Emperor Rosko

:(This page is about the BBC Radio One DJ. For the UK indie band named after him, see Rosco.)
Michael Joseph Pasternak (born 26 December 1942), known by his stage name Emperor Rosko, is an American presenter of rock music programmes, most widely known for his shows on Radio Caroline and BBC Radio 1 in the UK in the 1960s and early 1970s.
He joined Radio Caroline, a pirate radio station broadcasting from a ship off the coast of Britain, in April 1966. There, his American-influenced quick presentation style soon made him one of the station's best-loved DJs. He was often joined on air by his mynah bird Alfie. After his time at Radio Caroline, speaking fluent French, he presented for French-language stations Radio Monte Carlo and Radio Luxembourg as "Le Président Rosko".
As a disc jockey with BBC Radio 1 at its launch in September 1967, Rosko initially recorded shows in France for the Midday Spin programme. On his first Midday Spin show, Rosko introduced himself with "I am the Emperor, the geeter with the heater, your leader, your groovy host from the West Coast, here to clear up your skin and mess up your mind. It'll make you feel good all over." He highlighted the new Motown, reggae and rock music.
Rosko moved to the UK in 1968 and from 1970 presented Radio 1's Friday Roundtable, in which new records were reviewed by a panel of guests. He also presented in a Saturday lunchtime slot. Together with fellow Radio 1 DJ Dave Lee Travis, he launched the first mobile discothèque, the "Rosko International Roadshow".
(Read more at Wikipedia)
== Links to Peel ==
Emperor Rosko's flamboyant broadcasting style was far removed from Peel's quieter and more laid-back approach, but there seemed to be mutual respect between the two DJs. Rosko praised Peel in a 1971 Melody Maker interview ("He's completely natural - he's just being himself. He gives plenty of information on the records he plays - and gets on with the music...", p.34), while Peel, having worked in US radio, appreciated Rosko's style and commitment to his job. He also shared some of Rosko's musical tastes, especially for soul and early rock'n'roll. 
Peel was a regular guest on Radio 1's Round Table. The show was originally known as Rosko's Round Table, named after its host, who presented it in a more relaxed way than the brash, fast-talking style he used in his record shows, which sometimes drew criticism from listeners who found him "too American". 
Peel and Rosko shared an admiration for US DJ Wolfman Jack, who was one of the influences on Rosko's style. In his book Selling The Sixties (1992), Robert Chapman is critical of him, claiming that "this style (and indeed the title) was a highly derivative amalgam of KYA San Francisco’s Emperor Hudson, the original KBLA Los Angeles RoskoThe "original" Rosko (real name William Mercer) later became a pioneering Black late-night FM DJ, who was known to read poems on the air and was praised by Bob Dylan in a 1968 interview in the folk magazine Sing Out; "Sometimes at night the radio would be on and Rosko would be reciting this poetry of Khalil Gibran. It was a radiant feeling, coming across it on the radio...." . Peel may also have heard this Rosko during his time in the USA, as he mentioned him in a late interview as a possible model for the Perfumed Garden. Oddly, Mercer/Rosko also spent time in France in the early 1970s, working for Voice Of America and doing syndicated shows, a few for Radio Luxembourg. Although he was less successful in Europe than Emperor Rosko, he was able to resume his career when he returned to the USA, and the verbal repertoire of legendary night-time presenter Wolfman Jack" (p.237) - although in later years the Emperor himself was happy to acknowledge the influence of the DJs mentioned, saying that they had inspired him in his youth. And this hardly mattered to his British listeners, who mostly had never heard US radio stations but did appreciate Rosko's choice of music, his mixture of "rock and soul" being livelier and more contemporary than the playlists of most of his BBC colleagues. 
== Compilations ==
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(Tracks played by Peel from various artist (v/a) compilations featuring voiceovers from Emperor Rosko. Please add more information if known.)
(LP - Rosko Road Show Vol. 3)
* 09 March 1987: Aretha Franklin: Since You've Been Gone
== See Also ==
*Round Table
*Disc & Music Echo
*Sounds
*Gigography 1974
*Radio One Club
== Links ==
*Wikipedia
*Discogs
*emperorrosko.net
== References ==
Category:People
Category:Compilations