John Rook's Hit Parade Radio goes silent ...

From Tom Taylor:

One of the first walls it smacked into was last year, over the rights to the name “Hit Parade Radio.” Format creator John Rook and Marc Angell at Global Radio reached an agreement that left Rook with the right to go forward as Hit Parade Radio. But the legal tussle cost Rook some funding.

Steve Humphries of Earthworks stepped in and satellite delivery began in 2010. Harris Broadcasting was reportedly ready to help out, and then was unable to. That led to a discontinuation of the format that had once featured Wink Martindale, Larry Lujack and Chuck Brinkman.

Hit Parade Radio ops director Vic Thomas tell affiliates "It all comes down to money, and over the last couple of weeks, for various reasons, our major funding sources have gone away.” Like legendary programmer John Rook, he’s sad to see it go - "Call it the bad economy, the current state of the broadcasting industry, or just bad timing. Whatever the causes, we gave it our best shot."

The plug got pulled early Sunday afternoon. Expect John Rook to put the oldies music he loves online, and the four-year-old Hit Parade Hall of Fame is a separate project.