Anyone remember Art Roberts from WLS in Chicago? (1 Viewer)

[Marty M]

I wasn't sure where to post this, but I just heard that Art Roberts died last week. He was a disc jockey at WLS in Chicago during it's top 40 heydays in the 1960s. Growing up in Central Illinois in the 60s I remember him well.

Anyone else out there remember this golden age of top 40 radio?

 

[Henry Gale]

:frowning:
Sure do Marty. I even talked to Art a couple of times when he showed up in San Antonio in the late 80s. The man had great pipes and a terrific personality. Radio sure ain't nothin' like it used to be. Neither is Rodeo.
Jim
Here's the first part of his obit in the Chicago Tribune.

Art Roberts was known as Chicago's "hip uncle" for his work on AM radio in the 1960s and '70s. And to teenagers of that time he was a godsend for bringing them the rock 'n' roll stars they craved.
Mr. Roberts, 70, a longtime radio disc jockey on WLS-AM 890, died Wednesday, March 6, in Reno, after a stroke.
He was one of seven young, star disc jockeys hired by WLS to bring rock to Chicago. And because there were so few FM stations at the time, WLS, which has since gone to a talk format, reached far beyond Illinois, making it one of the most dominant stations in the country.
Mr. Roberts started in the early afternoon slot, then took over the popular 9 p.m. to midnight gig from Dick Biondi. Along with spinning the most popular music of the day, Mr. Roberts was known for telling bedtime stories about "the head that ain't got no body" and creating fictitious characters like "Hooty Saperticker," who wanted to go through life doing nothing.

 

[Marty M]

Thanks Jim for passing along that article. I only read a Chicago paper on the weekend and there was nothing in our local paper about this. Radio stations like WLS were very important to kids who lived in small towns far away from Chicago. I really felt part of the "real world" by hearing what was going on in Chicago.

I have many, many fond memories of the days listening to Art Roberts and the other DJs on WLS from its beginning in 1960 playing Rock music.