READER'S COMPANION GUIDE

San Francisco's LAST TOP 40 DISC JOCKEY

by Don Sainte-Johnn

This guide contains four complete resources:

I.   Reader's Guide & Book Club Discussion Questions

II.  Career & Life Timeline --- City by City

III. Cast of Characters --- Key People in the Memoir

IV. Glossary of Radio Industry Terms

I. READER'S GUIDE

Discussion Questions for Book Clubs, Classrooms & Personal Reflection

About This Book

San Francisco's LAST TOP 40 DISC JOCKEY is the memoir of Don Sainte-Johnn --- born Wilber Johnson in Perdue Hill, Alabama --- tracing his journey from the rural Deep South to the pinnacle of major-market radio in San Francisco. Over thirteen chapters and 288 pages, the book weaves together themes of race, ambition, family, identity, and the golden age of Top 40 radio. It is simultaneously a personal story and a historical document of a broadcasting era that no longer exists.

How to Use This Guide

The questions below are organized by theme rather than chapter, making them suitable for groups that read the book in parts or all at once. Feel free to choose the questions most relevant to your group. Some questions invite personal reflection; others call for debate. All of them aim to extend the conversation the book begins.

Discussion Questions

Theme 1: Identity & The Power of a Name

1.  Don was born Wilber Johnson but became Don Sainte-Johnn. What does the adoption of a professional name suggest about identity in broadcasting --- and identity in general? Did his name change represent opportunity, survival, or something else?

2.  The book opens with a grandfather handing a boy a battered microphone and saying, “It's yours now. If you've got something to say.” How does this single moment shape the entire arc of the memoir? What was the grandfather really passing down?

3.  Don describes himself as San Francisco's LAST TOP 40 DISC JOCKEY. What does the word “last” carry in this context? Is it mournful, proud, or both?

Theme 2: Race, Resilience & The Geography of Opportunity

4.  Don deliberately avoided sundown towns, researched station ownership before applying, and navigated racial discrimination at multiple points in his career. How did his awareness of America's racial geography shape his strategy --- and what does that say about what Black professionals had to do simply to compete?

5.  The book describes a pivotal moment of discrimination at KYUM in Yuma, where Don was hired despite being “someone they never expected to see.” How did he turn that moment into a milestone? What does the book suggest about the relationship between talent and systemic barriers?

6.  Don became the first African American air personality on KYUM and the first to hold a prime-time slot at KFRC San Francisco. Why does the book treat these firsts with both pride and a kind of quiet grief? What does it mean to celebrate a “first” that should never have been necessary?

7.  Don's journey maps onto the Great Migration --- from Alabama to California. How does his story connect to that broader American narrative? How is his version of the migration different from others in his family?

Theme 3: Ambition, Sacrifice & The Price of the Dream

8.  Don spent an entire summer living in his car in a Los Angeles parking lot while attending radio engineering school. He frames this not as hardship but as focus. How does the memoir's treatment of sacrifice shape its overall message about what ambition requires?

9.  Don and Brenda made major life decisions together --- choosing St. Louis over Charlotte, following his career across the country, raising two sons while constantly relocating. How does the memoir portray the partnership between a driven man and the family that moves alongside him? Whose sacrifices go most unexamined?

10. The book describes Don's career decisions with strategic precision --- market rankings, signal coverage, ownership research. Was this level of calculation unusual for someone in radio at that time? What does his methodical approach say about how he understood his own vulnerability in the industry?

Theme 4: The Golden Age of Radio --- An Industry Remembered

11. The memoir is, in part, an elegy for an era of radio that no longer exists --- a time of hot clocks, demo tapes, live personalities, and station community. What did radio mean to people in that era that it no longer means today? What has been lost, and what, if anything, has replaced it?

12. Don describes Paul Drew of RKO as someone who divided the radio world into two groups: those who worked for him, and those who wished they had. What does the memoir suggest about the role of powerful mentors and gatekeepers in creative industries? Is admiration for such figures complicated by what they demanded in return?

13. The final chapter describes radio now running on “algorithms and automation” --- a world Don says is “efficient, but you can't feel the rhythm of an algorithm.” Do you agree? What is lost when human curation is replaced by data-driven programming?

