DON SAINTE-JOHNN at Books Inc. Opera Plaza

San Francisco's LAST TOP 40 DISC JOCKEY is a vivid, behind-the-mic journey through the era when radio didn't just play the hits-it shaped cities, careers, and culture.

From the powerhouse studios of 610 KFRC to formative stops in Alabama, Los Angeles, San Diego, Chicago, and beyond, Don Sainte-Johnn chronicles a life spent chasing signal strength, perfecting "theatre of the mind," and surviving the rapid changes of a business that rewarded reinvention and punished hesitation. Along the way, he encounters legendary programmers, unforgettable personalities, and moments when a microphone could still stop a city.

More than a memoir, this is an insider's account of how Top 40 radio really worked-hot clocks, rotations, promotions, egos, breakthroughs, and burnouts-told with warmth, candor, and humor. Sainte-Johnn also reflects on race, opportunity, and resilience in an industry that often closed doors as quickly as it opened them.

Whether you grew up with a transistor radio under your pillow or you're discovering the magic of broadcast storytelling for the first time, San Francisco's LAST TOP 40 DISC JOCKEY captures a disappearing world-when radio was live, local, and larger than life.

Don Sainte-Johnn is a writer, broadcaster, educator, and media consultant whose career spans more than four decades across major U.S. radio markets, including San Diego, St. Louis, Sacramento, Chicago, and San Francisco. He spent twenty years at the legendary 610 KFRC, where his work coincided with the station’s final years as a dominant Top 40 powerhouse. His syndicated programming reached listeners nationwide, and his on-air career placed him at the center of some of radio’s most competitive and transformative eras.

Beyond broadcasting, Sainte-Johnn has devoted himself to education and mentorship. He has taught media, journalism, and broadcast-related courses at City College of San Francisco, Ohlone College, Cosumnes River College, the College of San Mateo, and American River College, guiding countless students toward careers in media, communications, and storytelling.
A graduate of California State University, Fullerton (M.S.), San Francisco State University (B.A.), and Los Angeles City College (A.A.), Sainte-Johnn has been honored with inclusion in Who’s Who in Black America and inducted into both the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame and the National Black Radio Hall of Fame.

Throughout his career, Sainte-Johnn achieved a series of historic firsts and lasting distinctions. He was the first African American president of Microwaves, the Los Angeles City College student organization for broadcasters; the first African American air personality on KYUM in Yuma’s Adult Contemporary format; and the first African American to hold a prime-time weekday slot (9 a.m.–noon) on KFRC San Francisco. He became the final air personality of 610/KFRC-AM’s Top 40 era, the last live host on Magic 61’s Big Band format, and the only broadcaster to work across KFRC-FM, KFRC-AM (610), and 99.7 KFRC. He was also the final air personality on 93.3/KYA (Oldies), the first full-time African American host on Modesto’s Sunny 102 (Adult Contemporary), and the first live air personality on Sacramento’s V101/KHYL (R&B). In addition, he was the first African American graduate of the REI Engineering School in Glendale, California.

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