Cooper's Extraordinary Voice, Music Knowledge
Define His 30 Years
on the Air
See List of Roger's Top 20
Favorite Recordings
Roger Cooper, whose deep, soothing voice has been a
signature of WILL-FM for 30 years, retires from his daily
music program Feb. 21.
As a gift to his many faithful listeners, Roger is staying
an additional week (February 25-29) to host a countdown of
his top 20 favorite pieces garnered during three decades of
radio, featuring one each hour between 1 and 5 pm during
that week.
WILL-FM program director Jake Schumacher said that Roger’s
considerable skills and attributes as a programmer and host
have added up to a remarkable on-air presence for WILL. “He
has an uncanny sense of what the audience most wants to hear
at any moment of the day,” Jake said. “That’s something that
can’t be taught. It’s learned by experience and an empathy
with the audience. And his general empathy makes you want to
choose Roger as your afternoon companion.”
In retirement, Roger hopes to go back to finish his
doctorate in voice performance at the University of
Illinois, as well as continue to produce more programs in
his Classically Black
series about African-American
musicians.
Roger said his programming philosophy was simple. “Mostly, I
just play the music I like and that I want to hear,” he
said. “I’ve always been gratified that listeners shared my
taste.”
Read a profile about
Roger
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