Eric ‘Dr. Rock’ Isralow

Eric “Dr. Rock” Isralow, a longtime Bay Area radio personality and one of the first rock historians, has died at age 67, the Chronicle reported this morning.

Isralow wrote academic papers on rock ‘n’ roll and traveled across the country giving lectures on the subject. In the 1980s, he worked at several Bay Area radio stations, including KYA-FM and KSFX-FM.

The night John Lennon was killed, he spoke on KCBS-FM for almost five hours.

“That was an important night for he and I,” his brother, Les Isralow, told the Chronicle. “It was the worst thing that had ever happened in music. He was so eloquent. That night, Eric and I became true brothers. In death, as horrible as it is, he made it clear that there was there was still hope and a future.”

Isralow was soon asked to be a replacement on the “Old Gold Show” on KCBS-FM. On his show, he interviewed rock stars such as Little Richard, Eric Burdon of the Animals and Phil Everly.
He also wrote a weekly column for the Examiner called Dr. Rock where he tied in music genres of the day with rock ‘n’ roll history. (Photo credit: Trish Kettering via Chronicle)