Radio Jamaica Celebrating 70 Years

Sunday July 4, 2021 Page 59 Ralston McKenzie Ralston McKenzie had the opportunity on two occasions to meet with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at receptions hosted at King’s House. On one occasion, in 1983, he asked Her Majesty if she was aware that the Guinness Book of Records had her listed as the most travelled monarch in history. The Queen indicated that she was aware of the entry in the record books but that in fact, she thought it was incorrect because her knowledge was that Emperor Haile Selassie was more travelled than she was. Simon Croskill Simon Croskill relates: “People listen to the late Dorraine Samuels on radio or watch her on TV reading the news, and you would think she is the most serious person in the studio, and she was when she was on air. But if you were on air, she would come in and do all sorts of things to try and throw you off your reading. She would lift up the hem of her skirt to show a little more thigh. She would come and hug you while you were reading, and these were, of course, very distracting manoeuvres. This shows the other side of Dorraine Samuels the impish, mischievous side of her that few people knew. That sort of relationship was not uncommon at RJR, whether it was Alan in the morning or Richie B in the afternoon. You had a family relationship with most of the big-name radio stars, which made it very pleasant to be at work.” Claire Grant One of the most memorable broadcasts was when RJR 94FM and TVJ broadcast live from London during the 2012 Olympics. Everybody said it would not work since we were not carrying the Olympics Games itself live. But in fact, the live broadcasts from the Olympics received rave reviews as everyone was anxious to speak with Alan and Dorraine and to get on the air with RJR. As a marketing manoeuvre it was coup d’etat that established the profound strength of TVJ. Even with the actual event on our screens viewers wanted to look at TVJ.