The Best Houston DJs
10. Joanie Whitebird (KPFT--1970s)A brilliant woman, a poet-philosopher and a radio amateur who had a way with a microphone. God rest her. Joanie and I were one of the original KPFT people, blown-up tower and all...
9. Weaver Morrow (KRLY...KRBE). One of the most adaptable DJs I've ever heard. He could do good comedy ("oh, that's stupid -- no THAT'S SATIRE") and go on to do "card-reading" at Sunny 99.1 and sound great at it. (Charming in the '80s when he wanted to bum a cigarette from me because he claimed he wanted to quit smoking...I'm quitting now, Weaver, how do I reach YOU to bum one?)
8. Ron Parker(KKBQ...KLDE). He gave me a chance early on. He'll never admit it and in fact he'll deny it. Turkey. Excuse me if I seem...harsh.
7. Scott Arthur(KQUE). A really funny guy off the air. About half as funny on the air but a pro. You could have said the same about most good comedians. Most great radio people are a lot funnier off the air than they are on the air. That's one of the great joys of working with radio people. By the way, it's hard to find a pro these days.
6. Larry Galla (KIKK...KVST). Talk about a pro. He just wants to play great music and be associated with it. How could you ask for more from a DJ? Most DJs these days vainly want to outshine the music, as if that's possible. (Still, rap music is SOMETIMES so shallow, violent and simplistic that it's easy for a DJ to sound like a warm "human being" compared with the so-called "music" he or she is playing...) Larry Galla just loves the music and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of it. Is there a better DJ? KVST doesn't give him enough credit.
5. Sheila Mayhew (KILT...KENR). There was never a better, more assertive feminist DJ. Ever.
4. Mike Marshall (KQUE...KBME). He just had a way of smoothly talking from one song to another in the manner of Paul Berlin. Paul and Mike did it right on KQUE for the good "oldies" of the '50S, '60s, '70s and '80s. Does anybody do this kind of intelligent, logical segue from song to song anymore? Uh, no. Providing real continuity song-to-song would mean the DJ loves the music AND cares about each and every person who's listening, to keep them interested. If you were a listener to Mike and Paul back in those days, growing up in Houston as I did, you would know it's a lost art. Caring about the music and the listener's interest is passe. Those days are gone. DJs now have to get in "liners" every minute or face the wrath of corporate. Left without a clue about the "art" of radio segues, most DJs just try to be bigger than the music, playing up the "liners" and it never works in comparison. We love the songs, but DJs are forgotten...
3. Joe Ford (KNUZ, KILT, KFMK, KLDE). This guy can't get a job in town anymore, but he's the best voice-over guy I've ever heard. He probably doesn't remember me. Turkey. (Excuse me if I sound...harsh.) But I remember him as an inspiration. I'll always cherish the time Jim Pruett (KFNC, KLOL, KILT) and I were going to lunch when we agreed Joe is the best Houston DJ ever.
2. John Lander. The guy was brilliant, he always sounded off-the-cuff but prepared. He assembled the best on-air staff Houston has ever seen. But he came and went. Houston was just a stepping stone to Philadelphia and beyond. Still, the best morning show Houston ever had, tied with Paul Menard and Hudson Roach as the original "Hudson and Harrigan" -- when Lander was at the top of his form (The "Q" Morning Zoo).
1. Paul Berlin. For 30 years he WAS Houston radio. Badda bing, badda boom. End of story. He lasted longer than that and saw the end of his own era. He was Houston's version of Dallas' Ron Chapman, but Ron came later than Paul and was more savvy about what he could do. I wish all DJs could do what Paul did -- he was knowledgeable about ALL music, humble, a businessman, friendly, kind and always ready to have a good time without going over the top. He was the right man at the right time for Houston radio in 1950. And his love for all music -- from Bennie Goodman to Jimmy Buffett and well beyond...this is a DJ who had THE BEST ear for music. (And of course I'll always cherish the time he told my wife Mary at the final KQUE Christmas party, toward the end of his career, "Hey, I love you and Michael!" It meant a lot to me. Maybe I'm a little prejudiced. But just ask anyone who grew up in Houston from 1950 till 1995. He was the smoothest, THE best if you really loved "DJ Presentation." I wish we could all have that kind of run, and I believe Paul wishes that too!
Mike Shiloh (Col. St. James' forgotten traffic partner)
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