In Memory: John Rook

We’re hearing the news tonight that former KQV (1410) top-40 programmer John Rook has died. Rook came to KQV in the early 1960s after successes in the Western US. There he managed to turn the struggling station around using his musical instincts playing hit songs – particularly those of The Beatles – before they became countrywide hits! The station became known for its record-breaking concerts and Rook managed to gain exclusive rights to the Beatles’ first Pittsburgh appearance in 1964. In 1967 ABC appointed Rook to sister station WLS in Chicago.

John Rook was 78 when he died on Tuesday.