Red Robinson: The Last Deejay

The only thing missing from veteran journalist Brunet’s biography of legendary Vancouver, B.C., deejay Red Robinson is his baritone voice coming through the speakers. The photos are black and white, but this well-written book is full of color: “Then the doors were opened for the teens. They didn’t so much enter the store as they erupted like toothpaste released through a suddenly unblocked nozzle.” It’s a great trip back to a time when the music mattered. Through lengthy interviews with Robinson, his colleagues, and his contemporaries, readers get a clear picture of the rise of rock ’n’ roll, Robinson’s role, and the reason he was one of a select few deejays feted at the opening of Cleveland’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Robinson started his career as a teenager in the early 1950s, and he truly has a story about everyone. He was handcuffed by Elvis Presley, emceed a concert where rabid fans chased the Beatles off the stage, and hosted a series of concerts by musical legends at Vancouver’s Expo ’86. His forays into advertising and management don’t rock as much—how could they? Robinson himself is modest to a fault, claiming ,“I’m no legend.” But as the book delivers page after page of surprising stories, readers may think otherwise. (Jan.)