Ben Fong-Torres
Executive Producer: Khari Johnson
Producer and writer: Christopher R. Laddish
Photography: Eric Lawson
By Chris Laddish
In the early 1960’s, there was no such thing as “Rock Journalism.” People barely knew what rock-and-roll was. It wasn’t until 1967 that Rolling Stone Magazine was created and iconic writers like Ben Fong-Torres came on the scene to change the game.
Long before gracing the pages of Rolling Stone or studying at San Francisco State University, Fong-Torres lived life dreaming of the day he would become a journalist. Whether it was setting up an imaginary radio station in his bedroom as a child or volunteering to DJ a school dance in middle school, it was clear from a young age that Fong-Torres had a passion.
“People are constantly asking, why, how did I become a journalist or writer, and also, how I got into broadcasting…” Fong-Torres said. “And the answer is as simple as being a kid, enjoying music on the radio, enjoying hearing baseball games on the radio.”
Much of Fong-Torres’ early life was centered around the family restaurant, New Eastern, in Oakland’s’ Chinatown where he grew up. Each day he came in after school to help peel prawns and vegetables, roll won tons and refill the beer coolers.
“So radio was like an escape for us,” he said. “It was our moment of pleasure. Of hearing the Oakland Oaks, or the San Francisco Seals baseball games and hearing music at the beginning of rock and roll”.
Fong-Torres formal education to be a journalist started at then San Francisco State College with experiences at both the on-campus radio station and the college newspaper The Daily Gator, resources to enter the professional world after college.
Soon after graduating in 1966 Fong-Torres went to work for the Bay Area radio station KFOG, playing a mix of light classic and easy listening type music, what he described as “elevator music” meant for the background of “doctor’s offices and shopping malls.” Working the night shift, Fong-Torres made regular station identifications every half-hour then read the latest news and monitoring tapes being played.
As a young writer, he never dreamed of meeting great musicians and celebrities or performing exclusive backstage interviews.
“If I had a dream or ambition back then, it was to write a column for a large newspaper. But I didn’t really have it in my head what I would be doing.”
Fong-Torres did well in an era when Asian Americans were largely unseen in American media. There were few if any articles written by Asian Americans in national publications and very few Asian Americans on the radio or TV.
“Back then, I wouldn’t say the door was necessarily closed. It just hadn’t been opened yet.” Fong-Torres said. Fong-Torres started as an avid Rolling Stone reader before realizing that he too could write for the magazine. Things began in 1968 when he came on as a freelance writer. As a fan of rock music and writer he was captivated by his title right away, though his editors didn’t really care who he was.
“And so you come up with a story idea, and you call, and you find out where their offices are. You call and suggest the story idea – they didn’t have it. So they said ‘Oh sure, go ahead and write it.’ They didn’t even care about your background.”
After freelancing for about a year, Fong-Torres was hired as an editor and in-house writer. Over 12 years at Rolling Stone Magazine, Fong Torres interviewed a laundry list of famous musicians, including Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, The Grateful Dead and the very last interview of Jim Morrison’s life.
Since then, Fong-Torres has appeared in many national magazines, including GQ, Playboy and Esquire. In 1983, he fulfilled the dream of writing a column for a major papers, writing his “Radio Waves” column for the San Francisco Chronicle which continues today.
Fong-Torres has authored several books, including his personal memoirs “The Rice Room: From Number Two Son to Rock and Roll.”
In 2000, Fong-Torres beginnings as a journalism was immortalized in the film Almost Famous directed by Cameron Crowe and based on his book of the same title. While the film introduced Fong-Torres to a younger generation, the writer points out it is largely a work of fiction and based loosely on actual people and events.
Currently, Fong-Torres hosts a radio program “Backstage, with Ben Fong-Torres” ironically, on a San Francisco oldies station KFRC. He is also involved with the websites myplay.com and asianconnections.com.
Fong-Torres, like other prominent alumnus of San Francisco State University, remains close to the school that gave him his start. For a short time, he returned to campus as a guest lecturer for a magazine editing course. He is no longer an instructor but sometimes speaks to students in the same Journalism and Broadcasting courses- in the same rooms and buildings where he sat 40 years earlier.
Hi all, i just found this here when i did a good google search. Fine site you have here! Keep it up!