Great Musicians Who Were Also Radio Disc Jockeys

Having been a radio DJ for over 45 years now, I have always been intrigued that some great musicians and singers, from many different musical styles and time periods, had also been radio disc jockeys. I am not talking about the days when every popular musician had a 15-30 minute live-on-the-air program, or hosted a variety program, but actually spun records by other musicians. I'll count an example where a big star hosted a pre-recorded program where he (or she) played records (there are some very well known examples).

I invite readers to post some examples. It would be very cool if you had some facts (what year(s)? what station? type of show? length of show? on-air name?) and best of all, if there is a photo of the musician at the radio station. I'd count it, even if they just did one show, except maybe the long running British radio show called Desert Island Discs, where famous artists were asked to come in and spin their favorite records (that deserves a thread of its own).

Some musicians did a radio gig at the very beginning of their career, before they were known, some did it in the midst of their career (for a bread-and-butter day job or steady income), and some after their touring and recording career had waned.

Hardly anyone does it anymore, as radio has become corporate, and 98% of the radio gigs do not pay enough money for the gas to drive to the station. Satellite radio star gigs may still exist though.

I'll start this by posting one of the greatest examples:

B.B. King

This photo is not of him at the DJ controls (prefer those) but maybe someone else has one. Add more facts if you can.

 

Another: but still not at the radio controls. He did that too.

 

Julius LaRosa (aka Julie LaRosa)

One of the best jazz-pop singers to emerge in the early 50's (in the Sinatra style) who died this year (look up his obits in the NYTimes and elsewhere), was a long time DJ on one of the biggest NYC stations (WNEW). He did this as a steady paying job in the years when jazz-pop singers were not as strong a career.

Maybe somebody has a photo of Julie at the controls. Here is aphoto and Julie is on the far right.

 

Johnny Otis

 

In Canada we have Kim Mitchell.

 

What about becoming a radio DJ after being a musician?

Michael Stanley became a DJ in Cleveland many years after his musical career with The Michael Stanley Band.

 

Sly Stone

 

Bob Dylan - Theme Time Radio Hour, 2006-2009, XM radio.

"It's night time in the big city..."

 

Lee Hazlewood, great producer, songwriter, and singer, got his start in radio:



Here's the early part of a bio off the web about his radio career:

Lee Hazlewood was born in 1929 in Oklahoma, spending his early years there and in Texas and Arkansas. He was called to serve in Korea and after his discharge, he pursued his early interest in radio, attending broadcasting school on the GI Bill in the mid-1950s. He landed his first radio job at tiny and remote KCKY in Coolidge, Arizona. He had no way of knowing it at the time, but while there he would launch a successful songwriting, producing and music career that lasted through the 1960s, 1970s and beyond. Although not a household name, Lee Hazlewood is best remembered for his role in the career of Nancy Sinatra.

While at KCKY Lee began writing music and some of his first songs were recorded by a couple of young Coolidge boys, Duane Eddy and Jimmy Dell, who formed the duo Duane & Jimmy. He later moved to KRUX in Phoenix, where he was the first DJ in town to play Elvis Presley. His biggest early success was writing and producing "The Fool," taken by newcomer Sanford Clark into the Top Ten in 1956. It was the first recording to come out of Phoenix and its success helped to expose the tiny Ramsey recording studio and local musicians to a national audience. It was at the Ramsey studio that he along with Al Casey, Duane Eddy and engineer Jack Miller created the "twang heard round the world" on "Rebel Rouser" and Duane Eddy's other early songs.

 

Little Steven's Underground Garage XM channel has a lot of DJs who are in bands.

Handsome Dick Manitoba (Dictators/NYC), The Mighty Manfred (The Woggles), Ko Molina (The Dirtbombs), Peter Zaremba (The Fleshtones), and Palmyra Delrran (The Friggs)...........and Little Steven.

 

peter wolf of j geils band fame

 

Tennessee Ernie Ford was a disc jockey in Bristol, Tennessee before he became a singer. Likewise, Bill Anderson used to be a DJ, as did Tom T. Hall.

 

Rick Dees.

 

Worth mentioning in the same breath as Steve Dahl

 

Rufus Thomas, obviously!

 

Yes, like I said, some found steady work in radio after their career on stage slowed down.

 

Having just read his autobiography, Willie Nelson was a DJ in Texas and Oregon...and California? Maybe not that last.

 

Peter Wolf (of the J.Geils Band) was a regular part-time DJ at WBCN.

 

Rufus!

Can anyone post some photos of musicians at the radio stations? On air or off air....

 

Howlin' Wolf

 

In 1995 and 1996 Todd Rundgren hosted a weekly two hour radio show called The Difference on WXPN in Philadelphia.

When he no longer had the time to do it, Marshall Crenshaw guested for a couple of weeks.

 

I always assume that the poster looks like his avatar. I can't help that. When I recognize the avatar photo, I sometimes wonder if the name on the post is just a pseudonym for the poster, who is actually the avatar. In this case, I have concluded that the mysterious Leon Redbone, who has managed to stay incognito for nearly 50 years, is actually a guy named Chris DeVoe, from God knows where.

 

He may have been bounced out a few times by Station Managers....?

 

Archie Fisher one of the greatest Scottish folk singers ever, hosted a BBC radio show on folk music for many years

 

Ernie K-Doe