Radio Geo’s Media Blog (Memorable Things I’ve Read & Heard) Part VI of VII. New 2/05/24

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Charlie Minor told me that even though label owners were wrong, 90% of the time, they’re still multi-millionaires.

“As someone once said,” Tom Hoyt remarked, “It’s easier to drink like Hemingway than to write like him.”  Now, I ain’t suggesting that you are writing like him….but we both drink a bit like him, and you write better than I do! 

Wilson Parasiuk wrote to my daughter on my blog, Hi Cami, Congratulations on your high school graduation from another product of the hallowed town of Transcona. Your Dad, George, was an inquisitive, intrepid guy who made his way in the big wide world but never forgot his roots, and he never forgot the little guy. Go for it. Curiosity and zest for life will make your life fuller and more meaningful.

Bruce Munson said, “A woman you adore saying, “Hey, but we can still be friends,” feels about the same as someone saying your dog just died, but you can still keep him.”
Yes, that one will be on my Facebook page soon. Now, it’s not plagiarism if I give you credit, is it, George?

Jim Quail told me he fell off his chair while listening to an American talk show, and a first-time caller said, “I’m calling you from a place you’ve probably never heard of, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The host immediately said, “Of course, I’ve heard of Winnipeg; it’s where the Guess Who, BTO, Neil Young, and one of America’s most successful radio consultants, George Johns, is from.

Jim Wood wrote on my blog; I had a unique experience working with both Jack McCoy and George Johns on stations in Los Angeles. They helped me get hired at the ABC station that later became KZLA… One of my most incredible memories is driving down Sunset Blvd, in the heart of Hollywood, with Jack at the wheel, George in the front passenger seat, and me in the back seat as Jack and George sang at the top of their lungs…Willie Nelson’s “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain.”…It was incredible. BUT…How many of you can remember and still define “Reticular Activation System” (I am not sure of the spelling, but I can still tell you what it meant), and how many of you bought the hardbound “Chapter One” rating analysis books or RAM Research, especially the perceptual version…or remember not only “The Last Contest” and “MAGNUM ONE !”…I am lucky to have known and worked with and for both Jack and George.
They changed my life, and I will forever owe them for any success I have enjoyed…Proudly their friend.

Police Officer Kari Pallotto told me that you get pulled over speeding every 42 times you speed. It has nothing to do with those driving much faster than you; it’s just your turn.

Terry Kenny of The Jury commented; George, your story about The Jury was great…I loved the entire history, although I remember some of it differently. That could be because my history began with the ChorduRoys, which was an excellent experience until the Phantoms/The Jury. What a heartwarming legacy!

Bruce Murdock commented: Sensei, thought-provoking questions, as always. Doing my retired guy show prep, I looked up CDC death figures for 2020/2019/2018 only had 48 weeks of 2020 on the books, but it looks like, for whatever reason, 48 weeks of 2020 had 200,000+ more deaths than all of 2019 and 400,000+ more than all of 2018.

Kevin Metheny wrote on Radio Geo’s Media Blog, “Management is getting people to do what you want them to do. Leadership is getting people to want to do what you want them to do.”
At breakfast one day, 

Dion told me that sometimes you need to be lucky, like when he turned down a seat on the plane Buddy Holly had rented. And then again, when some Soprano-looking guys were waiting for him in the kitchen when he got home from school.
However, luckily, after hearing Dion’s record, they decided not to help him because, as they said to his Father, “Your son sounds like he’s singing through a dish rag.”

Jerry Baker wrote, Gawd, I miss real radio….and despise what represents it today. George, we had a great run at WIBC. I wonder if that sort of thing will ever happen again. If so, I can still talk up a :30 intro!

GM Terry Keilty gave me hell at CFRA in Ottawa for hiring Roger Klein, claiming he was too good for the market and would only leave. I made his prediction come true by taking Roger with me when I left for Toronto.

Gary Miles told me after I spoke at the Rogers management conference in Toronto, “George, even though we didn’t pay you, I still feel like we overpaid.

Gar Vidler wrote, the older you get, the smarter you become. It’s starting to get scary, Geo. Great stuff!

Doug Herman wrote, “Speaking of wealth, there is a huge difference between being rich and being wealthy.” Chris Rock explained this phenomenon a few years ago, “Shaq is rich. The guy who writes his paycheck is wealthy.”

Bill Johnson posted; Yancey bull-shitted you – he never offered my sales team a 35% raise if they’d work Saturdays – we were so greedy, we all would have been there. Also, I think most of the sales staff at NAP worked weekends anyway – entertaining clients.

Asher Benrubi (Smash) wrote; ALWAYS GREAT LINES OF INFO, PERSPECTIVE, AND ADVICE. SALUTE TO GEO.
After hearing a tape of The Jury’s “Until You Do,” Hal Ross, from London Records, said, “Hell, I’ll release that!”

Nancy Grace wrote on my blog, “TELL YOUR GUYS TO STOP SLAMMING ME!”

Mike McVay wrote, George, as someone who built a large radio consultancy myself and learned much from listening to your stations, you are undoubtedly the father of Adult Contemporary. You also taught us all how an AC could perform stronger than the then-dominant Top-40 stations of that era by building big, entertaining morning shows. The model you created continues to be a huge part of the “Best Practices” of Radio today. You and I had some great battles that drove the overall shares of radio upward. We grew the audience by competing. In the words of Sun Tzu … “When the elephants fight, the ants take a beating.”

VIDEOS

Below is a video I recently posted on Facebook which they took down for being too sexual and are punishing me. What!!!

Radio Geo’s Media Blog is a politically incorrect inside look at Radio, TV, Music, Movies, Books, Social Media, Politics, Religion, and Life, primarily written with men in mind. For a peek at upcoming Blogs or to see some you may have missed, go to GeorgeJohns.com. On Twitter @GeoOfTheRadio. Sharing and commenting is appreciated. If you’d like to subscribe, send your email address to radiogeo@gmail.com.

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