Radio pioneer becomes first Canadian inducted into U.S. Radio Hall of Fame
Windsor radio pioneer Rosalie Trombley was posthumously inducted into the U.S. Radio Hall of Fame this week.
The legendary music director now has the unique distinction of being the only Canadian out of 325 inductees, so far.
“Rosalie was really a groundbreaking, trendsetting music touch point making kind of individual,” said Kraig Kitchin, chairmen of the Radio Hall of Fame. “Her ability to select songs and to pick music that later became big hits not only on CKLW, but also on hundreds of radio stations in the United States is very evident.”
Trombley was music director at “The Big 8” CKLW-AM from 1968 to 1984. At the time, she was one of the few female music directors in Top 40.
“It was still in the emerging format,” Kitchin explained. “She was a trendsetter in the way that she was able to hear songs in a way that she knew radio audiences would want to hear them over and over again and at high frequency.”
Kitchin continued, “When artists like Bob Seger write songs about her, that's a significant indication she really, really has good relationship with music artists.”
Rosalie Trombley with Bob Seger
Tromblay was thought of as the number one music director in the U.S. during her tenure. She introduced numerous artists such as Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, and Bob Seger, who later wrote a song about her entitled "Rosalie.”
Trombley is credited with significantly helping artists and music groups including Elton John, Earth, Wind and Fire, Ted Nugent and The Guess Who.
“She was a Canadian resident. She made her living with Canadian radio stations, but her influence was really felt not only in that southern part of Canada, that Windsor, Ontario area that included areas like Hamilton and Sarnia but also throughout all of Southeast Michigan, where her influence really was very, very apparent,” Kitchin said.
He noted Trombley is also being inducted alongside musician James Brown.
In a statement to CTV News, Rosalie’s son Tim Trombley, who is also director of entertainment at Caesars Windsor said, “I am incredibly grateful my mother, Rosalie Trombley, will be honoured by the Radio Hall of Fame. My family and I look forward to celebrating our mother’s legacy and memory at the Induction Ceremony and thank the Nominating Committee for this opportunity to recognize our mom, who was a true legend in the history of AM Top 40 in North America.”
Rosalie Trombley passed away Nov. 23, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.