Alias Emperor Rodgers: A Majestic Memoir by Baltimore's Emperor of Insanity In The Crazy Daze of '60s Top 40 Radio
Paul H. D. Rothfuss
Paperback
(RL Publishing, LLC, April 30, 2018)
âALIAS EMPEROR RODGERSâŚâ is a memoir of the crazy days of Top 40 Radio, the ânewâ format that launched like a rocket in the 1950s and blasted whacky DJs and Rock ânâ Roll music across America like a streaking comet. Top 40 hit Baltimore, Maryland in 1956 when WCAO âgrabbed it and ranâ â that story is told here through the journey of a high school kid from Pennsylvania who hopped aboard the juggernaut early and rode it to the top. This radio history is filled with fun and frivolity, just as AM Radio was back then â with promotions people scheming up crazy stunts that would never be allowed today. The story combines insight into the business of radio, told with genuine affection for the many people who helped this writer build a radio career that reached heights far beyond his wildest dreams. On a whim, seventeen year old Paul Rothfuss auditions for an announcerâs job at a small AM radio station in South Williamsport, PA. While learning the business at minimum wage he cements a lasting bond, and begins a journey with a serious upward trajectory â first to WSBA in York, PA and WARM in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, PA as Paul Roberts (Alias #1), then to Baltimoreâs premier Top 40 radio station, WCAO, where he rises to prominence as Paul Rodgers (Alias #2), and where he is soon elevated to the exalted rank of âEmperor Rodgersâ (Alias #3). Eventually the Emperor hung up his toga and laurel wreath (actually, they were plastic grapes). Yet another dream was fulfilled when he left Top 40 radio to join the staff of radio personalities at Metro Mediaâs WCBM, an early adopter of yet another ânewâ radio format called Hot Adult Contemporary â âHot ACâ for short. All along the way it was Paulâs privilege to be working with the best, which enabled him to become one of the best. âALIAS EMPEROR RODGERS âŚâ is also a story of friendship; a bond between two boys making a pact at an age when wiser observers would dismiss it as the silly musings of two clueless kids. But defying those odds, they followed it through in parallel careers that propelled them to achieving their ultimate goal. (That part of the story to be explored in our sequel: PAUL AND KERBYâS GREAT ADVENTURE.) Finally, the book is sprinkled with links and images that illuminate the story and enhance the readerâs experience. If you enjoyed watching âWKRP In Cincinnatiâ youâll love reading, or listening to, ALIAS EMPEROR RODGERS: A Majestic Memoir by Baltimoreâs Emperor of Insanity in the Crazy Daze of â60s Top 40 Radio.