Legendary B.C. radio DJ's career celebrated in new book

Legendary B.C. disc jockey Red Robinson has had some close encounters with celebritiesduring his years in the radio business, many of which he sharesin his new biography, Red Robinson:The Last Deejay.

A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame, Robinson's career began with a prank phone call and spanned six decades.

Crank call career-making

Robinson got his big break in the 1950s, when he phoned a local Vancouver radio show and pretended to be Jimmy Stewart. His impersonation was so dead-on, he fooled the host into inviting him down to the station.

His anticsscored him a regular gig doing on-air skits.

"I love radio...it's theatre of the mind," Robinson told CBC's The Early Edition host Rick Cluff.

"Young people say to me what was it like? If you got ratings, you held your job. If you didn't, you were in the streets, so it was a high risk business."

Risky driving with Roy

Maybe not as risky as driving the icy highway out of Port Alberni with Roy Orbison at 4:00 a.m. on New Year's Eve.

Robinson was behind the wheel and was afraid he might kill Orbison as the car kept skiddingtowards the frigid waters of Cameron Lake.

According to Robinson, he and Orbisonmade a lot of money together putting on shows throughout B.C.

When they finally found themselves on a safe stretch of road the musician turned to Robinson and quipped, "I thought the Gold Rush was over."

During Robinson's years in the rock and roll trenches, he spent time with The Beatles, Fats Domino, Ray Charles, Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley, among many others.

• The Beatles played Vancouver 50 years ago

The King of Rock and Roll himself gave Robinson a stuffed teddy bear in the Empire Stadium dressing room after it was gifted to him by a local fan club.

"'You know Red, grown men don't collect bears,'" Robinson recalled Presley saying.

At 79-years-old, Robinson is definitely all grown up and still the proud owner of that teddy bear gifted to him in 1957.

Red Robinson: The Last Deejay, is published by Harbour Publishing and written by Robin Brunet.

With files from CBC's The Early Edition.

For the complete interview with Red Robinson and Rick Cluff, click on the audio labelled, New biography celebrates radio DJ Red Robinson.