Milwaukee DJ Bob Barry remembers hanging out with the Beatles and other stars

If not for some good advice he received, Milwaukee DJ Bob Barry could have gone down in history as the guy who turned down the Beatles.

It's one of many stories he tells in his new memoir "Rock 'n' Roll Radio Milwaukee: Stories From the Fifth Beatle" (The History Press). He'll talk about the book and his adventures May 9 at Milwaukee's Boswell Books. 

In 1964, Barry was one of Milwaukee's best-known radio voices, a hard worker who took as many emcee and introducing gigs as he could, from CYO sock hops to the Dave Clark Five. These were all paid appearances. 

When a promoter called to ask him to emcee the Beatles' Sept. 4, 1964, concert in Milwaukee, Barry asked what it paid. When told there was no budget to pay him, Barry declined the offer. 

When he filled in WOKY music director Arline Quier about the call, she told him he "was crazy and to call him back immediately." 

As local Beatlemaniacs know, Barry not only introduced the Beatles at the concert and witnessed its fandemonium, he had a private interview with the Fab Four the next morning: "Paul was the easiest to talk to, a real pro. Ringo loved to clown around, and you never got a straight answer from him. George was very quiet and sincere. John was the most serious of the four, possibly because he still wasn't feeling well." 

While he was having his photos taken with the Beatles, someone swiped Barry's tape recorder. After WOKY brass pleaded on air for its return, it was found by a nun from the Sisters of St. Francis: Someone had left it in the chapel, with the tape inside it. 

After the excitement, Barry writes that newspaper articles called him Beatle Bob or the Fifth Beatle. "Factually, I was really the 13th 'Fifth Beatle.' I was the 13th emcee of their concerts in the United States. All of the jocks introducing them were referred to as the Fifth Beatle." 

While Barry spent nearly 30 years on Milwaukee radio, his glory years were at WOKY from 1963-'76. Candidly, he admits he made a mistake by jumping to WEMP for more money but without necessary control or guarantees about format; WEMP switched to country during his time there. 

Barry is also candid about money: He discloses how much he made for many personal appearances in an era when those appearances were important both to how DJs made a living and how events were promoted. 

Milwaukee radio fans and homegrown boomers may find his book as nostalgic as the opening chords of "Strawberry Fields Forever," reminding them of an era when radio and rock 'n' roll were the most exciting things in their lives. 

Editor's note: Bob Barry's appearance at Boswell Books had been scheduled for April 18, but was rescheduled thanks to mid-April snow. 

IF YOU GO

Bob Barry will talk and sign copies of "Rock 'n' Roll Radio Milwaukee" at 7 p.m. May 9 at Boswell Books, 2559 N. Downer Ave.