Rosalie Trombley

ROSALIE TROMBLEY

Music director, Radio station Producer

Rosalie Trombley was born circa 1940 in Leamington, Ontario. In 1968, she was hired by Radio Station CKLW.  First, she worked as a receptionist and switch board operator. Later, she was promoted to the music library. She was then asked to become the music director for CKLW. She had the uncanny ability to pick songs which would become big hits on the radio. Because of her ability, she became known as “the Hitmaker” and “the Girl with the Golden Ears”. She continued to influence the play charts throughout the 1970’s and into the 1980’s. She retired from this position in 1984 when CKLW was struggling with Canadian-content regulation. After leaving CKLW, she became the music director at radio station WLTI-FM in Detroit; after that, the music director at CKEY in Toronto.

In 1979 she was honoured by an invitation to attend the White House Dinner for the Black Music Association. At the White House, she met President Jimmy Carter.

She received many other awards. In Detroit, she received an award from the Detroit Music City. In 2011, she received an honorary degree from St. Clair College and the Rosalie Trombley Scholarship at the college was established. In 2005, she was awarded the Radio Trailblazer Award – mentoring and inspiring Canadian women in radio. This award was named the Rosalie Award after the first recipient, Trombley.

In 2016, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) is awarding the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award to Trombley at the Juno Awards in Calgary.

Her ability to spot hit songs influenced the musical careers of Canadian performers including the Guess Who, Bachman Turner Overdrive, and Gordon Lightfoot. Her radio recommendations also launched the careers of U.S. artists Bob Seeger, Kiss, and Earth Wind and Fire. Alice Cooper gave her credit, and said “We owe her everything”.

Indeed, many music listeners across North America owe her a great deal.

Sources:

http://www.windsorpubliclibrary.com/?page_id=16719

Chen, Dalson. “Girl with the Golden Ear: Local Radio Legend Trombley to Receive Special Juno Award.” Windsor Star, January 19, 2016, Section A.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosalie_Trombley

Radio Revolution: The Rise and Fall of the Big 8. Directed by Michael McNamara. Markham, Ont., Canada: Markham Street Films Inc., 2005. DVD.

Bliss, Karen. “The Legacy of Rosalie Trombley, Radio Pioneer Immortalized in Bob Seger’s “Rosalie” and Breaker of “Bennie and the Jets” Billboard. January 26, 2016. Accessed March 3, 2016.