Theme 5: How to Leave --- Endings & Exits

14. Don's final Top 40 show ends with “All Right Now” by Free, with no speech and no farewell. He contrasts this with a colleague who locked himself in the control room and cried on-air. What does the memoir say about how we should end things --- in broadcast, in career, in life?

15. The epilogue reveals that Don's grandmother kept his original microphone --- the battered Shure from Chapter 1 --- through all his years of moving and reinvention. She never told him. What does that detail mean to you? What does it say about the people who keep faith in us quietly, across a lifetime?

16. After leaving San Francisco, Don moved to Modesto and Sacramento --- smaller markets, quieter audiences. He compares this to an A-list artist playing intimate venues. Is that reframing genuine acceptance, or is it the only way to survive a descent from the peak with your dignity intact? Can both be true?

Theme 6: For Personal Reflection

17. Don's grandfather handed him a microphone and changed the direction of his life. Who gave you something --- an object, a word, a moment --- that shaped your path? Did you recognize it at the time?

18. The book's subtitle is “Another One Bites the Dust” --- borrowing from Queen. What does that phrase mean in this context? Who or what bit the dust --- Don, the era, the industry, or something else?

19. Don closes the memoir with: “This is Don Sainte-Johnn --- San Francisco's LAST TOP 40 DISC JOCKEY, signing off, but never silent.” What does it mean to sign off but stay on the air? Where does he continue to transmit?

A Note for Educators

This memoir is well-suited for courses in Media Studies, African American History, Communications, Journalism, and Creative Nonfiction. The book spans roughly 1950--2010 and intersects with the Civil Rights Movement, the Great Migration, the rise and fall of Top 40 radio, the consolidation of broadcast media, and the ongoing question of representation in American media. Teachers may wish to pair it with primary sources on FCC regulation history, the history of Black radio, or the broader consolidation of American media in the 1990s.

II. CAREER & LIFE TIMELINE

City by City --- From Perdue Hill, Alabama to Sacramento, California

Note: Some dates in the memoir are approximate or implied. This timeline reconstructs the sequence based on contextual details in the text.

III. CAST OF CHARACTERS

Key People in the Memoir

Family

Wilber Johnson / Don Sainte-Johnn  ---  Author & Narrator

Born in Perdue Hill, Alabama, he narrates his own journey from a boy with a borrowed microphone to San Francisco's most enduring Top 40 disc jockey. He uses two names throughout his life --- Wilber Johnson at home, Don Sainte-Johnn on the air.

Grandpa Wilbur  ---  Maternal Grandfather

The man whose name Don carries and whose soul shaped his destiny. A storyteller with a velvety baritone who emceed at Gulf Coast nightclubs, he hands his battered Shure microphone to young Wilber one summer --- an act that changes everything.

Grandma Ella / Mama Nell  ---  Grandmother / Mother

The quiet anchors of Don's early life. Mama Nell's steady grace grounded every dream. Grandma Ella's laughter filled rooms. It is Grandma Ella who, unbeknownst to Don, keeps the original microphone safe for decades, returning it after her death.

Brenda Sainte-Johnn  ---  Wife

Don's fiancée, later wife, and lifelong partner. She helps him make the critical career decision to choose KWK in St. Louis over WAYS in Charlotte. She moves with him across the country, raises their sons, and is a consistent presence throughout the memoir's personal chapters.

Marcus Sainte-Johnn  ---  Son (eldest)

Born in St. Louis, Missouri --- the first of Don's two sons. His birth in the Show Me State is noted as a milestone of family formation during Don's early career ascent.

Jay Sainte-Johnn  ---  Son

Born a decade after Marcus, in California. Don's second son.

Industry Mentors & Key Broadcast Figures

Paul Drew  ---  VP of Radio Programming, RKO General

One of the most powerful figures in Don's career. As VP of Radio Programming for RKO, Drew was Don's strongest advocate and the man who brought him to KFRC. Former PD Gerry Cagle famously said all program directors fell into two groups: those who worked for Drew, and those who wished they had. Drew is described as a demanding but transformative mentor.

Phil Stewart  ---  Station Manager, KFRC

The man who officially hired Don in San Francisco after a five-hour interview over dinner at the Starlight Room atop the Sir Francis Drake Hotel. Phil is from Chicago, and the two bond immediately over their shared connection to the Windy City.

