John Rode ― Original WRKO Jock, 1967
| Airchecks | Photos | Timeline |
| A Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin native, John
Rode started in radio at the age of 12, and was one of the original WRKO
jocks when the station made its debut in March of 1967, arriving from WSAI
in Cincinnati, Ohio to work the 9 AM to noon timeslot. He left WRKO in December,
1967 for WDRC, 1360 AM in Hartford, Connecticut, where he stayed until February
of 1969. Sources say that after WDRC, John supposedly went to Springfield, Massachusetts, where he did a show on a station there. Then, he moved to Maine where he operated a "New-Age" book store, and then to Canada, where he did the same. Today, he works for a computer firm in Canada, and fills in on Toronto's heritage CHUM/1050 whenever the station needs a professional. Because of his booming voice, John was often the voice on WRKO promos and, was one of the announcers used in the stations first jingle package, identifying the jock of the hour. I'm truly sorry I have only two Rode airchecks for now (below). Maybe you have some you can contribute to the Big 68? |
| Radio Timeline | ||||||
| APD = Assistant PD | MD = Music Director | MH = Morning Host | NX = News | NXD = News Director | OM = Operations Manager | PD = Program Director |
| Station | Freq. | Location | From | To | Notes |
| W??? | ???? | San Juan PR | 1965 | ||
| WALT | 1110 | Tampa FL | 1966 | PD | |
| WKLO | 1080 | Louisville KY | 1966 | Overnights | |
| WINN | 1240 | Louisville KY | 1966 | ||
| WSAI | 1360 | Cincinnati OH | 1966 | 1967 | |
| WRKO | 680 | Boston MA | 3-13-1967 | 12-1967 | mid-mornings |
| WDRC | 1360 | Hartford CT | 12-30-1967 | 2-1069 | mid-days |
| WMAS | 1450 | Springfield MA | 1969 | ||
| WIBG | 990 | Philadelphia PA | 1969 | ||
| CKFH | 1430 | Toronto ON | Fall, 1969 | MH | |
| CHUM | 1050 | Toronto ON | 1969 | MH | |
| CFUN | 1410 | Vancouver BC | 1973 | mid-mornings | |
| CKEY | 590 | Toronto ON | 1986 | 1989 | MH "John Rode &* Friends" |
| CHUM | 1050 | Toronto ON | 1993 | 5-2001 | |
| As of 2009, John is senior vice-president and chief information officer of Mediastats, Inc. and MediaLAB and, as the head of technology, designs and supervises the creation of all in-house computer and communication systems. He is also the chief designer of the MediaLAB administration software product line. | |||||
| If you can help fill in the blanks, please let me know! |
| Photos |
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| John Rode in 1967 | In 1967 at CHUM | Reserved | Reserved |
| Airchecks |
| September, 1967 | "Rodephone (1998)" |