Bob Rogers (DJ)
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Robert Barton Rogers OAM (3 December 1926 – 29 May 2024) was an Australian disc jockey and radio broadcaster. He was noted for introducing
Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...
radio programming to Australia in 1958, on
2UE 2UE is an all-music radio station in Sydney owned by Nine Entertainment and run under a lease agreement by Ace Radio. It currently broadcasts from its studios in Pyrmont, New South Wales. History 1920s 2EU Electrical Utilities applied to the P ...
. Before his retirement in October 2020, Rogers presented the six-hour Saturday evening ''Reminiscing'' program on Sydney radio station 2CH. He had previously presented ''The Bob Rogers Show'' on weekday mornings.Sydney's daggiest radio station a giant killer
''The Daily Telegraph'', 10 May 2008, retrieved 10 July 2008.
His broadcasting career lasted 78 years.


Early life

Rogers was born on 3 December 1926 to British parents and raised in
Donald, Victoria Donald is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Richardson River, at the junction of Sunraysia Highway and Borung Highway, in the Shire of Buloke. At the , it had a population of 1,472. History The town is named after William Donald ...
. His father had been a junior butcher before becoming a farmer. He used to help his father round up the sheep and catch the lambs before slaughter.The Bob Rogers Show, Radio 2CH, 11:26:30
AEST Australia uses three main time zones: Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST; UTC+10:00), Australian Central Standard Time (ACST; UTC+09:30) and Australian Western Standard Time (AWST; UTC+08:00). Time is regulated by the individual states a ...
24 June 2008.


Career

Rogers began his career as a panel operator for
3XY Magic 1278 (official List of radio station callsigns in Victoria, callsign: 3EE) is a commercial radio station in Melbourne, Australia owned by Nine Entertainment, and run under a lease agreement by Ace Radio. History 1935–1991: 3XY 1935 ...
in
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
in 1942. Moving onto a
Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...
station, he worked six days a week as a radio announcer, including presenting racing on Saturdays. Soon, Rogers was given permission to start a Sunday afternoon music program, playing new records given to him by American sailors. Rogers resigned and started a similar music program on
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
's 4BH in 1950. In 1957, Rogers discovered the
Slim Dusty Slim Dusty, AO MBE (born David Gordon Kirkpatrick; 13 June 1927 – 19 September 2003) was an Australian country music singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. He was an Australian cultural icon, referred to universally as Australia's Ki ...
song " Pub With No Beer" and was the first DJ in Australia to play the song and bring it to number one on the charts.Bob Rogers
– 2CH
Rogers subsequently presented Australia's first Top 40 show on
2UE 2UE is an all-music radio station in Sydney owned by Nine Entertainment and run under a lease agreement by Ace Radio. It currently broadcasts from its studios in Pyrmont, New South Wales. History 1920s 2EU Electrical Utilities applied to the P ...
from 1958 to 1962. For the next 8 years, Rogers was Australia's top radio DJ.Bob Rogers takes the cake
– The Sydney Morning Herald 27 November 2006, retrieved 19 June 2008.

– The Sydney Morning Herald 28 October 2003, retrieved 18 June 2008.

– Australian Broadcasting Corporation 1999, retrieved 18 June 2008.
He was tried out in a television talk show format on
TCN-9 TCN is the flagship television station of the Nine Network in Australia. The station is currently located at 1 Denison Street, North Sydney. The licence, issued to a company named Television Corporation Ltd headed by Frank Packer, was one of the ...
, following '' Daly at Night'' with Jonathan Daly. He later established himself as a television host, on
ATN-7 ATN is the Sydney flagship television station of the Seven Network in Australia. The licence, issued to a company named Amalgamated Television Services, a subsidiary of John Fairfax & Sons, was one of the first four licences (two in Sydney, two ...
, with a run from 1969 of over four years. In 1962 Rogers joined
2SM 2SM is an Australian radio station, licensed to and serving Sydney, broadcasting on 1269 kilohertz on the AM band. It is owned and operated by Broadcast Operations Group. The SM call sign is taken from the initials of Saint Mary's. 2SM's prog ...
, one of the "Good Guys" DJ team the station recruited, with Mike Walsh and others; 2SM jumped in the ratings to number 1. In 1964 Rogers was chosen to represent 2SM on
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
' tour through Europe, Asia and Australia. He made radio interviews with them in June. Rogers returned to 2UE and presented his morning radio show with a new format of provocative commentary, gossip and music. His programme became popular amongst interview-hungry artists. In 1976, Rogers wrote ''Rock And Roll Australia'', a book about the birth of the Australian rock industry. In 1982, he started a chain of women's dress shops. In October 1976, Rogers joined 2GB, but his time with the station was short-lived. While compering the 2GB morning program, in June 1977, Rogers was sacked, after he failed to use the seven-second-delay button, during an on-air conversation with
John Singleton John Daniel Singleton (January 6, 1968 April 28, 2019) was an American director, screenwriter, and producer. He made his feature film debut writing and directing '' Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for ...
. Singleton's use of a ' four-letter word' was broadcast. The topic of conversation was Rogers' imminent change of time slot to an afternoon segment.


2CH radio

In November 1995, Rogers accepted John Singleton's offer and joined Sydney radio station 2CH. On 21 February 2007, according to the Nielsen radio ratings survey, Bob Rogers' Morning show became the fourth most heard radio programme in Sydney in that particular timeslot by beating
John Laws Richard John Sinclair Laws CBE (born 8 August 1935) is a retired Australian radio announcer who had a broadcasting career that spanned 71 years. His distinctive voice earned him the nickname ''Golden Tonsils''. Career Best known as a talkback ...
of 2UE into fifth place. It is generally more difficult for an easy listening station in Sydney to achieve a greater audience share than a talkback station. Overall, 2CH has overtaken 2UE to claim sixth place. On 5 December 2007, Rogers was verbally abused with obscenities by long-time professional rival
John Laws Richard John Sinclair Laws CBE (born 8 August 1935) is a retired Australian radio announcer who had a broadcasting career that spanned 71 years. His distinctive voice earned him the nickname ''Golden Tonsils''. Career Best known as a talkback ...
, in unprovoked circumstances whilst dining at lunch with 3AW personality
Derryn Hinch Derryn Nigel Hinch (born 9 February 1944) is a New Zealand-born media personality, politician, actor, journalist and published author. He is best known for his career in Australia, on Melbourne radio and television. He served as a Senator for ...
in a
Woolloomooloo Woolloomooloo ( ) is a harbourside, inner-city eastern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1.5 kilometres east of the central business district, in the local government area of the City of Sydney. It is in a low-lying, former dockla ...
restaurant. Rogers was awarded the
Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of then ...
(OAM) in the
2010 Birthday Honours The 2010 Birthday Honours for the Commonwealth realms were announced to celebrate the Queen's Birthday on 7 June 2010 in New Zealand, on 12 June 2010 in the United Kingdom, The Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Sai ...
for "service to the media as a radio broadcaster". After suffering a stroke while on air in 2018, Rogers announced in November 2018 that he would stop presenting his morning programme. He continued presenting his ''Reminiscing'' program on Saturdays until 3 October 2020, when he finally retired.


Radio career breakdown


Death

Rogers died in Mosman on 29 May 2024, at the age of 97.


References


External Links

*
Vale Bob Rogers (National Film and Sound Archive)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Bob 1926 births 2024 deaths Australian television personalities Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Australian people of British descent Former 2GB presenters