Red Robinson's Legends

If you watched WB's Looney Tunes cartoons it was hard to miss Mel Blanc. Mel was the voice of Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Yosemite Sam, Tweety and Sylvester, Pepe Le Pew, Speedy Gonzales and many more. We share a common background: we both worked at Portland's KGW, Mel in 1927 and me in 1959. Mel was a guest on my CISL morning show in 1980. He was promoting his stage show Bugs Bunny Meets T...

Did you know Bobby Darin started his career as a songwriter for Connie Francis? He recorded his first million-selling single, "Splish Splash", in 1958, followed by "Dream Lover" and "Mack the Knife" in 1959 and "Beyond the Sea" in 1960. Bobby and I met in 1959 while I was a deejay at KGW/Portland. He came by to promote his upcoming show. I handed Bobby the mike and let him play deejay. This man wa...

I couldn't believe my eyes when I read this, My real name is Robert but I changed it in high school so the kids in my class wouldn't know it was me. How close can you get? Thanks to Terry Beatty for permission to reprint panels from his Rex Morgan, MD comic strip... and to Don Everly for helping out way back in 1957!

My friend Terry Moore passed away in Victoria yesterday. We have lost one of the radio greats. We worked together at CKWX where he hosted a talk show. Terry interviewed Kirk Douglas, George Burns, and so many other stars, and he truly loved to work. He was still on the air at C-FAX/Victoria at 82! He was so versatile as a performer and we both admired Mario Lanza. He was a truly shy man in many re...

Dick Biondi's 90th birthday party continues here at Red Robinsons Legends with an interview we did for a series called "Knights Of The Turntable", a salute to some of my favourite deejays. Dick explores his early days, shares his experiences with Bobby Darin, and wraps with some advice for young people interested in radio. In 1958 and 1959, Dick's 6-midnight show was powered by the monster signal...

Can't believe it's been three years since Fred Latremouille died. One of the greats in Vancouver radio and TV and a true talent. Miss you Fred! Couldn't say it better than this item from redrobinson.com posted just after his death at 69: "Years ago when I was Program Director at C-FUN someone asked me about Fred Latremouille. My response was “Once in a lifetime someone comes along with great talen...

It happened sixty years ago today! On October 23, 1957 Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, the Everly Brothers, Eddie Cochran, Paul Anka, Buddy Knox, the Drifters, LaVern Baker, Clyde McPhatter, Buddy Holly and the Crickets, and Jimmy Bowen and the Rhythm Orchids come to Vancouver's Georgia Auditorium for the Biggest Show of Stars. I was the show MC and spent time interviewing many of these rock'n'roll pion...

I became friends with Johnny Cash in 1959 when I worked at KGW and he appeared at Portland’s Division Street Corral. After returning to Vancouver I brought him into CKWX for an on air interview. This continued for years. I can’t remember how many times I was emcee for his shows. He was always a warm man and treated everyone like we mattered. Johnny sold more than 90 million records worldwide. You’...

I became friends with Johnny Cash in 1959 when I worked at KGW and he appeared at Portland's Division Street Corral. After returning to Vancouver I brought him into CKWX for an on air interview.  This continued for years. I can't remember how many times I was emcee  for his shows. He was always a warm man and treated everyone like we mattered. Johnny Cash sold more than 90 million records worldwid...

August 22, 1964... 53 years ago on this date, the Beatles appeared at Vancouver's Empire Stadium for their first Canadian concert. I was the MC and it was my job to settle the 20,000 screaming fans down so I could introduce the Beatles. In this 1989 demo for Western International Communications/CKNW you'll hear concert audio, musical snippets and my memories... including the moment John Lennon tol...

A celebration of the life of Elvis Presley is going on in Memphis this week. I was the emcee for Elvis Week in Memphis for five years, and had the pleasure of being emcee for his Vancouver appearance in August 1957. This is the 40th anniversary of his death. Over the years I became friends with some of his friends including Joe Esposito, who sadly died earlier this year. Here is a small excerpt fr...

Hearing that one of my favourite performers had died shook me. I knew Glen Campbell had dementia and it would eventually take his life, but the reality of his passing hit me hard. Here is one of the most talented performers ever. He was a much in-demand session player, admired by his peers and a genuinely nice person. I did many interviews with Glen over the years and the last time was at Vancouve...

