One of my more humiliating moments . . .
As program director of WLS-Chicago I often turned down invitations to mingle with the stars. This probably a result of my days having Eddie Cochran as a good friend. In those early years Eddie wouldoften complain of the “freebies” disc jockey’s wanted, especially those who didn’t play his records.
It was a personal call from Columbia’s new president, Clive Davis, that invited me to “a little gathering” with Andy Williams in Chicago. I hesitated, but being a fan of Andy’s since his very first hit, Canadian Sunset, I decided to drop by and meet him. Upon entering the suite Clive rushed to greet me, taking me by the arm and leading me directly to Andy who was standing alone. Clive introduced me, “Andy this is John Rook”. As I extended my hand to shake his I noticed his hand was nowhere to be found as he glared at me saying, “Big F-cking Deal”. Clive rushed away leaving me standing in front of Andy in disbelief. I turned and walked out of the gathering, always wondering what brought that on from Andy.
Interesting, Andy only had one more hit single after that. Can’t help but wonder why?