John Rook
Encyclopedia
John Harlan Rook is an American
radio
programmer
known for his tenure at 50,000-watt ABC-owned WLS
in Chicago
; where in 1969, he was named "Radio's Man of the Year" by Variety
as well as "Program Director of the Year" at the Gavin Report convention. He was also the architect of the sound of ABC
's KQV
in Pittsburgh in the early to mid 1960s and the program director for Los Angeles
' KFI
in the 1970s and KABC
in the mid 1980s.
, Ohio
, and attended high school in Nebraska
and acting classes at the Pasadena Playhouse
, Pasadena, California
, with Natalie Wood
, Nick Adams, and Sal Mineo
in the 1950s before appearing in the Wild Bill Hickok
television series. While attending acting classes he worked at Liberty Records
before beginning his career in radio
.
as "One of most Influential Programmers of the past 20 years". At the 1998 Radio & Records convention he was honored as one of "Radio's Legends." As a programming consultant Rook shaped the sound of several dozen American radio stations including WCFL
, Chicago
; WHYI-FM, Miami/Ft. Lauderdale; KTLK, Denver; KTKT
, Tucson; KROY
, Sacramento
; WZGC (Z-93), Atlanta; KRBE, Houston; and WBAP, Dallas/Ft Worth.
. A good example would be Pat Boone
, who with over 60 chart records including many No. 1 hits during the emerging rock and roll era, is responsible for introducing mass audiences to songs popularized by R&B performers not played on mainstream stations at the time. Until the Hit Parade Hall of Fame's first inductees in 2007, Boone was not honored for his contributions by any organization. Likewise overlooked until being honored by the Hit Parade Hall of Fame are Connie Francis
and Chubby Checker
.
Also included are numerous artists who have had big national hit records which don't fall under the strict genre rules of other awards associations. The most obvious example would be the icons of Pop Standards era, artists such as Frank Sinatra
, Frankie Laine
, Jo Stafford
, Joni James
, Perry Como
, Patti Page
, Bing Crosby
and Nat King Cole
, who achieved their popularity in the period between big band music and rock and roll. A nominating committee of many industry luminaries including Joe Smith, Rick Dees
, Russ Regan
, Al Coury
, Wink Martindale
, Red Robinson
, Erica Farber, Kent Burkhart and Rollye James
is restricted to selecting artists or groups that have attained at least two top ten records according to Billboard
or Cashbox magazines in any genre. After nominations are unveiled, the general public can vote for their choice online.
Rook also created Hit Parade Radio in 2008.
inductee Eddie Cochran
is noted in several publications.
Rook's meeting with Tommy James is noted in Me, the Mob and the Music. His creation of the Hit Parade Hall of Fame is told by syndicated talk show host Rollye James in her book, What am I doing here(ISBN 978-0-984-5889-0-8).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
programmer
Scheduling (broadcasting)
Broadcast programming or scheduling is the practice of organizing television shows or radio programs in a daily, weekly, or season-long schedule. Modern broadcasters use broadcast automation to regularly change the scheduling of their programs to build an audience for a new show, retain that...
known for his tenure at 50,000-watt ABC-owned WLS
WLS (AM)
WLS is a Chicago clear-channel AM station on 890 kHz. It uses C-QUAM AM stereo and transmits with 50,000 watts from transmitter and towers on the south edge of Tinley Park, Illinois....
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
; where in 1969, he was named "Radio's Man of the Year" by Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
as well as "Program Director of the Year" at the Gavin Report convention. He was also the architect of the sound of ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's KQV
KQV
KQV is a radio station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The station, which is the only broadcast station owned by Calvary, Inc., broadcasts at 1410 kHz, with 5000 watts of power day and night. KQV's call letters reportedly stand for King of the Quaker Valley...
in Pittsburgh in the early to mid 1960s and the program director for Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
' KFI
KFI
KFI is an AM radio station in Los Angeles, California. It received its license to operate on March 31, 1922 and began operating on April 16, 1922 as one of the United States' first high-powered, "clear-channel" stations...
in the 1970s and KABC
KABC (AM)
KABC is a Los Angeles radio station, and a West Coast flagship station for the Cumulus Media company. A pioneer of the talk radio format, the station went "all-talk" in 1960 and was one of the first stations to do so...
in the mid 1980s.
Early years
Rook was born in ChillicotheChillicothe
Chillicothe is the name of some places in the United States of America:*Chillicothe, Ohio**Chillicothe Turnpike*Chillicothe, Illinois*Chillicothe, Iowa*Chillicothe, Missouri*Chillicothe, Texas...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, and attended high school in Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
and acting classes at the Pasadena Playhouse
Pasadena Playhouse
The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engagements each year.-History:...
, Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
, with Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood, born Natalia Nikolaevna Zacharenko was an American film and television actress. After first working in films as a child, Wood became a successful Hollywood star as a young adult, receiving three Academy Award nominations before she was 25 years old.Wood began acting in movies at the...
, Nick Adams, and Sal Mineo
Sal Mineo
Salvatore "Sal" Mineo, Jr. , was an American film and theatre actor, best known for his performance as John "Plato" Crawford opposite James Dean in the film Rebel Without a Cause...
in the 1950s before appearing in the Wild Bill Hickok
Wild Bill Hickok
James Butler Hickok , better known as Wild Bill Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West. His skills as a gunfighter and scout, along with his reputation as a lawman, provided the basis for his fame, although some of his exploits are fictionalized.Hickok came to the West as a stagecoach...
television series. While attending acting classes he worked at Liberty Records
Liberty Records
Liberty Records was a United States-based record label. It was started by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Al Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous revivals.-1950s:...
before beginning his career in radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
.
