call went out to collectors who loaned their original 78-rpm records to the radio station. The records were cleaned, repaired and brushed with distilled water before being transcribed to tape. Dubbed the "new library of old 78's", these antique rarities were showcased each weeknight. (In 1974, host Todd Russell died and was replaced by Sandy Hoyt.) CHFI soon amassed a collection of over 3,500 period recordings and the reminiscing program became one of the station's biggest successes. As time went on, the modern recordings were phased out and the program featured mainly the period recordings.

A format change in the mid-1980s led to the elimination of these programs, and CHFI began moving towards a soft adult contemporary format, making the station one of the longest-running English-language AC stations in Canada.[3] In December 1987, Don Daynard became CHFI's new morning show host, a position he would hold until his retirement on December 10, 1999. Bob Magee took over mornings on December 13.[4][5][6]

A new logo was unveiled in 2000, when Rogers rebranded the station from CHFI FM98 and the "Toronto's Perfect Music Mix" slogan, to 98.1 CHFI, moving away from soft adult contemporary to mainstream adult contemporary under the "Toronto's Soft Rock" slogan.

In June 2003, CHFI, competing closely with fellow Toronto adult contemporary station CJEZ (now adult hits CHBM-FM), attempted to popularize a younger morning show. Firing longtime CHFI morning show personality Erin Davis (who had been with the station since September 1988) and moving Bob Magee to afternoons, the station named Mad Dog and Billie, later known as Jay and Billie, to host the morning show, beginning June 23. Jay and Billie hosted mornings on co-owned Toronto station KISS 92 FM before it flipped to adult hits earlier that month. The station began IDing as 98.1 CHFI (pronounced, "ninety-eight-one CHFI") instead, and unveiled the "Today's Lite Music" slogan.[7][8]

Bringing Jay and Billie on for mornings backfired on CHFI, as the station's ratings declined. In September 2004, Erin Davis was hired by CJEZ as a fill-in co-host, working alongside Mike Cooper. This brought CJEZ's ratings up dramatically, beating CHFI in several books. In June 2005, CHFI management fired Jay and Billie, rehired Davis for mornings (who returned on September 6), and also hired Mike Cooper as her co-host on October 26 after his contract with CJEZ expired.[9][10] (Cooper has since retired, with Darren B. Lamb (formerly of CHUM-FM) joining as Davis' co-host in February 2016.) At the same time, the station returned to using the point on the station's ID, returned to their old soft AC sound and switched to the "Toronto's Lite Favourites" slogan.[11][12] This turned around CHFI's ratings, as the station reclaimed the top spot in Toronto ratings, while CJEZ's ratings fell, prompting that station to flip to adult hits in December 2009.

In 2009, the station returned to mainstream AC, but retained the "Toronto's Lite Favourites" slogan (which has since reverted to the "Toronto's Perfect Music Mix" slogan as of February 2013) and decimal point from the station ID. In addition, newer jingles were unveiled, along with an opening bumper for newer music. Some upbeat, rhythmic material was added. At the same time, softer artists such as Air Supply were largely dropped from the station's playlist. On December 26, 2009, long-time competitor CJEZ switched from an adult contemporary format to an adult hits format, leaving CHFI as the only adult contemporary station in the Toronto radio market, although rimshot stations CKDX-FM in Newmarket, CKLH-FM in Hamilton and CHRE-FM in St. Catharines can be heard in some parts of the market.

On November 9, 2016, Erin Davis announced she would be retiring from CHFI on December 15, and would be moving to British Columbia to be closer to her family. Darren B. Lamb continues to host mornings, along with new co-host Maureen Holloway.[13][14]

CHFI-FM can also be heard on these low-power transmitters:

• CFTR, originally CHFI
• Toronto Santa Claus Parade - CHFI is the official radio broadcaster since 1980s

• 98.1 CHFI
• CHFI-FM history – Canadian Communications Foundation
• CHFI-FM in the REC Canadian station database