Jerry Boulding  ---  Broadcast Consultant

A major behind-the-scenes force in Don's career. Boulding recruited him to Morning Drive at WGRT in Chicago and later advocated for him at the Sacramento station KHYL. He is referred to as “The Doctor of Radio.”

Jack Gale  ---  Program Director, WAYS Charlotte

The PD of WAYS in Charlotte who sent Don a telegram that read “Get in touch regarding your broadcasting. We need you!” --- though Don ultimately chose St. Louis over Charlotte.

Sis Kaplan  ---  Owner, WAYS Charlotte

Niece of broadcasting heavyweight Ralph Atlas. She owned WAYS, the storied Charlotte Top 40 station that was one of Don's two simultaneous job offers.

Colonel Clifton Gates  ---  CEO, Vic-Way Broadcasting / KWK St. Louis

The man who offered Don his St. Louis opportunity and co-founded Gateway National Bank --- the first Black-owned bank in Missouri. He greeted Don personally at the airport and housed him in his family mansion during apartment hunting.

Randy Hill  ---  Program Director, KHYL Sacramento

The PD who discovered Don's forgotten demo tape and offered him the afternoon slot at Magic 101 in Sacramento. Their partnership lasted thirteen years, a relationship Don describes as a “radio marriage.”

Sonny Taylor  ---  Program Director, WGRT Chicago

Don's PD during his Chicago years, with whom he developed his craft in the nation's third-largest market.

Gerry Cagle  ---  Former Program Director, KFRC

Credited with the famous observation about Paul Drew's two categories of program directors. His quote captures the reverence with which Drew was held in the industry.

Colleagues & Collaborators

Bobby Ocean  ---  KFRC Air Personality

A fellow KFRC personality who later lived near Modesto. Don reconnects with him during his time at Sunny 102, and their friendship is one of the lasting bonds of the San Francisco years.

Al Sanders  ---  KWK St. Louis Colleague

Don's supervisor at KWK, described for his exceptional compassion and organizational skill. He was the first radio manager to offer Don a permanent role with an agreed salary. Sanders went on to an eighteen-year anchoring career at WJZ-TV Baltimore, walking the same halls as Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King.

Bill Bailey  ---  St. Louis Afternoon Personality

Don's friendly rival and neighbor in St. Louis. The two exchanged feedback on each other's work, blending competition with mutual respect.

Jack Armstrong  ---  KFRC Air Personality

A colleague at KFRC who had previously worked at WAYS Charlotte --- the station that was Don's other job offer. Their eventual meeting at KFRC closes a strange professional loop.

Jay Thomas  ---  WAYS Charlotte / Actor

The morning host at WAYS in Charlotte when Don was offered a position there. Thomas later became a television actor.

Dino  ---  Listener / Former Producer's Fiancée

A San Francisco listener who drove to Modesto within fifteen minutes of Don joining Sunny 102 to welcome him. Her spontaneous visit captures what local radio meant at its best.

Jon Brent / Terry Foxx  ---  PDs, KHYL Sacramento

Successive program directors at the Sacramento station. Brent's departure --- and Hill stepping in --- was the coincidence that opened the door for Don's thirteen-year run.

Charles “Chuck” Johnson  ---  VP/GM, Rock 95 San Diego

The executive who gave Don his first real radio job at Rock 95, a Mexican-licensed station broadcasting into Southern California. Don notes they share a surname but no relation.

“Shotgun” Tom Kelly  ---  Rock 95 / Radio Personality

Known as Tom Irwin before his career, Kelly worked at Rock 95 before Don's time there and went on to a notable career in radio.

Dr. Don Rose  ---  Radio Personality / Colleague

Referred to Sacramento as “Sacra-Tomato,” a nickname that reflects the collegial humor running through the memoir's later chapters.

Historical & Cultural References

Lou Brock  ---  Baseball Hall of Famer, St. Louis Cardinals

Don meets him at a Cardinals facility in St. Louis. Brock tells Don he's heard his morning drive show and calls it a “bang-up job,” leading to Don buying a Challenger from Brock's dealership --- one of the memoir's most charming encounters.

