Neil & Stan.....Part 2
In 1987-88 Neil Rogers had the highest ratings ever in Miami radio history. I did well too...most of his audience hung around at 2PM....for my show.
I’ve moved several times since those years and don’t have copies of the numbers but I know for a fact that our shows on AM radio ...out rated all the FM music stations in Miami. We were number one in teens....and every demographic up to and including those old farts Neil blasted all the time. The old geezers loved it too!
You could talk about the ratings in those days...today you can’t.
Ratings services began clamping down and threatening to take legal action...so the noose tightened for Neil in later years.
That’s a shame because the week ratings came out Neil milked it for all it was worth...even to the point of telling everyone how bad the ratings were for competitors...which must have pissed them off to no end.
So I’d been in town for several months and my numbers continued up and up thanks to Neil...and our friendship solidified after work at various eating establishments...mainly in the Ft. Lauderdale area as we both lived in the city of Plantation...a suburb. Neil would call on or off the air to mention where we might eat and at 6pm I’d follow his lead. Many times he would mention it on the air and some folks would show up to shake hands but more often we kept it private so we wouldn’t be bothered.
We both talked alot the next day about the restaurant and how great the food was. We made a few places pretty famous...including The Melting Pot (fondue) in Coral Springs and a fantastic Mexican place called La Bamba. Actually La Bamba had two or three restaurants then...they now have four or five and they have thrived since the late 80’s. My son (details later) would work at one of the La Bamba restaurants when he was in college and when he flies home from Chicago (college) the first place we go is that La Bamba.
Our sales department was right on the ball and if we talked about The Melting Pot or where ever they would hit the places running and usually sell a nice spot load. Neil was big on having food during his show...so that worked also....mainly lots of great pizza!
WINZ had a comedy outfit called ACN...(American Comedy Network) which was THE best in the business and we were loved their stuff plus the special stuff Neil got and let me use.
I was still hot on Miami Vice and one day a guy called in who sounded just like Don Johnson...but it wasn’t Don. I got the guys number and invited him to sit in sometime and that led to a whole bunch of people eventually in the studio with me. Don WOULD call in later during my famous haircut poll...”Should Don Johnson get a haircut” . You can Google that and take a listen. He said “no changes” and Neil lifted that out of the tape and played it over and over. Don himself never confirmed that he called in but we were pretty sure.
Here’s a link if you’d like to hear some of the other stuff made famous with Neil & Stan:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugCDXFWwqgg
Next.....Neil & Stan go for ice cream and invite everyone listening to join us! And..I meet my future wife and Mother to be...of my Son!
stanmajor@aol.com
No comments:
Post a Comment