Roger "Hot Dog Rog" Christian (July 3, 1934 – July 11, 1991) was a radio personality

Radio personality

A radio personality is a person with an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality can be someone who introduces and discusses various genres of music, hosts a talk radio show that may take calls from listeners, or someone whose primary responsibility is to give news, weather,...

 and lyricist

Lyricist

A lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...

 who wrote several songs for The Beach Boys

The Beach Boys

The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...

, mostly about cars, including "Ballad of Ole' Betsy", "Car Crazy Cutie", "Cherry, Cherry Coupe", "Don’t Worry Baby", "In the Parkin' Lot", "Little Deuce Coupe

Little Deuce Coupe (song)

"Little Deuce Coupe" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Roger Christian. The song first appeared as the b-side to The Beach Boys' 1963 single "Surfer Girl"...

", "No-Go Showboat", "Shut Down" and "Spirit of America," all with Brian Wilson

Brian Wilson

Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...

.

He also co-wrote many songs recorded by Jan and Dean

Jan and Dean

Jan and Dean were a rock and roll duo, popular from the late 1950s through the mid 1960s, consisting of William Jan Berry and Dean Ormsby Torrence...

, including "Dead Man's Curve

Dead Man's Curve (song)

"Dead Man's Curve" is a 1964 hit song by Jan and Dean detailing a teen street race gone awry. It reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart....

", "The Little Old Lady from Pasadena

The Little Old Lady from Pasadena

"The Little Old Lady from Pasadena" is a song written by Don Altfeld, Jan Berry and Roger Christian, and recorded by 1960s American pop singers, Jan and Dean. The song reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1964...

", "Sidewalk Surfin", "Drag City", "Honolulu Lulu", and "You Really Know How to Hurt a Guy".

Christian, along with Gary Usher

Gary Usher

Gary Usher was an American surf rock musician, songwriter, and record producer.-Biography:Usher's early life was spent in Grafton, Massachusetts. He attended Norcross Grammar School with his sister, Sandra, who was in the same class and was likely his twin. Gary was kiddingly called "Chicken Feed"...

, collaborated on several songs that were either featured in or specifically written for the films Beach Party

Beach Party

Beach Party was the first of several beach party films from American International Pictures aimed at a teen audience. It was directed by William Asher and written by Lou Rusoff. The main actors included Robert Cummings, Dorothy Malone, Frankie Avalon, and Annette Funicello...

, Muscle Beach Party

Muscle Beach Party

Muscle Beach Party is the second of seven beach party films produced by American International Pictures. It was made in 1964 and was directed by William Asher, who also directed four other films in this series...

, Bikini Beach

Bikini Beach

Bikini Beach is a 1964 teen film directed by William Asher and starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. The film belongs to the beach party genre of movies, popular in the 1960s. This is the third in a series of seven films produced by American International Pictures .-Plot:School is out and...

, Ride the Wild Surf

Ride the Wild Surf

Ride the Wild Surf is romantic drama in the beach party style. It was filmed in 1963 and distributed in 1964. Unlike most films in the genre, it is known for its exceptional big wave surf footage – a common sight in surf movies of the time, but a rarity in beach party films...

, Beach Blanket Bingo

Beach Blanket Bingo

Beach Blanket Bingo is an American International Pictures beach party film, released in 1965 and was directed by William Asher. It is the fifth film in the beach party film series...

, Ski Party

Ski Party

Ski Party is a B-movie, directed by Alan Rafkin, and released in 1965 by American International Pictures. Ski Party is part of the 1960s Beach Party film genre, with a change of setting from the beach to the slopes - although the final scene places everyone back at the beach...

, Beach Ball

Beach ball

A beach ball is an inflatable ball for beach and water games. Their large size ball and light weight take little effort to propel; they travel very slowly and generally must be caught with two hands, making them ideal for lazy games and for children...

, and Catalina Caper

Catalina Caper

Catalina Caper is a 1967 comedy musical mystery film starring Tommy Kirk. It is one of the last in the beach party film genre. This entry blends the beach format with a standard crime-caper comedy...

- including three songs for 'king of the surf guitar,' Dick Dale

Dick Dale

Dick Dale is an American surf rock guitarist, known as The King of the Surf Guitar. He experimented with reverberation and made use of custom made Fender amplifiers, including the first-ever 100-watt guitar amplifier.-Early life:Dale was born in South Boston, Massachusetts and lived in nearby...

.

Christian worked as a radio personality in the 1960s and '70s. He was one of the original "Boss Jocks" when 93KHJ

KHJ (AM)

KHJ Radio in Los Angeles, California broadcasts Spanish-language entertainment programming as La Ranchera. It was also one of America's most formidable Top 40 radio stations in the 1960s and 1970s as 93 KHJ before changing its format in 1980....

 debuted in 1965 in Los Angeles. His radio career started in Buffalo, New York

Buffalo, New York

Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...

 in the mid 1950s (a separate disc jockey named "Roger Christian" that has been working in Buffalo since the 1970s is apparently unrelated to this Roger Christian). He moved to the west coast and worked for other radio stations in Los Angeles, including KFWB (AM)

KFWB (AM)

KFWB is a Los Angeles, California AM radio station operating on 980 kHz with 5,000 watts of power from a transmitter site near Lincoln Park . The station had a mostly all-news format from 1968 until September 8, 2009, after which it converted to a news-talk format...

, KGBS (AM-FM), KBLA

KBLA

KBLA is a radio station licensed to Santa Monica, California, with an Spanish religious radio format. It broadcasts at 1580 kHz with 50,000 watts day and night. Most of this station's signal is dumped over the Pacific Ocean, however, in order not to interfere with radio station KMIK KBLA (1580 AM)...

, KBBQ-AM, KRTH-FM

KRTH-FM

KRTH is a U.S. oldies radio station located in Los Angeles, California, broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles Area. Its signal covers an extremely large area, due in part to height upon Mt...

, KRLA

KRLA

KRLA is a radio station broadcasting a News/Talk format. Licensed to Glendale, California, USA, it serves the Southern California area. The station is currently owned by Salem Communications.- KIEV :...

 (AM) and KIQQ-FM

KIQQ-FM

KIQQ-FM is a radio station broadcasting a Regional Mexican format. Licensed to Newberry Springs, California, USA, it serves the Barstow area...

.

In 1963-64 Christian and his wife lived in San Bernardino, CA. He was a disc jockey at Radio Station KFXM - 590AM for two years, his first on-air job in California. Christian was also one of the writer/narrators on the 1964 Capitol Records

Capitol Records

Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...

 documentary LP "The Beatles' Story

The Beatles' Story

The Beatles' Story a documentary double album featuring interviews, press conferences, and songs by The Beatles. It was the Beatles' fourth release by Capitol and sixth American album, released in both mono and stereo. The LP was also released in Canada...

"

Christian suffered from periodic depression. He was the only original KHJ

KHJ (AM)

KHJ Radio in Los Angeles, California broadcasts Spanish-language entertainment programming as La Ranchera. It was also one of America's most formidable Top 40 radio stations in the 1960s and 1970s as 93 KHJ before changing its format in 1980....

"Boss Jock" not to appear at the 25th reunion on May 9, 1990, and died in 1991, reportedly a suicide.