Staff
Biography of Marc Bazell
CHRISTIAN, Roger: KFXM 1959. KRLA, 1960; KFWB, 1961-65; KBLA, 1965; KHJ, 1965; KBLA, 1967; KFWB, 1967-68; KGBS, 1969-71; KDAY, 1971; XPRS, 1971-72; KIQQ, 1973-74; KRTH, 1974-75; XPRS, 1978-79; KRLA, 1983-84; XPRS, 1985-86. There was a gentleness to Roger Christian that conveyed to his listeners an instant ease and a sense of warmth. Some thought he was aloof, but it was his busy schedule that kept him juggling ideas, thoughts and creativity. More often than not, he showed up for his shift after his first record had already been started.
Rochester, New York was where Roger started his radio career on WSAY. He worked as Mike Melody for a couple of years in Buffalo. His inspiration was Guy King on WWOL-Buffalo. Guy was actually Tom Clay.
During the summer of 1960, Roger started the noon-to-three shift at KRLA. In 1961 he worked the all-night slot as part of the strike breakers at KFWB. Roger was always active in music. In 1964 his Beatles Story album was in the top three on the charts and earned a Gold record in sales. He was one of the original KHJ “Boss Jocks” during the format’s debut in April 1965, working the nine-to-noon slot.
Roger returned to KFWB and was on the air when the station went all-News in March of 1968. Someone who was present on the last day of KFWB saw Roger “in tears.”
He was one of the original jocks (noon-3) when “K-100 FM” debuted. He wrote many of the surf songs popularized in the ’60s by the Beach Boys and Jan and Dean. Many called him the Cole Porter of the teens. He wrote Dead Man’s Curve and Little Old Lady From Pasadena. During one particular week while on KFWB, songs that Roger had written were #6, #7 and #8. Because of the payola scandals of the late 1950s and early 1960s, he couldn’t play any of his songs until they hit the Top 5. Roger appeared in 17 movies, including The Carpetbaggers. In 1975, Roger and Jim Pewter launched Rock Shoppe with the 6-hour radio special, “The Beach Years.” He was also a music consultant to the movie industry and in 1975 worked on Return to Macon County. He produced a Denver group called the Moonrakers that eventually became Sugarloaf.