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1975
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2004
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1975
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2004
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By the time I came to Roanoke and WROV I already had 10 years under my radio belt including the Armed Forces Radio Network and had worked my way from town to town, always stepping up to a larger market. I figured I was ready for the Roanoke market. I was. I also figured I was ready for WROV's hot rockin' Top 40 format and legion listeners. I was wrong!
I began my career in the Army with the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service, learning my DJ chops at radio stations in Korea (AFKN) and Vietnam (AFRS/AFVN). I began my civilian career at KYSN in Colorado Springs, Colorado and spent the first ten years there, in Denver, and at stations in Pennsylvania, Maryland and North Carolina.
As I look back on my stint at WROV I can only call it a "luck of the draw" for me, because I was walking into what, as far as I'm concerned, was to become a Lightning Strike. A once-in-a-lifetime event. The confluence of a small group of DJ's at a small radio station in a small city that became a giant on influence and entertainment for all of Central Virginia.
Working with the likes of Bart Prater, Rob O'Brady, Larry Bly, Phil Beckman, Bucky Stover, Bill Jordan, Starr Stevens, the late Chuck Holloway and more, I gained ten years experience and talent in just a year and a half. A year and a half that was crammed with tons of tunes that today we call Classic Rock - but it was NEW and LOUD and INFECTIOUS back then. And we cranked it out 24 hours a day, seven days a week, week in and week out.
From my first "Bowl with..." from the infamous Texas Tavern to a four hour late night balcony conversation with Glenn Frey of the Eagles, my tour at "The Rock of Roanoke" was more of an adventure than a job. I spent an afternoon watching TV sitcoms with Alice Cooper, then drove to the Roanoke Coliseum and introduced him to 25,000 screaming WROV fans!
There are so many stories that I can't really slice one out of the memory bin without getting into another and another and another. But I do remember the Roanoke Valley Chevy Van Club, to whom I dedicated Sammy Johns' "Chevy Van" at least a thousand times...and partied with them once.
But mostly I remember working on the air, getting home to listen to Rob wake up the city, grab a few hours sleep and get back up to hear Prater drive 'em back home. That's how good the station was. I was probably WROV's biggest fan...and I was working there!
When I left WROV I drove up the highway to Lynchburg where Al Augustine and I created the Billboard Broadcast award winning "Rich-n-Al in the Morning." Note to the memory of Bob Hope: Thanks for the memories, Bob...and the sweeper!
Since then I have been in the Chattanooga, Tennessee market for the past 20 years, recently semi-retiring from market producer of the John Boy & Billy Show - whom I worked with in Knoxville in 1978-79.
My heart is, and always has been, in Roanoke, sitting behind the microphone at Big Lick's "Oh Lordy 1240 - WROV - The Rock that Rolled Roanoke!"
In July, 2006 Rich adds: "Have retired from active broadcasting but am still producing some, voicing some, and writing some. Am also putting out an electronic newspaper for Cleveland/Bradley County, Tennessee - a few miles north of Chattanooga. You can check it out at www.clevelandthisweek.com. Let me know what you think."