Robin Brunet - Red Robinson: The Last Deejay

Red Robinson

Red Robinson

The Last Deejay

Robin Brunet

Copyright 2016 Robin Brunet

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Edited by Derek Fairbridge

Copyedited by Christine Savage

Indexed by Sarah Corsie

Dustjacket design by Anna Comfort OKeeffe

Dustjacket photo by Rolly Ford

Text design by Mary White

Printed and bound in Canada

Harbour Publishing acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, which last year invested $153 million to bring the arts to Canadians throughout the country. We also gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund and from the Province of British Columbia through the BC Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Brunet, Robin, author

Red Robinson : the last deejay / Robin Brunet.

Includes index.

Issued in print and electronic formats.

ISBN 978-1-55017-769-5 (hardback). ISBN 978-1-55017-770-1 (html)

1. Robinson, Red. 2. Disc jockeysCanadaBiography. I. Title. II . Title: Last deejay.

ML 429.R663B89 2016 791.4402'8092 C2016-903964-1 C2016-903965-X

This is for the sons and daughters of parents who would have gladly strangled Red Robinson had they been able to reach through airwaves.

Its for those who pine for the return of a reckless era.

But mostly, its for anyone whos fed up with being told what he or she cant do.

Foreword

Of course, I am not in reality The Last Deejay, but my kind are now few and far between. Dick Biondi is still going strong in Chicago, ditto Cousin Bruce Morrow in New York; Willy Percy is a winner in Vancouver, and a sprinkling of disc jockey communicators are still on the airwavesbut it is not what it used to be.

I selected the title for the book because radio is now unimportant compared to its halcyon days. Tom Pettys song was my inspiration. It is the end of an era.

My grandfather was a steam locomotive engineer, and when the steam engine was replaced, it was the end of his days in that business. The same situation applies with the deejays.

Red Robinson

Introduction

By the time he paid tribute to superstar Canadian jazz crooner Michael Bubl and Luisana Lopilato at their star-studded Vancouver wedding in May of 2011, Red Robinson had surpassed celebrity status and was an instantly recognizable iconwest of the Rocky Mountains, at least.

Proof of this was evident during the lavish wedding, which played out like a throwback to the Golden Age of Hollywood. It had been anticipated as Vancouvers Party of the Year, and even those guests who had attended sumptuous soirees in Hollywood or Cannes couldnt help but be dazzled when they arrived at the Pan Pacific Vancouver ballroom: from the custom snow-white wall-to-wall carpeting (which required the removal of the ballroom doors to be installed) to the seating, which had been trucked in from Las Vegas and Los Angelesno expense had been spared.

Guests congregated amidst one thousand feet of flowing white drapes lining the walls, and they saw their reflections multiplied by enormous white mirrors. A custom-made bench had been built around a white high-gloss riser containing the central floral display; cast aluminum urns overflowed with roses, hydrangeas, peonies and tulips, and oversize white lacquer vases contained lush groupings of orchids.

The white motif continued with the delightful spectacle of a model wearing a five-foot-wide gown made of white cupcakes, which she served to anyone needing a quick sugar fix. I wanted the environment to feel like a party after the Oscars in the forties, Bubls mother, Amber, told reporters.

Mingling in the crowd of five hundred were music producer David Foster and talent manager Bruce Allen, comedian Russell Peters, singer Jann Arden, Entertainment Tonight Canada producer Angela Smith, entertainment reporter Rick Campanelli and hockey elder statesmen Brian Burke and Pat Quinn.

It would have been hard to imagine a more opulent spectacle for the Bubl family, and the newlyweds were rightfully the front-and-centre attraction. But every now and then, star-struck guests overheard a distinctive voice amidst the chatter, as reassuring as that of the late television broadcaster Walter Cronkitea voice that triggered memories of older, better times.

Some guests interrupted their conversations to seek out the voices bearer, and as they maneuvered through the crowds they came upon an older man of medium height and reddish-blond hair, talking to the celebrities as if they were old friendswhich many of them were. As the guests watched, they noticed that the mans cordiality compelled strangers to swallow their apprehension, introduce themselves to him and chat about where and when they first saw him. The man grinned and listened intently, making them feel like royalty.

Yep, it was Red Robinson all right, just the way he was on the radio and television. And in advertisements. And on billboards. And in magazines, newspapers, flyers, at public events, fundraisersyou name it. Here was the man who hadnt just spun records in the 1950s, he had ushered in a new era of music at a time when it was daring to do so. And he hadnt just interviewed celebrities: he had made lasting friendships with them.

Long forgotten were the hordes of parents who, back in the day, would have gladly seen him jailed for his idiot on-air pranks and for routinely causing chaos throughout the city. The guests looking at him now were the sons and daughters of these parents, and for sure they would be telling neighbours the next day that they had encountered Red Robinson, maybe even spoke with him.

Bubl also mingled with the guests. His powerful voice is surprisingly soft in conversation, and he displays a refreshing humility and has formidable skill when working a crowd. But Robinsons vocal capabilities are equally powerful in a different way. More than two decades before Bubl was born, Robinson, as a ubiquitous radio personality, had connected with these people who were now gazing at him in person. His masculine baritone, undiminished by age, was causing them to recall the pre-internet, pre-home-entertainment era, when having fun simply meant going out on the town.

At one point during the evening, Robinson paid special tribute to the newlyweds by reading a poem, a send-up of Frank Sinatras signature song, My Way. Bubl was visibly delighted: he is a lifelong Robinson fan, and as a youth he once even performed in a musical about him. Any send-up by nature is somewhat cornball; a revision of My Way isnt something one would hear at a soiree for the likes of, say, Miley Cyrus or some other pop-culture phenom. But its entirely in keeping with the old-fashioned Robinson persona, and the guestsmany of them weary of the explicitness and cynicism currently dominating entertainment medialapped it up. It was as if a childhood pal had unexpectedly shown up for the festivities and was guiding them smoothly along.