R.I.P: Top 40 PD, Station Owner John H. Rook

The radio industry has lost another giant.  Iconic radio program and broadcast executive John Harlan Rook died Tuesday.  According to his website, Rook died in his sleep from natural causes.

John Rook

He passed in his hometown of Chillicothe,OH at the age of 79.

Under his guidance in the 1960s, 50,000-watt ABC-owned WLS 890 AM became the highest rated station in the Chicago metropolitan area, known as one of the greatest Top 40 stations in America. After leaving WLS to form a radio consultancy in 1970, WLS' rival, WCFL 1000 AM, beat WLS in the ratings after retaining Rook's services.

After jobs playing records at KASL in Newcastle, Wyoming; KOBH in Hot Springs, South Dakota; and KALL in Salt Lake City, Rook programmed KTLN in Denver, where his success led to ABC hiring him to be program director at KQV in Pittsburgh. KQV, owned by ABC, had initial success with the Top 40 format, but was floundering prior to Rook's arrival.

Photos courtesy of  Jeff Roteman websites

Rook quickly became known for his musical instincts, repeatedly breaking hit records before the rest of the country aired them. He was early on recognizing The Beatles and developed an inside track to their future releases. Under Rook, KQV played world-premieres of new Beatles songs before sending them to other stations owned by ABC in New York City and Chicago. In 1965, KQV had an eight day start on the rest of the country with “Yes It Is” and “Ticket To Ride”.

Young John Rook

In 1967, due to KQV’s success under Rook, ABC appointed him as program director of WLS in Chicago, which, like KQV when Rook arrived, was a major station facing increasingly successful competition. In 1964, WLS had a 34% share of the night time audience while competitor WCFL had 3%. At the time of Rook's arrival in 1967, WLS was down to 16%, virtually tied with WCFL’s 15%.

By 1968, under Rook, WLS again led the market and WLS was named Station of the Year at the Gavin Convention.

In 1970, Rook left WLS to head AIR, American Independent Radio (later known as Drake-Chenault), a Los Angeles based company formed by Boss Radio creator Bill Drake and his partner Gene Chenault, to syndicate their programming including “Hit Parade” and “The History of Rock and Roll”.  Less than a year later, Rook formed “programming db” with radio programmers Chuck Blore and Ken Draper, and a year after that, he opened his own consultancy, John Rook & Associates. Among his early clients was WLS rival, WCFL.

John Rook - Late '60s

As a programming consultant, Rook shaped the sound of several dozen American radio stations. Aside from WCFL, notable stations consulted by Rook include Y-100 (WHYI-FM), Miami/Ft. Lauderdale; WIFI, Philadelphia; KIMN, Denver; WGCL, Cleveland; WZGC (Z-93), Atlanta; KRBE, Houston; and WBAP, Dallas-Ft Worth.

In 1983, Rook and his partners purchased their first station, KCDA 103.1 in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; adding KEYF 1050 AM in the Spokane, Washington metropolitan area in 1985. In 1986, Rook’s group signed on an FM facility, KEYF-FM at 101.1 in the Spokane metro, and purchased two stations: KEYW-FM 98.3 in Pasco, Washington and KEYV-FM 93.1 in Las Vegas, Nevada. All the stations were sold by the early 1990s, except KCDA which Rook sold in 2000.

Recommended for a seat on the Federal Communications Commission in 1987,  Rook was a vocal opponent of the FCC's deregulation efforts. He believed the consolidation of ownership allowed by changes in the FCC rules, would be detrimental to the industry.