OMC: How would you say radio is now versus 30 years ago?

BR: I'd say now radio is more democratic. There are more stations, targeted at more people, and the station's programming is based on input from many people through research and more sophisticated methods. Back then, it was almost like a ... well, like a benevolent dictatorship, because I played what I wanted to play. It was fun for me, but a lot more erratic for listeners and we always ran the risk of alienating everybody. Here's another analogy: radio now is more like a fast-food restaurant, serving up what we know people want more often; before it was more of a specialty gourmet restaurant where it was more esoteric and although there were more unique flavors, it was more hit-or-miss.

OMC: During your tenure at QFM, you held a Guinness world record for a brief time -- the Longest Continuous Broadcast On The Air By A Disc Jockey -- broadcasting continuously for 222 hours and 22 minutes. Tell us about that.

BR: That was one of my most amazing experiences I ever had. It was 1976, I was going through a divorce, we were raising money for Muscular Dystrophy, and I personally wanted to prove that I could do something that was basically almost impossible -- I mean, I like to sleep. I like my seven hours of sleep and this would be an incredible challenge.

We set up at the State Fair and I broadcast for 222 hours, 22 minutes straight, which is a little over nine days. I was in a trailer on hydraulic jacks, broadcasting that whole time. Per the rules, I was given five minutes per hour each day for bathroom breaks, but no real sleep. I had food catered to me from a local restaurant and after a while I couldn't eat it; your body starts changing after no sleep and you get more sensitive to stuff. After two days, I didn't think I was going to make it. Right about when it was getting bad, somebody delivered to me one of those huge fruit baskets and I thought, "that looks good." I just started eating fruit and peanut butter. I didn't touch coffee during that time either because I was allowed to accumulate the five-minute hourly breaks to the point where I could take half-hour naps once or twice a day.

After three or four days when I would wake up I'd still be in kind of a dream cycle and that was unlike anything I'd ever felt. I'd get more sensitive to everything; I didn't want hyper people in the booth with me, the hydraulics on one of the jacks holding up the broadcast booth failed, the air conditioning went out, it was summer, and I was in this mental zone ... it was just a wild experience.

OMC: Bordering on unhealthy, from the sound of it ...

BR: Yeah, Guinness doesn't keep a record on that anymore. A few years later after another guy broke my record they decided it was too dangerous. Didn't affect me, though!

OMC: Is that the best radio stunt or promotion you've been a part of, or is there another one that's your favorite?

BR: Actually, my favorite stunt -- or the one I'm most proud of -- was broadcasting from the Soviet Union in the mid-'80s. Gene Mueller and I broadcast a number of morning shows from Moscow and became the first U.S. commercial radio station to do broadcast from there. We swung it through the State Department. The Russian people were just great, and this came just as Gorbachev was initiating perestroika to open things up more to the world.

It's kind of ironic that the son of an FBI agent ended up able to broadcast from the Soviet Union. I mean, I heard bad things about Communism all my life, but to be there and see what that type of government does to the human spirit -- it's dehumanizing. And the Russian people were wonderful ... remarkable. They love their children, they love peace, but their incentive was taken away. We could pop down in a restaurant in Moscow, and people around here would look just like this. I hope everything's better there since all those changes took place.

OMC: You have a lot of music loves ... who are your, say, three favorite artists?

BR: I'd say Dylan, Dylan, and Dylan. He's the best songwriter, harmonica player, best singer -- in his own way. To me, there's Bob Dylan in a class of his own, and then a secondary level of great artists that would include Lou Reed, Leonard Cohen, Patti Smith, Pink Floyd, and the Stones. Pink Floyd shows are my favorite live shows, but as an artist, Dylan's my all-time favorite. I just saw him on his most recent tour in Green Bay, Madison, Chicago and Milwaukee; every show was different and startlingly good. There are obviously so many more great artists, but these would be my favorite.

OMC: You've had a chance to meet a number of musicians ... which ones stand out? I'm assuming Bob Dylan is one of them.

BR: Yeah, meeting Dylan. Dylan and Chuck Berry. I met Dylan in the mid-‘70s. I met Chuck Berry at Summerfest and he was terrific. A lot of other rock and roll pioneers, like Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard, Fats Domino, the prime movers of rock and roll -- they were very exciting to meet. I'd also say that Patti Smith and Leo Kottke stood out for me.