Following our story of the death of programmer and longtime WAKY Louisville DJ Johnny Randolph, we heard from both Dan Mason and Greg Strassell who wanted to tell us about the impact Randolph made on their careers. Here’s what they had to say.
Former CBS Radio CEO Dan Mason: “When I was 14 years old, Johnny bought me glass after glass of orange juice, patiently answering every question I had about contests, jocks, jingles..everything. He shaped how I programmed a radio station conceptually. His stations sucked you in to a bigger listener family. He taught jocks how to have fun. Coyote Calhoun is probably a perfect example the best of Johnny Randolph. So many other have benefited from his rare talent…not just me. There was a part of him that was woven into all of the CBS Radio stations. He will be missed by hundreds of his fans.”
Hubbard Radio’s Greg Strassell: “Johnny would shoot a note to me from time to time expressing his happiness to see different things being tried on the stations that I would be working with. That was cool because he was a programming hero of mine. I’d listen to this amazing brand down the river from Louisville as reason to be in radio. WAKY was a killer, under Johnny. Filled with talent that made a huge difference. I recall the stunt of Gary Burbank being shot on the air, with Gary handing over the reins (as he headed to New Orleans) to Lee Masters (Jarl Mohn) as his replacement. The complete package of creativity, promotions, and music that made the radio station so vibrant. He’d take a look at what was working on the country charts, the rock charts, and the R&B charts and local sales. Not just a national top 40 chart. WAKY reflected the market and played the top 40 hits that did the same, unique to Louisville. This was no cookie-cutter. And he was the only programmer I know that “dayparted” his audio processing. Mornings was flat for the Bill Bailey show. 10a the switch would go on and this station would jump with his demanding, innovative processing. Not only brilliant, but a good man who dedicated himself to the Kentuckiana market for most of his life.”
Strassell also unearthed an interview with Randolph that he found on YouTube.