Consulting
In 1977, John Rook & Associates was named "Radio Consultant of the Year" at the Bobby Poe Convention. In 1985, Rook was voted by the readers of Radio & RecordsRadio & Records
Radio & Records was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It originally started out as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006, up until its final issue in 2009.-History:The company was founded in 1973 and...
as "One of most Influential Programmers of the past 20 years". At the 1998 Radio & Records convention he was honored as one of "Radio's Legends." As a programming consultant Rook shaped the sound of several dozen American radio stations including WCFL
WMVP
WMVP is the callsign of a commercial radio station in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It is owned by ABC. Its transmitter is located in Downers Grove. The station broadcasts live sports talk, both locally and nationally. Daily programming consists of talk shows that are both national and local...
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
; WHYI-FM, Miami/Ft. Lauderdale; KTLK, Denver; KTKT
KTKT
KTKT is a radio station broadcasting a Spanish sports radio format. Licensed to Tucson, Arizona, USA, the station serves the Tucson area. The station is currently owned by Arizona Lotus Corp...
, Tucson; KROY
KROY
KROY was a popular top 40 radio station in Sacramento, California best known for its "music power" pop/rock format and as a home for top on-air talent.-Early years:...
, Sacramento
Sacramento
Sacramento is the capital of the state of California, in the United States of America.Sacramento may also refer to:- United States :*Sacramento County, California*Sacramento, Kentucky*Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta...
; WZGC (Z-93), Atlanta; KRBE, Houston; and WBAP, Dallas/Ft Worth.
Hit Parade Hall of Fame
Rook is the creator of the Hit Parade Hall of Fame, an association which highlights musical performers who have been responsible for big hit records over the years. Many are very influential but routinely ignored by entities such as the Rock and Roll Hall of FameRock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
. A good example would be Pat Boone
Pat Boone
Charles Eugene "Pat" Boone is an American singer, actor and writer who has been a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He covered black artists' songs and sold more copies than his black counterparts...
, who with over 60 chart records including many No. 1 hits during the emerging rock and roll era, is responsible for introducing mass audiences to songs popularized by R&B performers not played on mainstream stations at the time. Until the Hit Parade Hall of Fame's first inductees in 2007, Boone was not honored for his contributions by any organization. Likewise overlooked until being honored by the Hit Parade Hall of Fame are Connie Francis
Connie Francis
Connie Francis is an American pop singer of Italian heritage and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1950s and 1960s. Although her chart success waned in the second half of the 1960s, Francis remained a top concert draw...
and Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker is an American singer-songwriter. He is widely known for popularizing the twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard's R&B hit "The Twist"...
.
Also included are numerous artists who have had big national hit records which don't fall under the strict genre rules of other awards associations. The most obvious example would be the icons of Pop Standards era, artists such as Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Frankie Laine
Frankie Laine
Frankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio , was a successful American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005...
, Jo Stafford
Jo Stafford
Jo Elizabeth Stafford was an American singer of traditional pop music and jazz standards and occasional actress whose career ran from the late 1930s to the early 1960s...
, Joni James
Joni James
Joni James is an American singer of traditional pop music and jazz standards.-Biography:...
, Perry Como
Perry Como
Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with them in 1943. "Mr...
, Patti Page
Patti Page
Clara Ann Fowler , known by her professional name Patti Page, is an American singer, one of the best-known female artists in traditional pop music. She was the best-selling female artist of the 1950s, and has sold over 100 million records...
, Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
and Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
, who achieved their popularity in the period between big band music and rock and roll. A nominating committee of many industry luminaries including Joe Smith, Rick Dees
Rick Dees
Rigdon Osmond "Rick" Dees III is an American comedic performer, entertainer, and radio personality, best known for his internationally syndicated radio show The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Countdown and for the novelty song "Disco Duck." He is a People's Choice Award recipient, a Grammy-nominated...
, Russ Regan
Russ Regan
Russ Regan is a long-time record executive who was President of both UNI Records, and 20th Century Records. Regan also worked at Motown among other companies. He started with Berry Gordy at Motown and promoted many artists including Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Supremes and Smokey Robinson...
, Al Coury
Al Coury
Al Coury was a 1970s vice-president of American record label Capitol Records. He joined the label in 1957 and rose to the position of vice-president of marketing, sales and promotion...
, Wink Martindale
Wink Martindale
Winston Conrad Martindale , known professionally as Wink Martindale, is an American disc jockey and television game show host.-Radio:...
, Red Robinson
Red Robinson
Red Robinson was the first Canadian disc jockey to play Rock and Roll music, both in the Vancouver, British Columbia and Portland, Oregon markets....
, Erica Farber, Kent Burkhart and Rollye James
Rollye James
Rollye James is an American radio talk show host. She hosted The Rollye James Show nationally and on international shortwave on WWCR from 2000 to 2011...
is restricted to selecting artists or groups that have attained at least two top ten records according to Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
or Cashbox magazines in any genre. After nominations are unveiled, the general public can vote for their choice online.
Rook also created Hit Parade Radio in 2008.
Trivia
Rook's close friendship with Liberty Recording star and 1987 Rock and Roll Hall of FameRock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
inductee Eddie Cochran
Eddie Cochran
Eddie Cochran , was an American rock and roll pioneer who in his brief career had a small but lasting influence on rock music through his guitar playing. Cochran's rockabilly songs, such as "C'mon Everybody", "Somethin' Else", and "Summertime Blues", captured teenage frustration and desire in the...
is noted in several publications.
Rook's meeting with Tommy James is noted in Me, the Mob and the Music. His creation of the Hit Parade Hall of Fame is told by syndicated talk show host Rollye James in her book, What am I doing here(ISBN 978-0-984-5889-0-8).