Bobby Rich early in his career. Photo courtesy Rick Griffin/Marketink
The book took only 12 years to write.
“Our wives couldn’t understand why we didn’t wrap this thing up in a couple of days,” said Bobby Rich, retired legendary radio on-air personality, programmer and the subject of a new book, titled, “Bobby Rich, My Life in Your Radio.”
The biography is authored by Pat Gaffey, a former broadcast journalist who worked in radio and television in San Diego with Rich. The 310-page book covers Rich’s 60-year career of working at 24 stations in 11 states in 15 cities, including Los Angeles, Philadelphia, New York, Seattle, San Diego and Tucson.
“Plus, I was fired seven or eight times, maybe nine,” Rich said.
The book covers Rich’s on-air stunts, celebrity antics, community involvement and historical events enjoyed by his listeners in small and large markets. His career took him from Spokane to Toledo, Iowa to Miami, Los Angeles to San Diego, New York to Philadelphia, and the past 33 years spent in Tucson.
“I started spinning records on the radio before the Beatles first performed on the Ed Sullivan show in 1964. I was still on the air in 2023,” said Rich. “That pretty much makes me a DJ dinosaur who played all the pop, rock, Top 40, adult contemporary, Hot AC and timeless music superstars and one-hit wonders.”
Cover of Pat Gaffney’s book about Bobby Rich called “My Life in Your Radio.” (Photo courtesy Rick Griffin/Marketink)
Rich was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Ephrata, Wash. Using a homemade radio kit and records borrowed from his older sisters, Rich broadcast a nightly music show from his bedroom to the dining room of the family home in Ephrata.
During his career, Rich was known for his out-of-the-box approach to programming and on-air stunts. During the height of the disco craze in the late 1970s, Rich ran a “No Bee Gees Weekend” in New York. Years later, he ran a similar “No Michael Jackson Weekend” in Philadelphia.
“Radio has been my first love — it never gets old and it’s rewarding beyond words” said Rich. “My philosophy has always been to have fun, play great music and give people something to smile about whenever they tune in.”
After on-air roles in Miami, New Haven, Los Angeles and San Diego in the 1970s, Rich went to program WXLO-FM in New York, KHTZ-FM in Los Angeles and WWSH-FM in Philadelphia in the 1980s.
In 1992, Rich arrived in Tucson, where he anchored mornings at KMXZ-FM for nearly 25 years. He worked at three Tucson stations, including having an ownership interest at KTZN-FM and KDRI-FM. In 2013, he was elected to the Arizona Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame.
Rich retired in May 2023, following the purchase of KDRI-FM to Bustos Media for $800,000. Today, the 80-year-old Tucson resident consults with radio stations offering programming assistance and specializing in the over-50 demographic.
When he retired, radio industry trade publications called him an “icon,” “a legendary programmer and air talent” and “prominent radio industry figure since the 1970s with a legacy of unmatched success.”
Ramp magazine wrote, “Rich’s retirement marks the end of an era, but his influence will continue to be felt for years to come.”
Radio personality Bobby Rich (left) and radio personality turned writer Pat Gaffney (right) in 2025. (Photo courtesy Rick Griffin/MarketInk)
Inside Radio said, “His stunts tapped into listeners’ emotions by delivering something unexpected.”
In the 1970s and 1980s, Rich was considered king of San Diego’s radio industry. He arrived in San Diego in 1975 after working at KHJ-AM in Los Angeles.
“Turning on a microphone and connecting and communicating with listeners one-to-one is something that only happens on the radio,” said Rich.
From 1975 to 1978, Rich was program director at KFMB-FM, B-100. He turned a sleepy San Diego FM station with lackluster ratings into a Top-40 powerhouse that took San Diego by storm. Hiring top-notch disc jockeys and programming high-energy “Better Boogie” music, Rich transformed KFMB-FM into B-100 and made it the city’s number one station by 1977.
He resigned from KFMB to work as program director at WXLO-FM New York, the nation’s biggest broadcast market. He also worked at WWSH-FM Philadelphia before returning to San Diego’s KFMB in 1984 to head the “Rich Brothers” morning team of five personalities until 1989.
The popular “B-Morning Zoo” was the city’s top-rated morning show in 1987, the same year that Billboard Magazine named the Rich Brothers as Air Personalities of the Year and KFMB-FM as Station of the Year.
“I have very fond memories of San Diego,” Rich told Times of San Diego. “Every time I moved in my career, I found a chance to prove myself. I might be the epitome of do-what-you-love and love-what-you do.”
