After first meeting Rosko over lunch at Sardi's Restaurant, friend Mike Hayes and I scheduled an interview at his Manhattan home.

The Interview

Rosko was a hugely popular voice on FM programs on New York's WOR and WNEW. FM was getting huge and replacing top-40 AM stations. They had distinctive news announcers, plus DJs and fewer commercials. Rosko played a piece of his album, exclusively the poet Kahlil Gibran, who was humble, original, and plain honest.

Talk about idiosyncratic? Rosko kept his day-job as a men's-room attendant as he enjoyed the range of personalities and social strata. He described his show as "a groovy diversion." 

His voice was slightly deep and southern. James Brown got him to use his middle name and spell it with a 'K' to show certitude. Rosko eschewed the words 'phone number' for his unique 'mind-line' number. No one ever critiqued him about the format on the station. He mixed pop with soul and rock, and all predicated on his personality. The whole—talk and music—was predicated on his character. He read the news his way too.

Rosko adopted a practice of being himself: rock, soul, pop—woven together. In 1968, Rosko employed a philosophy whereby the show originated with the community. In 1966, the FCC demanded a separation between AM and FM. 

At WNEW-FM, during 1967-1970, he continued the free-form programming. He solicited the help of friends. He saw criminals as 'misfits' and saw his role as contributory. His style was to be himself—comfortable.