Hearing that one of my favourite performers had died shook me. I knew Glen Campbell had dementia and it would eventually take his life, but the reality of his passing hit me hard. Here is one of the most talented performers ever. He was a much in-demand session player, admired by his peers and a genuinely nice person. I did many interviews with Glen over the years and the last time was at Vancouve...

My friend and entertainment industry legend Bruce Allen has accepted my invitation to join Pat O'Day and me on the Red Rock Diner finale Sunday, August 27 from 12-4pm on 650 CISL! Bruce and I go way back: he was an 11-year old kid in the audience when I presented Bill Haley and The Comets at Vancouver's Kerrisdale Arena in 1956! He's been a true friend over the decades, but he tells me he's had en...

I'm thrilled to announce that old friend and legendary KJR/Seattle jock Pat O'Day will be my guest on the final Red Rock Diner show Sunday, August 27 from 12-4pm on 650 CISL! Join me won't you? Pat and I had a lot of fun together over the years, and we had more fun yesterday in beautiful Friday Harbor recording these promos for the show. Bonus: a couple of those unforgettable KJR jingles so we can...

Jimmy Wakely was one of the last "singing cowboys". According to Wikipedia, "he released records, appeared in several B-Western movies with most of the major studios, appeared on radio and television and even had his own series of comic books." In 1958 he had his own CBS Radio show based in Los Angeles, and his guest this night was a young up-and-coming Vancouver deejay.

Sir Roger Moore replaced Sean Connery when he tired of the James Bond series. Roger had been very successful on British television with a couple of highly rated series including "Ivanhoe" and "The Saint". He played the British secret agent in seven feature films between 1973 and 1985. Roger became an ambassador for the United Nations which brought him to Vancouver in the late 90's. I took my trust...

In 1959 "Big Daddy" Dave McCormick was hosting the Hi Fi Club, a syndicated radio show, on C-FUN. The producers would send the package but the local deejay would run the contests, read the commercials and follow the scripts supplied. Dave’s show became so popular station management suggested he take over programming, and Dave took C-FUN to its very first Top 40 format. Dave was creative and went u...

Don Everly turns 80 tomorrow (2/1/17). I have known Don and his late brother Phil since 1957 when we first met at The Biggest Show of Stars in Vancouver. Their harmony was second to none and the Beatles admired them. As a matter of fact it took Paul McCartney to bring them together for a reunion at the Royal Albert Hall. Paul wrote their last major charted hit On The Wings Of A Nightingale. True i...

Don Everly turns 80 tomorrow (2/1/17). I have known Don and his late brother Phil since 1957 when we first met at The Biggest Show of Stars in Vancouver. Their harmony was second to none and the Beatles admired them. As a matter of fact it took Paul McCartney to bring them together for a reunion at the Royal Albert Hall. Paul wrote their last major charted hit On The Wings Of A Nightingale. True i...

Don Everly turns 80 tomorrow (2/1/17). I have known Don and his late brother Phil since 1957 when we first met at The Biggest Show of Stars in Vancouver. Their harmony was second to none and the Beatles admired them. As a matter of fact it took Paul McCartney to bring them together for a reunion at the Royal Albert Hall. Paul wrote their last major charted hit On The Wings Of A Nightingale. True i...

The Teen Canteen was a name I used for my radio show when I moved from CJOR to CKWX in 1957. The CJOR show was called Theme for Teens and they owned the name so I changed it. When the Biggest Show of Stars came to Vancouver I took my trusty tape recorder and a professional photographer down to the Georgia or Denman Auditoriums. I would go on stage and introduce one of the acts and then rush backst...

Within days recently two iconic artists passed away, and they were related to each other. Debbie Reynolds was 84 and her daughter Carrie Fisher was 60. Carrie was best known as Princess Leia in the Star Wars movies. Debbie was a major Hollywood actress at 19, just like Carrie! She starred in many musicals including Singing In The Rain with Gene Kelly. I met the engaging Debbie during a November 19...

Kay Starr was 94 when she passed last week. She began her singing career in the Big Band era and went solo when she joined Capitol Records. She was a terrific singer and had some major hits: "Wheel Of Fortune" and "Rock And Roll Waltz". I met Kay when she came to Vancouver in late 1982. I introduced her when she performed with Frankie Laine and The Four Aces for a fundraiser at the Hyatt Regency H...

CKNW's Jon McComb with Red and Red Robinson: The Last Deejay author Robin Brunet. Red talks about his start in radio and the influence of a new sensation - rock'n'roll.