The 2023 Radio Hall of Fame Inductees include a Seattle favorite, Bob Rivers. Rivers got his first paying radio job when he was 16. For the next 15 years, he worked as a DJ at stations in the Northeast, including six years in the Boston market, where Twisted Tunes was born. Rivers took his act to Baltimore, gaining attention by staying on the air for 11 days until the Orioles finally ended a 21-game losing streak in 1988. Heβs stayed on the radio in Seattle since 1989, with 95.7 KJR-FM, KISW and KZOK. Bob Rivers retired July 2014.
The 2023 Radio Hall of Fame induction ceremony happens on Thursday, November 2nd at the InterContinental New York Barclay Hotel in New York City.
Joe Bryant, Spike O’Neill, and Bob Rivers
The inductees are:
John DeBella
WMGK-FM, Philadelphia
Gerry House
WSIX-FM, Nashville
Pat St. John
60s Gold, SiriusXM
Bob Rivers
The Bob Rivers Show
Shadoe Stevens
American Top 40, KMET-FM, KROQ-FM, KHJ-AM
Nina Totenberg
National Public Radio
Deborah Parenti
Publisher, Radio Ink
Charles Warfield
Executive
Lou Robbins — Admin/Editor | Airchecks
KTOY | KVAC (WA-1974) | KDFL (WA-1975) | KTTX (TX- 1976) | KWHI (TX-1976) | KONP (WA-1977) | KBAM (WA-1978) | KJUN (WA-1983) | KRPM (WA-1984) | KAMT (WA-1986) | KASY (WA-1988) | KBRD (WA-1989) | KTAC (WA-1990) | KMTT (WA-1991) | KOOL (AZ-1994)
I had the pleasure of meeting Bob in the early mid 90s at my espresso shop on Broadway in Seattle. He came to the window one early weekend morning to order a drink and I immediately recognized him. I said something like “Hello Bob Rivers,” and he smiled and said something like, “How did you know who I am?” We chatted for several minutes. I will always remember him as a warm person with a winning smile and charming presence. Jean Enerson was also an occasional regular and when Jay Leno was making the NBC affiliate rounds for a recurring special interest segment on his show he stopped by with his cameraman to do a brief story about the espresso explosion in Seattle. With all the very nearby espresso shops on Broadway, I would think he chose mine as a recommendation from Jean.