I turned 14 in the summer of 1974, turned on the radio and fell in love with it! I never had listened to radio much before and I’m not sure exactly why I turned it on then. But, I quickly gravitated toward AM 570/WKYX and 1560/WDXR because they played rock music in Paducah. It wasn’t long before I was buying 45 r.p.m. records, including the Guess Who’s “Clap for the Wolfman,” with Wolfman Jack’s own “on-air” chatter strategically dropped into the mix.
I loved the disembodied voice of a local announcer entertaining listeners with his own creative comments between songs. When school started and WKYX initiated its “Kicks Broadcasting Club,” it featured several students from different area high schools playing disc jockey for a half-hour each on Sunday nights. It was so popular at Heath High School that first year that we freshmen couldn’t even join. Still, radio was seeping into my blood.
Then, when Daylight Savings Time reverted to Central Standard Time, I could listen even earlier in the evening to stations from big cities, most especially, 890/WLS, Chicago. What a treat to hear Bob Sirott, John Records Landecker, and in the early morning, my favorite, Fred Winston, whose impish humor defies description, but was fantastic! The legendary Larry Lujack returned to WLS the next year. A local favorite for me was Jack Pattie, who was on the morning wake-up show on WDXR for that one year. He since has become the long-time morning man on WVLK, Lexington.
As time passed, I expanded my listening across the AM dial to the great overnight country record shows geared to long-haul truckers: Ralph Emery on 650/WSM, Nashville; Bill Mack on 820/WBAP, Ft. Worth; and Charlie Douglas on 870/WWL, New Orleans.
A mere three years after I first turned on the radio, I started a career of more than 15 years working on the airwaves. I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything! I’ve been blessed to move from there into newspaper journalism, school public relations, and teaching college communication classes. I love it all, but for me it all began listening to the radio.
Question
What were your earliest vocational influences and why?