The Vinyl Cafe stopped touring and producing new episodes following McLean's diagnosis with melanoma in November 2015.

[3] McLean announced on December 13, 2016, that he required a second round of treatment, meaning further delay in producing new episodes, and that repeats of past shows would stop airing on CBC Radio One effective January 2017 to "make room for others to share their work on the radio.

The name "Vinyl Cafe" referred both to the show's musical content and the fictional record shop owned by McLean's character Dave.

Meg Masters was the "long-suffering" story editor and the show's founding producer was Dave Amer.

Although they are not featured in every episode of The Vinyl Cafe, the "Dave and Morley Stories" were by far the show's most famous segment.

The stories, written and read by McLean, himself, described the many misadventures of Dave, his wife Morley, their children and pets, as well as friends and neighbours.

[citation needed] McLean's Vinyl Cafe stories can also be purchased in audio form from the web label Zunior.