Radio Jamaica Celebrating 70 Years

Sunday July 4, 2021 Page 45 Today, Magnus is four years into his retirement from the Good Morning Man Show. Up until the start of COVID, he hosted his own Saturday show on RJR, but since then, he has been isolating himself at home. Despite the major blows of losing his beloved wife Kerry, and his long-time radio partner, Dorraine Samuels, who died within days of each other, Magnus remains positive in his outlook. “I was intrigued by the rebranding of RJR as Radio Jamaica. After mulling it over for some time, I became convinced that it was the right thing to do. Radio Jamaica is a much stronger name, reflecting what the station really is: Jamaica’s radio station. I am happy that morning radio on Radio Jamaica is still number one and wish Francois and Paula all possible success, but I am quite happy to be in retirement.” The man with the platinum voice, who became part of the family of generations of Jamaicans is still amazed at how successful he was on radio. “The weekend after I got married to Kerry, we took a mini-bus from Montego Bay to Runaway Bay. Seated in front of us were two ladies who for the entire, journey had only one topic of conversation: Alan Magnus’ wedding to the ‘coolie girl’ from Westmoreland. Kerry and I were hard put by to keep a straight face and not burst out laughing. They had absolutely nothing right in their discussion except that I did actually get married to a lady of East Indian heritage from Westmoreland.” Alan offers the following advice to the new generation of announcers. “Do your own thing; create your own brand. I would not have been successful or stayed on the air for 46 years without my deep and abiding love for country music. That love, and the ability to expose the Jamaican public to country music, was one of the spurs to my waking up before dawn every morning and heading down to RJR to be part of the fabric of the lives of countless Jamaican listeners”. Alan Magnus was the most iconic voice on Jamaican radio and is without question one of the most successful Jamaican announcers of all times. continued from page 44