By Jamie Parker
Coastal Senior

Jerry Rogers back stage at the Civic Center with the Allman Brothers Band about 1974.

"It was culture shock," says Jerry Rogers as he recalls his first job in radio. In 1966 Rogers rode a bus from his home in New York City to Christiansburg, Va., to go to work as a disc jockey for WJJJ radio. A smile spreads across his face, his eyes light up as he laughingly remembers.

"I was a city boy from New York and this was rural America, I don't think they'd ever seen a male with long hair before. I was making $65 a week, had no car, had to walk to work, I could only afford one good meal a day - it was great!"

An interest in music and sports, an older brother who was in the business and a love of radio all helped develop Rogers' interest in radio.

"When I grew up, TV was just getting started, but radio was magic. I used to put a transistor (radio) under my pillow when I went to bed at night and listen as I went to sleep."

But it was during a summer spent in working in the Catskills that he made the decision to make broadcasting his life.

"I was a student at CCNY. Back then college and high school kids from New York City tried to get summer jobs in the hotels in the Catskills, it got you out of the city plus you could make good money. One summer I got a job as the DJ in a night club introducing the bands," groups like the Platters and Drifters, "that's what really got me going; I just really wanted to do this."

He moved to another job after just six weeks for another and three years later arrived in Savannah - a city in which he never thought he'd stay.

"I had higher aspirations but I discovered Tybee Island and doors were opened to me here, Don Jones and Albert Wise of WSGA we both so good to me. I got the opportunity to become a GM out of programming not sales, and before I knew it, Savannah had become home."

Now almost 40 years since the culture shock in Christiansburg, Rogers is quite at home and relaxed behind his desk in "the bungalow" on 52nd Street and Waters Avenue. On a chair next to him sleeps Garcia, one of the two cats who make the station home, the walls and credenzas are covered with horse racing memorabilia. He smiles frequently and speaks easily on any manner of topics. He is tanned and fit from his daily runs and while the long hair is gone, the love for radio is still there.

He's still on the air every weekday afternoon from 3-5 p.m., which according to Rogers, makes him the oldest disc jockey in Savannah. But Rogers is not only a DJ, he is owner and general manager of WRHQ 105.3, the only locally owned independent radio station in Savannah.

For Rogers, that's an important distinction that sets him and his radio station apart from the pack.

"In 1991, when I had the opportunity to put WRHQ on the air, before consolidation there were 10, 12 - maybe 15 independent stations in this market. Now we have three big groups with seven or eight stations each and us," Rogers says.

It may seem like a bit of one-sided battle - the little independent vs. the big corporations - but Rogers is undaunted.

"It's so hard in marketing today to get a unique position but we have one, out of dumb luck, not so much by design maybe, but when all the other independents were bought out we just sort of fell into it, now we're the local station." Because of that, "We have advantages the big guys don't. We don't have to worry about our stock price or pleasing the market manager, the regional or national manager. We don't deal with the record companies - they have different agendas than we do. We only have to worry about pleasing our advertisers, employees and listeners. Our mission is play what our listeners want to hear, our play list consists largely of songs suggested by our listeners. Plus we can put our full attention on one product - this station"

WRHQ is not just locally owned, the on air personalities are deeply rooted in Savannah. The combination of Rogers and fellow DJs Lyndy Brannen and Brady McGraw have logged nearly 100 years on the air here.



Jerry Rogers behind the scenes with the Osmond Brothers at the DeSoto Hilton in 1971.

What may be most interesting about WRHQ is some of the things they don't have compared to many other radio stations - including no on-air contests.

"Our audience probably doesn't care about being the tenth caller," he laughs and adds, "Plus when we started I didn't have enough money to pay for contests so we just never did them. Now we do contests but not on the air and we never talk about them on the air. We understand people listen to this station for the music. It's real simple; we try not to get in the way of the music. Whatever comments we make, we never make them talking over the music."

Secondly, even though the radio industry nomenclature describes WRHQ's format as Rock, the whole attitude of the operation is a somewhat more subdued and relaxed than you might expect from a station whose play list includes Jethro Tull, the Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen. This approach is reflected in the content of their programming.

"We decided in the very early going we were not going to have an in-your-face morning show. Our niche was to be family friendly." Family friendly is not a surprising description of an operation that features two cats, Garcia and Smarty Jones, as according to Rogers "key assistants."

"When we started doing this it seemed like everybody else was trying to see how far they could go, we wanted to offer a choice. Not to go over an imaginary line. I didn't want to air anything that would embarrass a parent driving their child to school - "Hey mom, what does that mean?" And we've been doing it all along. We've never stepped over the line, because when you do you eliminate some of your audience. What you don't play won't hurt you. A good radio station reflects the community, that's what we try to do."

Looking back on an almost four decade career that has allowed him to meet many of the elite of popular music during the rock and roll era.. The person he remembers most fondly may be a surprise because it's not a musician.

"I've been blessed and lucky to meet some famous people but it's meeting some of my childhood heroes that I remember most. I interviewed Mickey Mantle in 1971 when he was in Savannah for an event honoring Savannah native and ex-major leaguer, Ken Harrelson. Growing up in New York City during the 50s and 60s Mickey Mantle was one of my heroes. The other thing I remember was being guest DJ on American Bandstand in 1968 and talking to Dick Clark."

As to what the future holds, Rogers adds, "I don't think I can be 70 years old and still doing this. I don't want to stay at the dance too long. I've blessed with good health and a young outlook but I hope I have the grace of timing to leave when I still have all my facilities. But you know, it's been a lot of fun, a whole lot of fun. I have a great job, I've been very lucky."

You can listen to WRHQ radio by tuning to 105.3 FM. Jerry Rogers is on the air Monday.-Friday. 3-6 p.m.