Bob Rivers, best known for his long run in mornings at multiple stations in Seattle after working at stations across New England and Baltimore, passed away this morning following a lengthy cancer battle at the age of 68.
Rivers began his professional radio career at the age of 16 in his native Connecticut after building a pirate AM station in his basement. He would work at stations including WAVZ, WNHC, WCDQ, WELI, WFIF, WCCC-FM, WWCO, and WLIS before joining 107.3 WAAF Worcester/Boston in 1982 to co-host mornings with Peter ‘Zip’ Zipfel. During his tenure on the “Bob & Zip Show”, Rivers would begin producing parody songs for American Comedy Network which would lead him to release the album “Twisted Christmas” in 1987 that included the now Christmas radio staple “12 Pains of Christmas“. Also in 1987, Rivers would join “98 Rock” WIYY Baltimore for mornings where he would gain international notoriety for staying on the air for eleven days straight during the Baltimore Orioles 21 game losing streak to start the 1988 season.
After exiting WIYY, Rivers joined Rock 99.9 KISW Seattle in 1989 where he would anchor mornings until 2000. Following a one year non-compete, Rivers then joined Classic Rock 102.5 KZOK Seattle in 2001 and would remain until September 2010. During his tenure at KZOK, his show would briefly be simulcast in Portland on 107.5 KVMX. His final stop in Seattle would be at iHeartMedia’s Oldies 95.7 KJR-FM from April 2011 until August 2014 with his final show being on the 25th anniversary of his arrival in Seattle on KISW. In 2021, Rivers and Zipfel would reunite for a Saturday afternoon show on Cumulus Media Classic Rock “100 The Pike” WWFX Worcester. He was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2023.
Rivers is survived by his wife Lisa, sons Andrew and Keith (and wife Leanne), and granddaughters Hazel and Georgia. A private service will be held on Friday in Claremont NH, with a public memorial in Seattle at a later date. The Seattle Times profiled Rivers about his bout with cancer in January.
