Not all DJ’s are created equal

On my way to work this morning, I surfed the FM radio stations, trying to decide if I wanted Talk-Radio for a heady blast of political commentary, or music. I usually find my way over to Houston’s smooth Jazz station, KHJZ 95.7 and if Donna McKenzie is at the microphone, I know I can find just the right mix of smooth, relaxing Jazz music and soft dialogue. To be fair, KHJZ is replete with good DJ’s.

Let’s back up a bit. I grew up literally hating AM radio and so many disc jockey’s on air today reflect the AM DJ mentality. They call themselves “On-Air Personalities” as if the average lone commuter is starved for company. “Hey, BB! Mind if I ride along with you and blab senseless nothings while you wait for me to play actual music”? I know I could put in a CD or get Satellite radio, but please bear with me, while I plead my case.

If the song starts or ends and the DJ is talking, I brand them as an AM DJ.

Maybe I am being too hard on today’s DJ’s, as many did not experience AM radio and the industry standard of playing five 3-minute songs per hour. The rest of the hour was an equal split of commercials and jabber-blabber-clabber by the DJ, who sat like a potentate on the throne of power, dishing out meager music portions. Radio music for young people was dominated by whoever paid the radio station the most money, so in the 4-6 songs you heard the same one might come up twice. I hated it, but that is all there was, so I persevered.

Unless it is a drive-time radio program, a DJ should never forget that radio listeners are listening almost exclusively for music and any time a DJ is talking, it better be worth it. Donna Mac first caught my attention on Classic Rock 93.7, because her silky voice pours out of the speakers. She works it. That scores big points with me, as she is so pleasant to listen to. However, I, like all audiophiles, want the “Jams”; we want what we came for --- a lot of music. She dishes it up too.

Classic Rock 93.7 had a number of “good” DJ’s, but what really made Donna Mac shine was when she talked, she actually had something to say. She was always giving out choice tidbits of rock trivia and short bios about the Bands and music industry, which kept me listening. Short, sweet, to the point and then BAM, more music.

If the DJ talks too much, I brand them as an AM DJ.

My first foray away from AM radio came in 1969. Using my after school job money, I bought a small cassette player. I bought two cassettes, The Beatles “Magical Mystery Tour” and Glen Campbell’s “Galveston”. Led Zeppelin hadn’t begun its journey into the depth of my soul yet and Glen made Galveston sound like heaven on earth. Then came FM radio!

My first recollection of FM radio came one year later. K101 in Houston, Texas, which later became KLOL, blasted on the music scene and I was hooked! K101 played underground music, the likes of which, I had never heard. We listened to “Crash” Collins, the DJ who hardly talked, scratched vinyl (real bad), and generally sounded like he was barely able to keep going. He was the first real FM DJ I remember hearing. Crash would finish a record and sometimes it would be cold silent for 30 seconds, then you would actually hear him remove the record, sometimes scratching it severely (maybe it was a sound effect) and then you would hear “K-101, Crash, on the radio” and the next cool album cut would begin (sometimes with a skip). It was truly awesome radio.

If the DJ believes they are more important than the music, I brand them as an AM DJ.

When “Crash” was resurrected years later on KLOL, he was an “On-Air Personality, AM-style DJ, like “Outlaw Dave”, “Stevens and Pruett” and 93.7’s “Dean and Rog”. I know these folks have/had a terrific following, but to me, they’ve lost the essence of FM radio by switching to this format. Donna Mac hasn’t and that is why she is the focus of this article, that and the fact that she has “The Voice”. Whether she spins Rock & Roll or Jazz, she stays true to vintage FM radio.
Someone recently asked me what was so good about this area and asked me if I could name one thing.

Well, here is just one of the many good things I enjoy about “this area”…a REAL FM Disc Jockey. I hope she never leaves us.