After 40 Years, Rodney Off The ROQ

Legendary Los Angeles radio personality/scenester/music fan Rodney Bingenheimer, whose name has been synonymous with the World Famous KROQ/Los Angeles for over four decades, announced he’s leaving the station, effective June 5. Bingenheimer, a.k.a. “Rodney on the ROQ” was an influential figure in the 1980s punk and New Wave music scene. Bingenheimer was the onetime owner of the popular Sunset Strip club, Rodney Bingenheimer’s English Disco, the subject of the 2003 documentary Mayor of the Sunset Strip, and completing his Hollywood trifecta, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007.

Bingenheimer, who started working at KROQ in August 1976, shared the news of his impending departure in a Facebook post that read, “Rodney here. Want to let everyone know that I will be doing my last show for KROQ-FM a week from Sunday on June 4th/5th from Midnight to 3 am Pacific time. It has been an amazing run, and I will be thanking all of you when I say goodbye to KROQ next week. I am planning on some special callers and special music as I say a proper goodbye.” He continued, “As this chapter closes, I will be opening another chapter of my rock life soon. I may be done with KROQ, but I am not retiring. I hope you continue to join me on that journey. I have the greatest fans of all time and you’ve made my time at KROQ a fantastic one. Here’s to Rock and Roll. More to come…”

RAMP reached out to Kevin Weatherly, CBS Radio SVP of Programming and longtime PD of KROQ, who told us, “We will forever be grateful for the indelible mark that ‘Rodney on the ROQ’ has left on this station, our listeners, and the alt-rock music scene. For 40 years, Rodney has been one of the most influential voices on the radio and has helped discover and promote so many great musicians. Rodney helped shape KROQ into the great station it is today and we wish him nothing but great success in the future.”