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Gene Curtis/Gene Austin

Yeah, I know him. Used to be my brother in law....sort of...well long story. Gene gave up radio after KILT, went to work in the real world, moved to SF, then back to Houston. His wife Terry passed a couple of years back from cancer. He is as he always has been. Eugene Apodaca, look for him in a Houston Area Phone book near you.
 
As Tom Clay would say.... "I don't like you, I LOVE you!" His famous sign off moniker. Drove the women wild.
 
There was a Tom Clay who jocked in Buffalo, New York City and San Diego and at several stations in Detroit and Los Angeles. He had a 1971 hit with a medley of What The World Needs Now Is Love and Abraham Martin & John that featured news stories about the deaths of JFK, RFK and King, along with Clay asking little kids if they know what bigotry and prejudice are. That Tom Clay died in 1995. So who is the Tom Clay here? I wants ta know!
 
There was a Tom Clay who jocked in Buffalo, New York City and San Diego and at several stations in Detroit and Los Angeles. He had a 1971 hit with a medley of What The World Needs Now Is Love and Abraham Martin & John that featured news stories about the deaths of JFK, RFK and King, along with Clay asking little kids if they know what bigotry and prejudice are. That Tom Clay died in 1995. So who is the Tom Clay here? I wants ta know!
Well Tom Clay, the one who had the single on MoWest Records and worked all of those same Cities died around 1990. That little girl on the Song was his daughter, and he had a son in Radio. I don't know about the guy who died in 55, but Tom Clay the DJ and Motown's only White act smoked too much and was the "Purex, Symbol of Value" guy while a Frog croaked in the background. Tom croaked in 95
 
I just found this web page about Tom Clay. He got 80,000 people to send him a Dollar. No wonder he would get all that mail at KPRZ. He only worked one shift?
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Tom Clay: A Radio DJ Who Became A Recording Artist??

20 Dec 2012


FORWARD: The other day I read about a man named Tom Clay. He was a radio DJ who somehow impressed Motown records' Barry Gordy enough to be a recording artist. Gordy would learn—after releasing several schmaltzy singles—that signing this radio DJ to a record contract was a terrible idea. In the end, Tom Clay was one of those minor celebrities who thought he was God's gift to mankind. He literally became rich off of your naivete. Then he became unemployed because HE SUCKED. I will bet you a raspberry lime rickey that after you read the following article you will say to yourself: "wow, he is right. Tom Clay is a huge *******."

Tom Clay (1929-1995)

Tom Clay (born Tom Clague) was a semi famous DJ in the motor city in the 1950s. He was famous for spinning records and equally famous for getting fired in a payola scandal. But Clay didn't live as comfortably from payola money as he did from a hilariously stupid scam he devised during the height of Beatlemania. At the time he was working at CKLW outside Detroit in Windsor, Ontario. After interviewing the Beatles on air, a lightbulb went off in his head and Clay thought—"hey, I might be able to make some money if I screw with people." So screw with people Tom Clay did. He founded a fan club called "The Beatles Booster Club." Would you know it but, for the low price on $1, you could become a member and you'd—allegedly—receive a membership card or decal. Oh, but there is more. You would also receive one personal item from The Beatles! Those personal items turned out to be—get ready for this—cigarette butts and used tissues. But the grand prize was a little less dirty. It's two words and it's called "absolutely nothing"— zilch! As it turns out, most people received this ever coveted grand prize. By the end of the scheme, Clay made a pretty penny. 80,000 listeners sent in a dollar to Tom Clay's personal PO Box. And that, my friends, was how Tom Clay made his money. He took that money and skipped town leaving fellow DJ Dave Shafer to deal with the repercussions. Shafer was briefly jailed on suspection of international fraud. Methinks he also thought Tom Clay was a huge *******.
Our story doesn't end there. Tom Clay decided he wanted to be a recording artist and he did so with a cover of the Burt Bacharach hit "What The World Needs Now Is Love." Oh, but don't get yourself wrong. Clay doesn't sing on it. Rather, he's recorded asking questions to a youngster about civil rights and bigotry over backing singers and recorded clips from news reports detailing the assassinations of JFK, RFK and MLK, JR. It's stupid and incredibly schmaltzy. For some reason, Motown records head Berry Gordy thought it was cool and released it as a single. All of a sudden, Tom Clay was a Motown Recording artist. I wish it wasn't true but, the single did absurdly well. It sold over 1,000,000 copies. Tom Clay got cocky and record another single. It was essentially another spoken word piece (with an awful chorus) called "Whatever Happened To Love?" It is also very stupid. Nobody bought it.
Tom Clay was dropped by Motown Records. He became unemployed. He finished his career doing some voice over work


http://www.jamiedoesmusic.com/apps/blog/tom-clay-the-biggest-******bag-radio-dj
 
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