Gaffey, the book’s author, wrote and reported the news in San Diego for KFMB-AM, KFMB-FM and KFMB-TV from 1982 to 2001. He first worked with Rich at KHTZ in Los Angeles. In San Diego, Gaffey was a co-host on the B-Morning Zoo.
Gaffey’s second career spanned 20 years in pharmaceutical corporate communications and included 19 winters in New England and 13 trips to Japan before returning to California.
Today, Gaffey is a semi-retired, freelance writer and researcher.
“Yes, it took 12 years to write the book because my writing was interrupted due to other professional obligations,” Gaffey said. “I wrote this book to celebrate Bobby’s amazing career and the personalities and listeners who shared his passion for music and fun in the heyday of Top 40, rock-n-roll and personality radio.”
Frank Anthony, also a member of the Rich Brothers who later served as the public address announcer at Padres home games, said, “Bobby not only knew how to assemble the finest array of on air talent but how to inspire them and give them the freedom to be their absolute best.
“Few radio people are recognized in public. Bobby was different because he was visible in the community. embedded in the lifestyle and engaged with all who listened. He’s not an on-air personality, he’s genuinely one of them, a neighbor, a friend.”
Gary Kelley, longtime San Diego radio DJ who stays busy today playing tunes at private events, said the book isn’t just for radio people. “It’s for anyone who has ever loved listening to the radio and wondered how the magic happens,” he said. “Pat Gaffey takes you inside the brilliant mind of Bobby Rich, a one-of-a-kind talent who has always instinctively known how to make radio worth listening to.”
Rich said: “Don’t ever do a book without having a real writer and journalist doing tons of work researching the background and interviewing people to confirm the quotes and facts. I’m grateful for all the work Pat Gaffey did.”
Gaffey told Times of San Diego, “More than 50 DJs and radio executives were interviewed for the book, which contains in-depth research of hit songs and fun-filled stories from Rich’s career as a personality and program director from the 1960s until his 2023 retirement in Tucson.”
“Bobby Rich, My Life in Your Radio,” published by Glenealy Press and available in paperback, hard cover and e-book formats on Amazon, was released in late November.
“My book would be the perfect stocking stuffer,” said Rich with a laugh.
Marketing agency Mindgruve predicts 2026 trends in AI, DSP, IRL
Mindgruve, a San Diego marketing agency, has revealed its top digital marketing predictions and trends for 2026.
Among the agency’s expectations for next year:
- Artificial intelligence will go shopping. “Expect ChatGPT Instant Checkout to be adopted by retailers at lighting speed,” said Ellyn Savage, senior VP of global media at Mindgruve.
- DSP fragmentation will intensify. DSP refers to how the digital audio streaming market is spilt across a variety of Digital Service Providers platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube Music. The fragmentation refers to challengers marketers will face when dealing with different platforms, each with its own rules, audiences and analytics.
- The IRL renaissance will continue. IRL, or “In Real Life,” refers to the cultural shift as people are rediscovering and prioritizing in-person, real-world experiences after years of digital saturation and too much screen time. “The pendulum is swinging back to the real world,” said Savage. “Gen-Z is embracing mall shopping against, so brands will rise to the occasion.”
For more information, visit www.mindgruve.com.
PRSA prepares to reveal 2025 Bernays Awards winners
The Public Relations Society of America’s San Diego-Imperial Counties chapter will celebrate winners of 2025 Edward L. Bernays Mark of Excellence awards at an event on Tuesday, Jan. 6, at the Encore Events Center, 8253 Ronson Road, San Diego.
Silver and Bronze awards will be presented in various categories, including community relations, integrated communications, issues management, public affairs, media relations and research and evaluation.
The Silver award recognizes complete public relations programs incorporating research, planning, implementation and evaluation. The Bronze award recognizes public relations tactics consisting of individual items or components of campaigns. Entries have been judged by members of a partner PRSA chapter.
This year’s awards program theme is “Shine Together.” A one-hour reception starting at 5 p.m. will be followed by the awards ceremony starting at 6 p.m.
Cost to attend is $30 for members, $45 for nonmembers and $150 for a table of eight seats. Students can attend for free.
More event information is available here, or send an email to prsasdic.adm@gmail.com.
The awards are named after Edward L. Bernays, who is credited with launching the field of public relations in the 1920s, originally called “peacetime propaganda.” Often called the “father of public relations,” Bernays’ history-making campaigns explain why people eat bacon with eggs, women smoke cigarettes and bank managers join civic groups. He died in 1995 at age 103.
Rick Griffin is a San Diego-based public relations and marketing consultant. His MarketInk column appears weekly on Mondays in Times of San Diego.
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