Year: 2015
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Bill Haley And The Roots Of Rock, 1956
This 1956 photo of me and Bill Haley was taken backstage at Vancouver’s first rock and roll concert at the Kerrisdale Arena. Bill was a wonderful and articulate man. When his music appeared on the soundtrack of The Blackboard Jungle in 1955 it changed everything. It was, without question the national anthem of rock and…
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Let’s Go with Fred Latremouille, 1965
Guest blogger Fred Latremouille writes: “Red was always a mentor and truly one of my heroes. I remember him at CJOR and CKWX as a young listener, and of course working with him at C-FUN. He came with his young son to see me at a very tough time. As for Let’s Go, I snagged…
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Jerri Adams: Voice Of An Angel
In 1955 Frankie Laine asked me if I would help promote Jerri Adams, a singer he had discovered. Frankie brought her to town and the next thing I knew I was making appearances with her at the Orpheum Theatre and at various local record stores. The purpose was to launch Jerri’s career and she brought…
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Thank You… Thank You Very Much!
Yes, that is me in an Elvis costume! I was talked into doing this for Vancouver Lifestyles magazine years ago. The belt was really heavy, like the prize belts given to champion boxers. The shoes were tight, the wig was hot and there is no way in hell that I looked like Elvis. The midsection…
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Pam Stevens Quits, Radio Loses A Real Talent
A young lady from Fruitvale was one of the first recipients of BCIT‘s Red Robinson Achievement Award for Excellence in Radio Broadcasting back in 1989. You probably listened to Pam Stevens at a number of Vancouver stations over the past 25+ years, including CKNW, CFMI, Z95, KISS-FM, CFUN-FM, SHORE 104 and most recently at CFOX-FM. I…
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Remembering Robert W. Morgan
I first heard Robert W. Morgan as the morning DJ at KMBY in nearby Monterey in 1961 when I was training with the US Army in Fort Ord, CA. He was working on another local station in nearby Watsonville using the name Mark Carroll. At the time my friend Gary Bruno was working on KMBY. He…
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Happy 80th Birthday, Jim Robson!
I first met Jim Robson in 1957 at CKWX. Jim joined the station when sports director Bill Stephenson brought him over from Vancouver Island. I never would have thought that the two of us would end up neighbours in False Creek. Not only are we in the same building, we’re on the same floor! He is…
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CKWX Goes Red, 1957
Boy was I young once. This photo is taken in the main studio at CKWX on Burrard Street in Vancouver. All that clutter you see in the room is the way we did radio shows with reminders everywhere. I was truly excited to be the afternoon (Teen Canteen) and late evening (Platter Party) host. I…
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“I Remember When Rock Was Young”
Back in the 1950’s when rock and roll began, I would hold dances everywhere – except in Vancouver due to a WWII ban on young people attending public dances. It was a no-fun city even then! It all began in 1955, when I took my records to Duncan on Vancouver Island at the request of…
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Elvis… At 80?
I cannot imagine what Elvis or Marilyn Monroe or James Dean would have looked like at 80. However, for what would have been The King’s 80th birthday this week, PR firm Sachs Media Group released an image of Elvis at 80 created by the photo company Phojoe. It is fascinating to think this is what he would have…