Pappy and the Rockers

There is, in the Saturday, April 18 edition of the Vancouver Sun, a reproduction of a painting by Bruce Stewart (Page F2). The painting is a not entirely realistic depiction of a half-dozen rock DJs at the peak of their popularity, which was in the mid-1960s.

Among those shown are Red Robinson, generally considered the older brother if not father of the local scene, Brian "Frosty" Forst and Fred Latremouille, both brilliant in their off-beat and slightly dangerous way, and Al Jordan, dubbed "Pappy" by the younger DJs, and for a time the in-demand commercial voice in Vancouver. When they were together, they were at CFUN, but then most moved elsewhere, the way restless radio guys do, and CKLG (LG/73) replaced CFUN as the #1 rock outlet.

It was during the CFUN period that Vancouver Life magazine published a story on the emerging youth market (as advertising and media people identified it). We ran a photo of the team roughhousing together, but for the main illustration we shot them in conservative business suits seated around a boardroom table. Daryl B. (remember him?) was part of the group and probably Jolly John Tanner. The later CKLG crew would add Peter Starr, who had a much admired English accent, the very young Stevie Grossman, and the remarkable J.B. Shayne, aka Captain Midnight.

All of this is now material for social archaeologists. But it was fun to be there when it was happening.