Don Cornelius  ---  Creator, Soul Train

Referenced in the Chicago chapter as a symbol of Black creative power. Soul Train was born in Chicago before becoming a national phenomenon --- a piece of cultural history Don inhabits during his time there.

Jesse Jackson  ---  Civil Rights Leader

Mentioned in the Chicago chapter in the context of Operation PUSH and the Rainbow Coalition, situating Don's Chicago years within a broader landscape of Black civic and cultural power.

IV. GLOSSARY OF RADIO INDUSTRY TERMS

For Readers New to the World of Broadcasting

San Francisco's LAST TOP 40 DISC JOCKEY is rich with the language of a specific industry at a specific moment in time. This glossary explains the key terms and concepts as they were understood during Don's career --- roughly 1960 through 2010.

Formats & Programming

Top 40

A radio format built around playing the forty most popular songs of the moment, as measured by sales charts (especially Billboard magazine). Top 40 dominated American radio from the late 1950s through the 1980s and defined stations like KFRC 610 AM. It was fast-paced, highly energetic, and personality-driven.

Lite Rock / Soft AC

Soft Adult Contemporary --- a format featuring mellower pop hits aimed at a broad adult audience. This was the format Don transitioned to at Sunny 102 in Modesto, replacing the intensity of Top 40 with a more conversational, relaxed delivery.

Hot AC (Hot Adult Contemporary)

A higher-energy version of Adult Contemporary, featuring current pop hits aimed at adults 25--54. Don worked at K101 and KZST in this format during the San Francisco years.

Big Band / Jammin' Oldies

Big Band refers to the swing and jazz era music of the 1930s--1940s, which was the format of Magic 61 in San Francisco. Jammin' Oldies was a later format that blended R&B and pop hits from the 1960s--1980s, used at Sacramento's V101.

Morning Drive

The highest-rated daypart in radio --- typically 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. --- when the most listeners are in their cars commuting. Landing Morning Drive at a major market station was among the most coveted positions in broadcasting.

Afternoon Drive

The second most important daypart, typically 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Don held afternoon drive positions at several stations, including his final role at KHYL Sacramento.

Daypart

A defined block of broadcasting time. The major dayparts in commercial radio were Morning Drive, Midday, Afternoon Drive, Evening, and Overnight. Ratings and advertising rates varied significantly by daypart.

People & Roles

Air Personality

The preferred industry term for what the public calls a “DJ” or “disc jockey.” An air personality is the on-air voice of a station --- selecting music (in earlier eras), providing commentary, running contests, and connecting with listeners.

Program Director (PD)

The executive responsible for a station's on-air sound --- music selection, air personality lineup, format, and overall presentation. The PD was one of the most powerful figures in radio and was typically the person who hired (and fired) on-air talent.

General Manager (GM)

The top executive at a radio station, responsible for overall operations including sales, programming, and staffing. The GM reported to the station's owner or corporate parent.

Broadcast Consultant

An independent industry expert hired by station ownership to evaluate and improve ratings performance. Consultants like Jerry Boulding were powerful kingmakers who could recommend talent to multiple stations simultaneously.

Music Director

The person responsible for managing a station's music library, tracking chart positions, communicating with record labels, and assisting the PD in selecting which songs aired. Don held this role at KYUM in Yuma.

Chief Announcer / Chief Engineer

Senior roles Don held at KWK St. Louis. The Chief Announcer oversaw on-air presentation standards; the Chief Engineer (requiring an FCC license) managed technical operations and transmitter maintenance.

Voice-Tracking

A modern practice where air personalities pre-record their segments in advance, allowing a single personality to appear “live” on multiple stations simultaneously without being physically present. Don notes that all dayparts at KHYL were voice-tracked before he arrived as the first live personality.

Technical Terms

FCC (Federal Communications Commission)

The U.S. government agency that regulates radio, television, and telecommunications. The FCC issued broadcast licenses, set ownership limits (which capped RKO at fifteen radio and seven television markets), and enforced programming regulations.

FCC First Class Radiotelephone License

Also called “The First” --- a technical certification once required to operate or maintain broadcast transmitters and certain station equipment. Don pursued and earned this license at the Radio Engineering Institute in Glendale. While eventually phased out, it was a mark of professional credibility in the 1960s--70s and opened doors at stations that required it.

