The Saga of
"Rock Charles"
By Robert St. John
The following Robert St. John "Saga of 'Rock Charles'"
aircheck recorded was during the two-week long WCSC DJ
billboard painting contest/promotion, November 19 through
December 6, 1976. ("Rock Charles" was a fictitious
Charleston heath spa owner and DJ
impersonator/impressionist.
Billboard
Contest Chronology
Friday Nov.
19, 1976: Blank DJ billboards up and ready to paint (Herb
Carson, Brother Dave Derek, Monty Jett [Production
Director], Mike Hiott [news], Dave Turner, Robert St. John,
and weekender Gary Baize)
Thursday Nov. 25, 1976: Thanksgiving Day
Monday Dec. 6, 1976: Billboard DJ winner on the air
announcement @ 5 p.m. (winner: Dave Turner)
I broke the
aircheck into segments for easier access. This was one of the
most enjoyable spontaneously creative experiences I ever had
in my active radio days. I have to admit though, I was ready
for it to end after a couple of weeks; the fictitious "ruse"
-- that everyone listening willingly and creatively "went
along with" -- became somewhat tedious after about two weeks.
About the time I was seriously wondering about how to end our
little ruse, a creative listener literally read my mind and
offered up the same idea that had just dawned on me. (See note
on Part 6 below.) By the way, weekender Gary Baize was part of
my billboard painting activity since I was still recuperating
from a herniated disc in my low back from mid-summer. He was
there as a safety precaution for our billboard (spray-)
painting extravaganza on that chilly, soggy November 19th
Friday.
Part 1:
The billboard contest begins. "Rock Charles" (fictitious
impressionist) on the air calls Gary Baize inside the
billboard.
The Saga of Rock
Charles Part 1
5:12 - 2439 KB
Part 2:
The contest moves on, including Herb Carson's "Cheech and
Chong" impression promo. Herb could do about 13 or 14
well-known celebrities of the day, including Richard Nixon and
Spiro Agnew. Herb was a "natural" impressionist of first
caliber. (Wish we could find out where he is and what he's
doing now.)
The Saga of Rock
Charles Part 2
5:49 - 2729 KB
Part 3:
Gary Baize calls the radio station from inside the billboard.
The Saga of Rock
Charles Part 3
6:08 - 2876 KB
Part 4:
Creative listeners play along with an obviously fictitious
ruse, offering numerous suggestions on how to rescue St. John
and Baize from this nasty, mean billboard on Spruill Ave. near
the exit to the naval base in North Charleston.
The Saga of Rock
Charles Part 4
4:37 - 2165 KB
Part 5:
St. John and Baize spend Thanksgiving Day inside the
billboard. (Any way to get turkey in?)
The Saga of Rock
Charles Part 5
5:11 - 2430 KB
Part 6:
The way of rescue/escape from the billboard made by
listener/caller Linda Rutan of North Charleston. The
coincidental irony of this is that I had already contacted the
billboard company earlier during the same day to accomplish
this very task. They rolled up the partially opened door
during the early hours of pre-dawn the next morning before
morning drive time!
The Saga of Rock
Charles Part 6
6:31 - 3056 KB
Part 7:
The return of Robert St. John, having been released from the
billboard.
The Saga of Rock
Charles Part 7
5:44 - 2694 KB
Part 8:
DJ billboard winner (Dave Turner) announced at 5 p.m. on the
Robert St. John show. Dave had recruited all of his late
night, overnight nurse friends to send in multiple votes per
household. (Hmmm...I guess we didn't rule that out, did we?)
The fun thing for me was that winning the weekend getaway to
Hilton Head Island could not have surpassed the fun I had
going through the promotion itself.
The Saga of Rock
Charles Part 8
4:18 - 2016 KB |
