Anybody ever heard you speak and tell you that you should be on the radio? Most outsiders do still look at radio as a field for people with great voices. It isn't like that anymore. I don't for a minute think everyone behind a mic has to have that Gary Owens type voice and while I hear voices in area radio that I wouldn't exactly call good, I can't think of any that are truly awful. Still, for some reason regardless of what anyone's worth is off mic, what has always mattered to the listener is what the voice sounds like and for some reason that's become less important in radio. If you have a case of an exceptionally talented person who is cursed with a lousy voice, then I can see that person having chosen the right career in radio, but sadly that usually isn't the case. It just seems to me that what the person sounds like just doesn't matter as much anymore. Any opinions? Again I'm not talking about the old fashioned booming deeper than you-know-what type voice but I'm still of the opinion that the starting point has to be the voice and I don't hear radio agreeing with me anymore. Any opinions?
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WHEN DID THE VOICE STOP BEING IMPORTANT?
- Thread starter McRadio
- Start date
I think back in the 50's and 60's a deep voice was a plus. Then with the advent of real personality radio, the emphasis was what you had to say, not how you said. Classical example of that, in my opinion was Dale Dorman in Boston. Not a "true" radio voice, but a sharp mind with quick wit.
jimmyone said:
I was not blessed with the deep voice, either....but I also lacked the typical Rhode Island Accent. With a good wit and even delivery, I was able to mark my way thru my 8 years on the Trail. One guy with a set of pipes that I met after I left radio was Vin Greco, formerly of JB105. Man, he has one of the best natural voices I ever heard....Jimmy, you aren't a slouch either! Hellllooooo!
A
alfieradioguy
Guest
In the 50s and 60s radio and TV had 'Standards'..... Now any 'Joker' USA can be on air
anywhere...........
anywhere...........
C
Channel Surf
Guest
Well at least in terms of Rock radio, I really noticed this trend during the 90s...The AOR jocks of the 70s and 80s, were often deep voiced and smooth, where as the voice quality and being smooth really didn't seem to matter at all on the new generation of alt/rock stations. Nothing against those stations either...I listen to them alot...just my observation....
IMO, voices never did really matter much. If you wanted to be an "announcer", maybe a deep voice was a plus. But once mass-appeal music radio hit, all bets were off because personality trumped (and still does) the big voice.
As a matter of fact, I think a LOT of classic CHR jocks with deep "DJ" voices were pretty lame personalities. Charlie Van Dyke would be an example. I mean he did just fine but hardly an entertaining guy. I think one reason was touched on by a previous poster. Back in the day, a voice was all you needed to get on the air in the 50's. As personality radio grew, that changed. The guys with the big voices were stuck. Until then, they had made a living being "announcers" ... so now what? Guys like Barney Pip of WCFL was running rings around them.
Kind of like a handsome guy or beautiful woman who become models. They only need that physical beauty. When that starts to fade, their career goes away. Someone like Meryle Streep, while attractive, was not enticed into show business because of her looks. She looks like she'll win ANOTHER Oscar this year at, what - 53?
Voices were and always have been overrated.
As a matter of fact, I think a LOT of classic CHR jocks with deep "DJ" voices were pretty lame personalities. Charlie Van Dyke would be an example. I mean he did just fine but hardly an entertaining guy. I think one reason was touched on by a previous poster. Back in the day, a voice was all you needed to get on the air in the 50's. As personality radio grew, that changed. The guys with the big voices were stuck. Until then, they had made a living being "announcers" ... so now what? Guys like Barney Pip of WCFL was running rings around them.
Kind of like a handsome guy or beautiful woman who become models. They only need that physical beauty. When that starts to fade, their career goes away. Someone like Meryle Streep, while attractive, was not enticed into show business because of her looks. She looks like she'll win ANOTHER Oscar this year at, what - 53?
Voices were and always have been overrated.
Seems like this may be a hot topic, so I will just say I agree with McRadio and Alfieradio. When I am channel flipping, a professional voice will definately catch my ear. That is not to say that it is a must these days.
I think we can all agree that great pipes and being an entertainer adds up to mega bucks....it's never bad to have the best of both worlds!
C
cspotrun
Guest
yes, radio has gone down to the point where if you can "grunt" and work for minimum wage, YOU'RE HIRED! any wonder it doesn't matter anymore?
Z
za-rex
Guest
There also was a time when if you were a jock you were expected to do good production too so the voice was more important. Now I don't even hear that many spots that are locally voiced.
M
Moonstruck
Guest
I don't understand why so many think voice is not important. I agree you don't have to have a great deep booming voice but to say anyone can do it regardless of not having at least a decent voice is ridiculous. Maybe the role of the jock isn't as important so that's why some feel this way. I can think of only a couple of people in and within earshot of Providence who I'd say have irritating voices, but then there are the speech impediments which are a whole different ballgame and we do have those believe me.
I guess that even a golden voice isn't a guarantee of radio longevity, anymore, although I still think that it's an important attribute.
Some of the best voices that I've worked with, who were also all super nice people, were Vin Greco, Jim O'Brien, Big John Bina, Larry "Ice Cold" Kruger, Don Spencer, Tony Rizzini, and Norm Jagolinzer. Of course, Norm and Tony are retired now, Jim runs his own sound business, I've lost touch with Vin and Don, and Big and Larry are still cracking open the mic on a fairly regular basis. A few more were Mike (Mickey O) Olsen, Johnny Dowd, and John Gary (RI104).
Now, on the other side of that are people with so-so voices who are great communicators. I never thought that Bruce Newbury had the greatest voice (he would probably say the same of me), but he's an effective communicator and has managed to stay on the air for years and years...unfortunately, not everyone was born with a voice like Ernie Anderson.
Some of the best voices that I've worked with, who were also all super nice people, were Vin Greco, Jim O'Brien, Big John Bina, Larry "Ice Cold" Kruger, Don Spencer, Tony Rizzini, and Norm Jagolinzer. Of course, Norm and Tony are retired now, Jim runs his own sound business, I've lost touch with Vin and Don, and Big and Larry are still cracking open the mic on a fairly regular basis. A few more were Mike (Mickey O) Olsen, Johnny Dowd, and John Gary (RI104).
Now, on the other side of that are people with so-so voices who are great communicators. I never thought that Bruce Newbury had the greatest voice (he would probably say the same of me), but he's an effective communicator and has managed to stay on the air for years and years...unfortunately, not everyone was born with a voice like Ernie Anderson.
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