The Day My Former Boss Rescued “The Boss”

While I was looking out from our studio windows at the blizzard rolling through Cheyenne today, I was reminded of a great story involving my first boss.

Rich Hawk was a legendary radio programmer in Colorado Springs. In 1978, he put a station called KILO on the air and it's still going strong today.

At the time, it was one of the highest rated rock stations in America and Hawk is widely considered to be among of the pioneers of the AOR (Album Oriented Rock) format. Earlier this year, he was posthumously inducted into the Rock Radio Hall of Fame.

Long before he ever hired a punk 21 year old kid (me) to work the weekend overnight shift, Hawk came to the rescue of legendary rocker Bruce Springsteen.

Springsteen had been driving in the Colorado mountains when his truck got stuck in the snow during a blizzard. He walked to a local gas station and called for help.

Luckily, Springsteen's manager knew someone in the area who would come to the rescue. He placed a call to Rich Hawk, who drove up the mountain from Colorado Springs and helped tow Springsteen out of the ditch, just in time to make his gig at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver that night.

Evidently, the Boss struck up a friendship with my former boss that day. Hawk proudly displayed a story about their adventure in his office and spoke with pride about the several letters and cards that Springsteen had sent him over the years.

Sadly, Rich Hawk passed away several years ago. I'll also be thankful that he gave me my first radio job. Meanwhile, Bruce Springsteen will always be thankful that someone came to his rescue on that snowy day.