“WIGGLES, WINKS & WIZARDS…” picks up where Paul’s first book left off. Reminding each other of their pledge, Paul and Kerby transition from on-air talent, to program director and sales guy, to partners in ownership. Over the next 12 years they followed one success with another, buying radio stations with great reach but no imagination, and turning them into market beaters.
This is a business book, a buddy story, a memoir, and just a fun read. Like its prequel, “Alias…,” the book is sprinkled with links and images that illuminate the story and enhance the reader’s experience.
“ALIAS EMPEROR RODGERS…” is a memoir of the crazy days of Top 40 Radio, the “new” format that launched like a rocket in the 1950s and blasted whacky DJs and Rock ‘n’ Roll music across America like a streaking comet. It’s is also a story of friendship — a bond between two boys who shook hands and made a pact.
Top 40 hit Baltimore, Maryland in 1956 when WCAO “grabbed it and ran” — 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 – with promotions people scheming up crazy stunts that would never be allowed today. The story combines insight into the business of radio 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 announcer’s job at a small AM radio station in South Williamsport, PA. While learning the business at minimum wage he cements a lifelong friendship, and begins an upward journey through larger PA markets, landing at Baltimore’s premier Top 40 radio station, WCAO. There he rises to prominence as Paul Rodgers, and is soon elevated to the exalted rank of ‘Emperor Rodgers’.
The book is sprinkled with links and images that illuminate the story and enhance the reader’s experience.