chris booker

Chris Booker is currently the host of the WIOQ "Q102" Philadelphia morning radio show. He is best known for his work at WXRK (92.3 K-Rock). He also works as a part-time correspondent for the TV Guide Channel and as host of "Sushi TV" on that network and contributes regular reports on music news for MTV2. Booker is a past contributor for Entertainment Tonight, and appeared on MTV's former series "120 Minutes" and "The Return of the Rock".

Born in Maryland in May 1971 but raised in West Virginia, Booker got his big start in radio in 1989 while attending college in Wheeling, West Virginia. In 1992, he began his self-described "gypsy years radio tour," where he held the positions of On Air Personality and Music Director at a number of different stations in Myrtle Beach and Florence, Kansas City and Pittsburgh.

In 1996, he landed the evening slot at K-Rock in New York, where he met the nation's top radio talk show host, Howard Stern, who made the young DJ a regular on his program. He made numerous appearances on Howard Stern's show under the name "Booger." Booker left K-Rock in 2003 for the morning drive show on the "Blink" version of WNEW. When that format failed and the show was taken off the air, Booker eventually found his way back to K-Rock in 2005, where his show aired in the afternoon until the format was changed to "Free FM" talk.

On January 3, 2006, Booker's "new" radio show (carrying over many of the same elements and players as his afternoon drive rock show) titled "The Booker Show" debuted from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. The show aired on Monday-Thursday, and 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays at WFNY-FM (92.3 Free-FM).

On April 25, 2006, "The Booker Show" aired for the last time on WFNY. Top 40 station WIOQ "Q102" in Philly had called numerous times offering Booker the morning slot and a raise which Booker finally accepted.[citation needed].

The constant jumping ship from one station (and its respective format) to another has discredited Booker in some people's eyes. He has been compared to veteran New York disc jockey Jim Kerr, famous for similar frequent moves throughout his career. Some would say the constant moving around is a sign of ambition, but others would point out that a disc jockey - unlike an actor - is not playing a role, but supposedly putting forth his own real-life personality. A radio or TV host often interacts with his public (on the phone, at promotional events, etc.), bonding with them under the pretense of shared similar tastes in music and/or humor. To persistently vary one's personality in chameleon-like fashion just to win over new audiences is likenable to being a disingenuous person.

[edit] The Q102 Booker Show
Booker's first show on Q102 Philly aired on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 at 6:00 am. On his first show, Booker had a conversation/interview with Howard Stern (who was also live on the air on Sirius at the time). He can be heard weekday mornings from 6:00 am - 10:00 am Eastern along with Q102's Diego and Blaire. Although Q102 does not broadcast to most of the New York and New Jersey area, his morning show can be listened to on a live stream on Q102's website.

On Thursday, May 10, 2007 the Booker Show celebrated its first year in Philadelphia.

On May 28, 2007, Booker announced that Jil had been let go from the show and they will be replacing her ASAP. Angi Taylor, who had been a co-host for previous Q102 morning shows. In July Chris Booker officially announced that Angi Taylor would return to Q102 and become a new co-host to The Booker Show.

[edit] Personal life
Chris Booker has dated Lynda Lopez, the younger sister of Jennifer Lopez. They met in early 2002 at WNEW-FM in New York, where they worked as co-hosts for the morning show. In early 2005 the couple separated.

As of May 2005, Chris had been dating Caron Bernstein, a former model and singer/songwriter, born in South Africa and from New York. While vacationing in Cape Town, South Africa for the 2006 winter holidays, Chris proposed to Caron. However, during the week of March 18th, 2007, Chris announced their relationship had ended for personal reasons.