‘Raised on Radio’ takes a look back at the golden age of AOR music

I was raised on the radio in a sense.

From a very early age, I loved it. I loved the DJs, the music, the contests, the weekly countdowns, and even the stunts such as the music battles — remember the champion and challenger, with listeners (at least supposedly) voting for their favorite; the winner being played again immediately after?

I even loved the news and public affairs programs: Ask the Professor, Powerline, and more. In many ways, my life revolved around radio, to the point where I can often state the station I first heard a song: During a visit to Gilroy years ago, I heard Brian Adams’ “Cuts Like a Knife,” a hit on the amazing 610/KFRC in San Francisco, for the first time.

So it was with great anticipation that I started reading the just-published book “Raised on Radio, Power Ballads, Cocaine and Payola, The AOR Glory Years 1976-1986” by Paul Rees. I figured it would be an inside look at Rees’ own relationship with radio, focusing on stations that played album-oriented rock and roll, such as KMET (now KTWV, 94.7 FM), KLOS (95.5 FM) and others like them throughout the country.

Turns out, it’s not that at all. In fact, it’s not so much about radio as radio is where Rees heard many of the bands, artists and songs featured in his book, which include Journey, Foreigner, Toto, REO Speedwagon and Styx. That said, while it isn’t necessarily a book for fans of radio itself, it is a well-written and well-researched tome on the stories behind the music you would have heard on AOR, or album-oriented radio.

I’ve actually never read a book like it, which is described in the press notes as an “oral biography.” The chapters are organized around a topic, and then filled with quotes from interviews related to that topic. The result is a fast-paced look at all things related to those songs you remember from the era.

In one example, Chapter 31, entitled “‘Keep on Loving You’ and the Perks of Being a Radio Programmer,” delves into the semi-hidden world of payola, and the ways record company promoters got around some of the rules and laws to still pay for record airplay. But that part comes after unrelated reflections from REO Speedwagon members about the development of their hit song, mentioned in the chapter title.

I’m not sure I agree with some of the book’s assessments, but regardless, the book is an interesting read, especially if you are a fan of the era’s music. Available at bookstores everywhere.

Uncle Joe Passes

The death of Uncle Joe Benson was announced on the Uncle Joe’s Garage page of Facebook: “It is with great sadness that we share the news of legendary disc jockey Joe Benson’s passing. In the early hours of Tuesday, February 24th, Joe passed away peacefully from Parkinson’s Disease, Parkinson’s Dementia, and complications from a fall.”

Benson truly was a legend, and a super-nice guy at that. When I made a visit to 100.3 The Sound KSWD (now KKLQ) — his last commercial station gig — years ago, he made a point to not only look for me but sat me down for an in-depth talk. Not an interview, a talk. We spoke of our kids and our mutual admiration for various people, and he bragged about his talented guitar player son Jeremy, as I bragged about my guitar player son Sean. There was no purpose to the talk other than to get to know each other better. He said to stay in touch, and for the most part, we did.

Besides The Sound, Benson was heard locally on KLOS for an amazing 30 years, as well as on KLSX (now KNX-FM, 97.1) and Arrow 93.1 (now KCBS-FM, 93.1). I remember him best as host of The Seventh Day when it was on KLOS. After The Sound changed formats, he retired from local radio to concentrate on the syndicated “Off the Record” musical interview show and streaming his own Ultimate Classic Rock show. He left his hosting duties at Off the Record due to, I was told at the time, his health issues, unknown to the public at the time.

There are many touching tributes on Facebook to Uncle Joe and his career, which in addition to radio, included announcing at the California Speedway for over 20 years, as well as writing Record Guides and doing a little car racing himself.

Dave Beasing was Benson’s last on-air programmer at The Sound, and he has fond memories of working with him.“Joe instinctively knew that an audience is built one listener at a time,” Beasing told me. “He’d have sincere conversations with people at public appearances. Then years later, they’d show up again, and he’d resume the same conversation. Joe genuinely loved people, and we all loved him back.”

One said reader in an email, “I feel like I’ve lost a friend.” I can sincerely say, we all do.

Benson is survived by his wife, Jan, and his two children, Jay and Jeremy. His family asks that donations be made to The Brain Donor Project or The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

Richard Wagoner is a San Pedro freelance columnist covering radio in Southern California. Email rwagoner@socalradiowaves.com