The Radio Years
Known as "Rockin' Rod", Rod was a disk jockey for radio station WEHH from 1959 to 1963.
Rod Denson got his start in radio while a student at Thomas A. Edison High School in Elmira Heights. Station owner Frank Saia donated a half hour of air time Saturday morning to both local High Schools. Known as "The Heights High School Show" and "The Horseheads High School Show". During each school's respective half hour, a student from that school would play music from the Fabulous Fifty Chart, read announcements about upcoming school events, report sports scores etc. One Saturday morning Denson substituted for the school's regular host and his work so impressed owner Frank Saia,that he hired him part time immediately after the show. Denson began working after that for one hour a week, the last hour before Sunday evening sign off. Denson eventually worked up to 20 hours a week part time from October 1959 to 1961.
He was then hired full time for two years, and could be heard mornings from 6 to 10 on the morning show called "The Town Crier". He was back on the air from noon until 2 PM with the "Rod Denson Show". His last day on the job was in early November 1963. In August 1962 Denson interviewed Les Paul and Mary Ford at the original Latta Brook Studios. Originally the live interview was expected to run 10 minutes but lasted for more than one hour. Rod remembers Les and Mary picking on his wife Midge who was 4 months away from giving birth to Rod Jr.
Rod left his tape recorder in the trunk of his car at Les and Mary's Motel while he and his wife Midge rode to the studio with them. Because of that Denson does not have a recording the interview, something he regrets to this day.
Denson interviewed Chubby Checker at his Motel in Elmira when both were 21 years old, this time he had his recorder and still has the tape of the interview. When singer Conway Twitty was in Elmira to perform, Station owner Frank Saia came up with the idea of giving away pieces of Twitty's tee shirt as a promotion. Twitty supplied a tee shirt and dozens of pieces were given away and some probably survive to this day in area scrapbooks
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