Alan Cross facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Alan Cross
Born	Stonewall, Manitoba, Canada
Alma mater	University of Winnipeg
Occupation	Radio broadcaster
Years active	1980–present
Employer	Corus Entertainment

Alan Cross is a well-known Canadian radio host and writer. He lives in Toronto, Ontario. Many people know him for hosting popular radio shows. These include The Ongoing History of New Music, The Secret History of Rock, and ExploreMusic. These shows are played on many radio stations. In 2013, he also started a podcast called Geeks & Beats. He co-hosts it with BNN's Michael Hainsworth.

Early Life and Radio Start

Alan Cross grew up in a small town called Stonewall, in Manitoba. He started his radio journey in 1980. This was at CKUW, a campus radio station at the University of Winnipeg.

After that, he worked at several other radio stations. These were in places like Selkirk, Kenora, and Brandon. Eventually, he returned to Winnipeg to work at CHIQ.

Alan Cross's Radio Career

Alan Cross joined the radio station CFNY on October 3, 1986. He started as an announcer working late at night.

In 1989, he became the host for the afternoon show. This is often called "drive-time" because many people listen while driving home. The next year, he hosted the show from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. He went back to the afternoon show in 1993 and stayed there until 2001.

In February 1993, he also began hosting The Ongoing History of New Music. This show became very popular.

New Challenges and Projects

Alan Cross left CFNY in 2001. He became the program director for CJXY in Hamilton. A program director helps decide what music and shows a station plays. During this time, he helped change the station's frequency. It became known as Y108. He still hosted The Ongoing History of New Music from there.

In 2004, he returned to CFNY as their program director. He stayed in that role until 2008. Then, he moved to Corus Entertainment's online division. There, he started the ExploreMusic project. CFNY continued to air The Ongoing History of New Music until 2011. He also hosted a TV show called ExploreMusic on aux.tv.

New Beginnings

Alan Cross left Corus Entertainment in July 2011. This happened after the company changed its online content team. He told the Toronto Star newspaper that he had no bad feelings towards Corus. His leaving meant that The Ongoing History of New Music ended for a while. This was because Corus Entertainment owned the show.

After leaving Corus, he started a new show. It was called The Secret History of Rock for Astral Media. In 2013, he joined CIND-FM as a music consultant. He also worked part-time as an on-air personality.

During this time, Alan Cross also wrote his own music blog. It was called A Journal of Musical Things. In 2009, he gained international attention. He was the first music critic to post an early review of U2's new song, "Get On Your Boots".

Recent Work

In 2014, Alan Cross became the head of music for Songza in Canada. Songza was a music streaming service. He also helped create a museum exhibit. This exhibit was about the science of rock music. It was shown at the Ontario Science Centre.

In the fall of 2014, he returned to CFNY. He brought back The Ongoing History of New Music. He also started a new daily show called Adventures in Vinyl. In 2015, he started a company called Major League Mixes. He created it with his friend Dave Charles. This company now provides the music for Toronto Maple Leafs hockey games.

Personal Life

Alan Cross is married to Mary Ellen Beninger. She is a journalist. She has also worked at Toronto radio stations like CFNY, CFTR, and CHFI.

Books

• The Alternative Music Almanac (1995)
• The Making of Pretty Hate Machine and The Downward Spiral (1996)
• Over the Edge: The Revolution and Evolution of New Rock (1997)
• 20th Century Rock and Roll: Alternative Rock (2000)
• The History of Alternative Rock, volumes 1-4 (audio book series)
• The Science of Song How and Why We Make Music