50,000 Watts

The maximum broadcast power allowed for AM radio stations in the United States. Stations transmitting at 50,000 watts --- like RKO's CKLW near Detroit --- could reach enormous geographic areas, often across multiple states.

Hot Clock (Program Clock)

A visual diagram, shaped like a clock face, that mapped out exactly when music, commercials, news, weather, jingles, and other elements aired during each hour of programming. The hot clock was the spine of Top 40 radio's carefully engineered sound. Don's observation that “the hot clock is gone now” marks the end of an era.

Demo Tape / Aircheck

An audio recording (initially on reel-to-reel tape, later cassette) that an air personality sent to program directors as an audition. The demo showcased the personality's voice, style, and on-air presence. Don sent hundreds of these throughout his career. ReelRadio.com, referenced in the Sacramento chapter, is a website that archives historical radio airchecks.

Reel-to-Reel

A professional audio tape format used in broadcast studios before the cassette and digital eras. Don prepared his demo tapes on reel-to-reel for superior sound quality. The format required special equipment to play and was the industry standard for professional audio through the 1970s.

Call Letters / Call Sign

The unique letter combination that identifies a radio or television station. U.S. stations west of the Mississippi typically begin with K (e.g., KFRC, KWK, KYUM); those east begin with W (e.g., WAYS, WGRT). Three-letter call signs, like KWK, were markers of broadcasting's earliest era and were considered prestigious.

Ascertainment

A now-defunct FCC requirement mandating that stations periodically survey their communities to identify public needs and demonstrate that programming addressed them. Don discusses this during his KFRC interview as a key regulatory topic of the era.

Industry Infrastructure

RKO General

The broadcast subsidiary of General Tire and Rubber Company, which owned KFRC and a network of fifteen radio and seven television stations at its peak --- the maximum allowed by FCC ownership rules at the time. Paul Drew served as RKO's VP of Radio Programming.

Standard Rate and Data Service (SRDS)

An expensive industry reference publication that listed contact information, format, ownership, signal coverage, and market data for every radio station in the country. Don used SRDS extensively when researching his next career moves, treating it as a strategic tool for navigating the broadcast landscape.

Market Ranking

U.S. cities are ranked by population for advertising and broadcasting purposes --- New York is #1, Los Angeles #2, Chicago #3, San Francisco #4, etc. Don deliberately climbed the market ladder, moving from small markets to mid-sized markets to major markets over the course of his career.

Billboard Magazine

The music industry's most authoritative trade publication, famous for its weekly charts tracking the most popular songs. The Billboard Hot 100 directly determined what Top 40 stations played. For radio personalities and program directors, Billboard was essential reading.

Syndication

When a radio program or personality is broadcast on multiple stations simultaneously across the country, rather than on a single local station. Don's About the Author notes that his work was syndicated nationally at points in his career.

Cultural Context

Sundown Towns

Communities --- historically common across the United States, not just the South --- that used laws, threats, or violence to exclude non-white residents after dark. Don researched markets carefully to avoid them when job-hunting. The Radio Engineering Institute in Glendale, CA was located in a city with a noted sundown town history; Glendale formally apologized for this history in 2020.

Yellow Face / Juke Joint

Yellow face was the racist practice of non-Asian performers using makeup to portray Asian characters (similar to blackface). A juke joint was an informal establishment --- common in the rural American South --- offering food, music, dancing, and drink, primarily serving Black communities under Jim Crow. Miss Sally's, where Don worked as a teenager, was a juke joint.

Great Migration

The mass movement of African Americans from the rural South to cities in the North and West, occurring in two major waves (roughly 1910--1940 and 1940--1970). Don's journey from Alabama to California is part of this broader history, as are the journeys of his Uncle Kittrell to New York and the Southern friends he reconnects with in Chicago.

Jim Crow

The system of laws and social customs that enforced racial segregation in the American South from the end of Reconstruction through the Civil Rights era. Don grew up under Jim Crow in Monroe County, Alabama, and its legacy shapes every strategic decision he makes as he builds his career.

Reader's Companion Guide compiled February 2026  |  Based on San Francisco's Last Top 40 Disc Jockey by Don Sainte-Johnn  |  © 2026 Coquihalla Publishing. All rights reserved.