Rosko Recites Desiderata (0:04:59)

… You are a child of the universe …
[Description by John Bisci] Desiderata was written in 1927 by Max Ehrmann, a poet and lawyer from Terre Haute, Indiana. When recorded by TV talk-host Les Crane in 1971, it became a Top 40 Hit. Promotional materials suggested it was found in a old church prior to 1700! The story of how that happened is here. Rosko Mercer worked at WKTU-FM in New York City in the early ’80’s. We’d listen to him each year when we attended Dance Music magazine’s Nightclub DJ Conventions (New Music Seminar). Sadly, I never saved the cassettes I made of his shows. I went searching for WKTU-era airchecks of Rosko and found a 12-inch record. This surprised me, because I had never heard or seen it before — and we used to get everything dance-related through our record pool and promo man. Rosko Recites Desiderata (on Prelude Records, music composed and arranged by Peter Dino) might have been a NYC-only promo, for all I know. I would guess it’s from 1982-1984. [More Rosko on REELRADIO]

Welcome to the new ReelRadio!

This site is now operated by the North Carolina Broadcast History Museum. 

We want to thank the board of ReelRadio, Inc. for their stewardship since the passing of the founder Richard Irwin in 2018.  It has not been easy and they have maintained the exhibits for future generations to enjoy.

I met Richard Irwin, aka Uncle Ricky, when we were freshmen at East Carolina University.  We both had worked at local stations in our hometowns.  No one was more passionate about radio, especially Top 40 radio, than my friend Richard. 

Our goals with this site are to preserve the exhibits and make them available free of charge for people to enjoy.  Over time, we hope to add some airchecks to the site.  This will not happen immediately.  Time and resources will determine the future of new exhibits. 

Many thanks to the web folks at the Beasley Media Group for countless hours of work.  Again thanks to the board members of ReelRadio, Inc. for their faith in us. 

Richard Irwin’s hope was that his site would live on long after his passing. He said, “I hope REELRADIO will survive as my contribution to the ‘radio business’. The business is allowed to forget me, but the business should never forget the great era of radio that we celebrate here”.

We remember Richard and we thank him. If you enjoy this new site, we would appreciate a contribution. We hope you enjoy the new ReelRadio!

Board of NCBHP
North Carolina Broadcast History Project