Rook 'n' Roll

July 8, 2015

Coeur d'Alene (or Cd'A as the locals call it).

We left Washington State and entered Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, home of the world famous radio consultant John Rook. John and I have a history that goes back to 1973 when he hired me to join him at Y100/Fort Lauderdale. He was the station's consultant/program director. I filled in on the midday show for a few weeks before settling into the night show following the legendary Don Cox on the radio.


John taught me many good radio habits. The most important - keep it simple, one thought per break. I was a hot shot young DJ, and I felt if  the song had a 45 second instrumental opening, I would find 45 seconds of material to fill up all the time before the vocals. I would kluge together several pieces of content and talk up the vocal. John said, "the listeners don't want that. Give them what they want." From this I learned word economy and finding compelling content. The result was a radio show that was much easier to listen to and wasn't as frantic.

John sent me to Denver armed with this information, and I took it to heart when I was doing nights on KTLK, where my ratings lead the market with an 11 share of the 12+ audience. This is where I got to put John's second rule into play. I was also the station's music director. John said, "Don't put all your trust in research; follow your instincts." He said too many radio people take research literally. Use research only as a guide." Again, this ..philosophy allowed me to take his approach to top 40 radio and apply it to album rock. It was the idea of following instincts that was the seed that created KBCO in Boulder. Yes, we had great research, but the interpretation of it allowed us to inject our instincts about the Colorado market, and the station flourished. I give John credit for opening my eyes and allowing this out-of-the-box thinking.

The third lesson I learned from John was to always live by the Golden Rule. Do good things and you will be rewarded. We always got involved in charitable organizations. I've gotten stations involved in Walks, Runs, Fundraising, and fun events to raise funds for organizations that will improve the quality of life of people in the community that the radio stations serve. I feel fortunate to have helped raised millions of dollars for great causes, and early in my career, John showed me the importance of doing good work.

My visit with John was so much fun. With Cheri's blessings, we were able to tell old radio stories. John talked about his time with ABC at KQV/Pittsburgh and WLS/Chicago. He is a gifted storyteller, and does he ever have amazing stories. He's posted a lot of them on his website, and he would love to write a book about it all. Any ghost writers out there want to help out?

Sitting on his porch in Coeur d'Alene, looking out over the hills and mountain ranges, we talked until we were talked out, and then retired. Only to get up in the morning and finish up some of the stories that still had more to tell.
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Cheri and me with John Rook at his beautiful ranch in Coeur d'Alene

With a hug and a kiss, we got into our Dolphin Dolly and headed North to US 2 and headed into Montana. This afternoon we arrive in Glacier National Park.