 | Rich Davis, KDWB: Growing up in Maryland I had so much good radio around me. Gary Murphy and Sandy Weaver at Q107 impressed me. Ann Duran and Downtown Billy Brown were great on B104. I loved Pete Michaels when he was doing “The Night Wolf” on Hot Hits (106.5) in Baltimore. Davey Crochet, who I eventually got to work with at 98YCR in York, PA was awesome. Valentine, WBHT: Kid Kelly and Billy Hammond when they were here at BHT. They were different, they stood out, and they weren’t the same-old, same-old. Jammer, WEZB: All from Philly: Terry Young and Billy Burke from 98 WCAU-FM, Jeff Wyatt and Barbra Sommers from Power 99, and Harriet Coffey from Z106.1. Drew Heyman, WHYI: I’m going to stay local. Doc Reno is full of knowledge and has really taken me under his wing. And Papa Keith who has been in the market for 30 years. He’s always honest and gives me quality feedback. Matt Johnson, WPLW: Paul “Cubby” Bryant on Z100. Just his interviews with the music mixed in were clever. And, St. John, afternoons in San Francisco. He’s as authentic and as relevant as they come. Brian Mack, iHeartMedia: Cubby and Elvis Duran. I got to know both of them when doing PM drive then, both AM and PM drive in my teens. They always made me laugh and feel accompanied. Toby Knapp, WASH: Well clearly Kid Kelly. Kane. Jojo. But as the game grew for me, the Pirate Radio jocks – including Cadillac Jack and Scott Shannon (including Elliot Segal) grew on me. Legends like Spyder Harrison. Shadoe Stevens. Cubby. John Lander. But at Q102, Brian Bridgeman broadened my horizons and changed my approach. Jocks like Ted Stryker from KROQ. Klinger, whom I worked with at Planet Radio in Jax back in the day. The legendary talent at Philly’s former Y100. Howard Stern and the talent at KROCK NYC. MJ and BJ at FLZ. Jeff Thomas and Jennifer Jordan at FLZ. They changed me. Brought me into the new school, with an old-school twist… where alliteration and syncopation hit the brick wall of “nobody speaks this way…” And that’s when it all took off. | Rick Vaughn, KENZ: Listening to The Greaseman on California Aircheck had a big impact on me. The way he told a story in a room by himself riding a music bed and his ability to create suspense and imagery, the guy was a master! Jonathan Shuford, WRVW: When I was starting out as a night guy I listened to a lot of JJ Kincaid and Kaden (in Phoenix). I also listened to a lot of PK’s shows in Portland. Their shows were interactive, engaging and different. PK was using social media for the first time which really made an impression. They were all very creative and aspired to be more than just an average night show. Jana Sutter, WXXL: Bob & Showgram from my G105 days in the late ‘90’s. It was my first foray into being part of a live and local morning show. The way they just grabbed the audience and made the show very personable has always stuck with me. Jon Zellner, iHeartMedia: It was the whole on-air team at 99X New York where they all made everything sound larger than life. Frankie V, KSSX / KHTS: So many have influenced me through the years. One memory that stands out was back when I started in radio! I was not on the air but behind the desk doing sales. Some of my sales calls took me to Worcester where I would hear Joey Brooks doing a live night show on 104.5 WXLO! He was young, funny, and sounded like he owned the city. I wanted to do a night show just like him. I reached out to him on email, connected, and he taught me a lot early on. Guy Zapoleon, Zapoleon Consulting: Cousin Brucie! Living in Stamford Connecticut on 77/WABC at 13 he was my gateway to Pop music. At 16, now living in Los Angeles, it was the entire KHJ airstaff of Robert W Morgan, The Real Don Steele, and especially Humble Harve all of whom executed a creative and progressive Top 40 music mix under Ron Jacobs and Betty Breneman within the Bill Drake tight and exciting format strategy. Later as my interest in storytellers developed it was Jim Ladd at KMET/KLOS and the highly underrated but brilliant Johnny Hayes at KRLA. | Mike O’Donnell, WKRZ: I go back to the KISS 108/Boston days with Matty In The Mornings and Dale Dorman who was kind of like my mentor. What I loved about Dale was that he was just this crazy guy on the air having fun and had a way to draft you right in. Matty was an “anything goes” personality and was always connecting with me because he was everything Boston and very relatable. That’s why I’ve been and still am so big on local radio. Adam Rivers, WKCI: Dale Dorman on Kiss 108, honestly, that dude was a senior citizen on a top 40 station relating to the audience. I wish I had his style or flow. Lee Abrams, mediavisions: I was more influenced by staffs rather than individuals. Stations that generated magic through their “completeness” 360-degree experiences that were part of the cities’ DNA. Some examples include WLS (1962); KHJ (1965); WQAM (1967) and KCBQ (1971). Chris Michaels, FM100: I loved Scotty Davis when he was at KDWB. His energy and entertainment value was unmatched. I loved Billy Goat, who did nights at WAPE, and JoJo On The Radio at KIIS were just a few of the many personalities that played an influence on me. Eric Tyler at WNKS was highly entertaining with his night show back in the early 2000’s. R Dub!, Z90 / Magic 92.5: Too many to name, but shout out to Bartell Bartell (RIP) of 102 Jamz Orlando who was fun, quick witted and a likeable smart-ass. On the Slow Jams tip: Mike Hudson from WGCI’s Chicago (The Quiet Storm) and Theo from 92.3 The Beat Los Angeles – both smooth like butter. Art Laboe and his system of connecting city-to-city and state-to-state callers for their dedications. Java Joel, WHBC: Walt Speck at 95 Triple X in Burlington VT had a real impact on me. First DJ I ever heard who would acknowledge messing up on the air or stumbling over words. He had a Letterman-esque, self-deprecating quality. The imperfections made him likeable and fun to listen to. Buster Satterfield, WIOQ: So many from my Detroit days. Arthur P (WRIF), Mancow, Parker and the Man, Mojo, and Deminski & Doyle. |
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