Dr. Joseph Burns interviewing Beth West for the Rock School Radio Show on 90.0 The Lion at Southeastern.
When Dr. Joseph Burns, music historian and host of the Southeastern Louisiana University’s radio show Rock School, first learned the program had been selected for collection by the American Archive of Public Broadcasting (AAPB)—he thought it was a joke.
“Just shocking, shocking on every single level,” he said. “It’s going to outlast me. Somebody thought that something I created should live in perpetuity as a representation of radio. I mean, who gets this?”
The AAPB, a collaboration between Boston’s WGBH station and the Library of Congress, works to archive digital files of television and radio programming across the United States for long-term preservation and easy accessibility.
“The Rock School Special Collection” includes more than nine hundred episodes produced for almost two decades by Southeastern’s radio station 90.0 The Lion (formerly known as KSLU), featuring discussions of popular songs and artists, music trends and history, and the cultural moments that mark the evolution of music over the decades.
“I’m one of those weird human beings that enjoys research for research’s sake,” Burns said. “I enjoy just simply finding a topic and learning as much about it as I possibly can. What Rock School allowed me to do was sort of blather this out after I have done all the research. It gave me a reason to do the research.”
Burns, also the interim head for the Department of Communication and Media Studies at Southeastern, started the program eighteen years ago and has watched, with some bemusement, as it has gained notoriety, won awards, and attracted a devoted following. While the program has had four co-hosts since its inception, Burns’s wife, Tammy, joined him in 2015 as his current showrunner.
“I’m one of those weird human beings that enjoys research for research’s sake. I enjoy just simply finding a topic and learning as much about it as I possibly can. What Rock School allowed me to do was sort of blather this out after I have done all the research. It gave me a reason to do the research.” —Dr. Joseph Burns
Rock School began, as radio legacies often do, with a pledge drive (complete with tote bags). Though Burns had more than a decade of experience as a morning disc jockey in radio, he believed he had left broadcasting entirely behind after completing his PhD and beginning his academic career. Then came the fated KSLU pledge drive, and a pitch for him to hop on the air to help the station earn some money. He requested no limits when he went live, and was given the go-ahead.
“I’m going to play what I want to play, I’m going to say what I want to say… just hand me the station,“ he said. “And so I went on. I went on the air, and it’s one of those things like riding a bike. Once I was in front of the microphone, it took off.”
Since then, it’s been a crash course in all things music. The weekly, one-hour show tackles a different music topic each week and plays songs that fit the subject matter. Burns packages the show into a podcast format, in addition to airing it on the radio.
“Over the course of this show, we’ve covered the basics, the top ten songs from this year, and that kind of stuff. As of late, it’s becoming more and more academic,” Burns explained. “We’re doing a tremendous amount on copyright, a tremendous amount on AI.”
Apart from enjoying researching and hosting the show, Burns said the program has expanded his professional outlook as well, turning into publications and quotes in news articles. He has even been featured in a book about the meaning of the lyrics of Don McLean’s “American Pie.”
“I never set out for this to be as successful as this is,” he said. “It took off, and has taken on a life of its own.”
