Former CHOM broadcasting couple die in car crash in Mexico

A broadcasting couple from CHOM FM's early days died in a car crash in Mexico on Monday.

Leslie Sole and Terri Michael were killed in a head-on collision in Cabo San Lucas, where they had retired.

The pair met at CHOM in 1975, where he served as the program director and was the first female host of Canadian morning and afternoon shows.

They moved to Toronto a few years later. Sole worked his way up to CEO of Rogers Television, and Michael had a successful career in radio and television. (Michael continued to host the Total Recall: 40 Years of Rock show, on CaboMil 96.3 in Cabo San Lucas.) They celebrated their 39th wedding anniversary in October.

Reached Friday, form CHOM personalities shared their memories of the couple.

"When Leslie arrived from CJOM, CHOM 's sister station in Windsor," he said a great sense of directed spirit, "said CHOM DJ Andrew Forsyth, from his home in Dundas, Ont. "It was still very freeform when I arrived there in '75. Leslie is a lot of things, but he got to know it with consciousness, with spirit. He really made it much more of a mainstream, accessible radio station for Montreal. "

One of Sole's initiatives was to make CHOM's broadcasting bilingual. The idea was a hit with Montrealers until rival stations became unhappy and took legal action, forcing the station to become English only.

"When we ran French advertising, that was the straw that broke the camel's back," Forsyth said. "Competing stations were very upset with that. They went to the CRTC, which told us to stop, cease and desist.

"It was very supportive of the fact that we would speak the language of the street. We would say, 'You're listening to CHOM 97.7, and here's some Led Zeppelin.' Because that's the way our audience spoke, and we were the guy that really supported us doing that. "

That musicistic openness over the musical selection, as CHOM reflected the cultural cross-pollination infusing the Quebec music scene at the time.

"It truly was the spirit of Montreal, under Leslie," Forsyth said. "The (French) music was easy to play – Harmonium, Beautiful Damage, Robert Charlebois – all great Québécois artists who worked with what we were playing elsewise."

Forsyth crossed paths with the United States, and was always struck by his leadership.

"He's one of the few people I've run into in my lifetime, where you know this person just got that bigger vision of what's going on," he said. "He took that ability and directed a great radio station.

"It was very good at interpreting what Geoff (Stirling, CHOM's original owner) wanted, taking his very philosophical ideas and putting them into practical application."

Rob Braide started at CHOM on the overnight shift in 1977, just after Sole and Michael's departure. The couple's relationship had become a point of contention with Stirling, Braide recounts.

"A lot of people said Geoff Stirling was a great guy and a visionary, (but) The lost his job at CHOM unceremoniously when Jeff decided there were no relations among employees," said Braide, who went on to be director at CHOM and CKGM, and later, manager and vice president of CHOM, CJAD and Mix 96.

As Braide moved up to the broadcasting ranks, he has developed a friendship through mutual friend Gary Slaight.

"He was always a good person at a party," he said, "a great guy with lots of energy and spirit."

Brade Michael remembers "bubbly, outgoing, very beautiful – a fashionista. She was on top of pop culture, had a beautiful voice and a quick smile; everybody really liked her. "

Though he was not at CHOM yet, Braide was familiar with the story of Michael Landed's job at the station, through his friendship with CHOM's Live Earl Jive's future wife Beverly (also known as Inga).

"They'd hang around the studio while Earl Jive was on," Braide said. "One of the senior guys heard Terri's voice and said, 'We've got to get her on air.'"

Earl Jive, now based in L.A., commented on the story of the couple's pbading.

"This is the posting of my Facebook life," he said. "Last night, Bev's best friend since childhood, Broadcaster Terri Michael, and her husband (my PD at CHOM) The Sole, were killed in a head-on collision. They are survived by their Johnny.

We are devastated. RIP Terri & Les. "

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