DeDe McGuire Marks 1st Year In Dual Drives

         It would be difficult to find someone in radio who works harder than DeDe McGuire. Not only does she work a.m. and p.m. drives, but she also wears two different format hats. Celebrating her one-year anniversary in juggling both roles, she successfully steers the morning wake-up team towards an urban demo at Service Broadcasting KKDA-FM (K104) in Dallas, while catering to the urban AC crowd in her afternoon drive gig with the syndicated Doug Banks (“The Ride With Doug & DeDe”). DeDe does double demo duty!

And she just exudes exuberance. Add in her wealth of knowledge, experience and her all-American work ethic and no wonder she’s a winner. Her longevity in broadcasting, however, she readily attributes to staying true to her mantra: “Educate, inform and entertain.”

Her biggest challenge?

“Getting up so early every morning. People think you get used to it, but you don’t,” she tells BRE in an exclusive interview in between shows recently.

The Dallas-based McGuire gets up at 4 a.m., has her morning coffee and drives 35 minutes to K104. She watches the overnight news before she hits the airwaves “so I know what’s going on,” she explains. After being on the air from 6 until 10 a.m., she has an after-show meeting. Then she drives the 35 minutes home and may sneak in an hour nap. Then she’s back on the road to do the afternoon drive show with Doug Banks at another studio.

“I love working with Doug,” she declares in that perky upbeat style that comes so naturally to her. “We have so much fun on the air.”

With today’s technology, McGuire could actually do her dynamic duet with Banks from her home, but she chooses to be face to face with her on-air partner with whom she has worked for 15 years.

And, speaking of partners, McGuire recently married a businessman she calls “Baby Black.” And yes, marriage did have an impact on her single “cougar” style.

“That’s my character and my soul on the air,” she explains. “I went from being the single lady to the married lady. When I first got married, one of my listeners told me, ‘I’m so sure you are going to bring the ups and downs of married life to the air like you did the single life’. So I continue to grow up with my audience.”

Even though there’s some commonality between both her shows, there are also differences not only in the music but also the topics of discussions. “We do more adult conversations on Doug Banks, talking about everything from politics to relationships. It’s a little more adult focused. But the one commonality is that people want to be informed and entertained. I think that’s the key no matter what the demo.”

“And I have a great team around me,” she exclaims about both the young-end talent at K104 whom she describes as “amazing,” and then with Doug. ”We’ve been doing this for 15 years…what more can I say!”

Averaging maybe five hours of sleep a night, McGuire explains why she works so hard.

“I wanted to do it. I was stuck in that demo of 18-34. But I love R&B and the AC urban format too, so I thought, ‘Why couldn’t I do both… why do I have to choose one or the other.’ So now I have the best of both worlds.”

Besides, she adds, there’s no guarantee the same job will be available tomorrow. Radio has changed drastically over the last several years. Technology and syndication have caused a great loss of positions. Indeed, in Dallas alone, McGuire and her crew, which includes Lady Jade and Kevvy Kev of “The Crazy Azz Morning Show,” are up against no less than three nationally syndicated urban morning shows – Tom Joyner, Steve Harvey and Rickey Smiley.

“We have to work harder now,” she says. “I really admire people such as Egypt… she’s doing so many things. You have to constantly re-invent. Things are constantly changing. You have to change your game to stay in it.”

One of McGuire’s many attributes includes being able to attract major celebrities for interviews. Key, she says, is the approach. “There’s a way to talk to a celebrity… you can’t attack them,” she explains. “If they don’t want to talk about it, then don’t push it. I honor that and then they are also easier to get to next time. They will remember this person is fair. Working with Doug, I learned so much from him. I got that from Doug – never attack an artist.”

Her Do’s and Don’ts…

• Don’t attack.

• Make the artist comfortable.

• Always make sure to end on a high note.

• Pre-record – you can take out awkward moments.

McGuire has an admirable work ethic, but she also admits to a guilty pleasure. “I watch reality shows… I’m so addicted to them. “Housewives of Orange County”…all the Housewives, as a matter of fact. Anything reality, I watch. That’s how I relax.”

Looking back McGuire recalls how she got her start at a country station where she was initially hired as the receptionist. It wasn’t long, though, that management recognized her dynamic voice and personality and she went to work on air. He climb was swift, as she soon went on to program KIIZ-FM (Z92.3). She held down gigs at KTFM-FM (94.1) in San Antonio before taking on afternoons at heritage K104. Her career then took her to WPNT in Chicago, where she tried her hand at a late-night dating show for two years before heading to Top 40 WIQQ-FM (Q102) in Philadelphia as the midday afternoon drive personality.

In addition to co-hosting “The Ride With Doug & DeDe” and now doing morning drive on K104, she is also a popular television personality. She has successfully hosted two syndicated video programs and makes numerous guest appearances on top local and national talk shows.

And speaking of television, it’s too soon to tell, but word is that McGuire is about to announce another major gig, this one on television. Stay tuned!

“I have an incredible support crew… brothers and sisters, co-workers,” she says. “I don’t know how long this is going to last. This biz is getting smaller and smaller…but I’m going to ride it until the wheels fall off.”

 

Magic’s Inner City Moves

Earvin “Magic” Johnson is still making moves… off the court! The former NBA MVP turned businessman has scored in the media field, again. Recently, Johnson made a move to buy the senior debt of Inner City Broadcasting from Goldman Sachs. Earlier this year, he paired with billionaire Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa Cos. to acquire three radio stations in Phoenix to the tune of about $16 million also has bought a major ownership stake in Vibe Holdings LLC, the parent company of Vibe magazine, Uptown magazine and the “Soul Train” TV show and its lucrative library.

This does not mean, however, that Johnson and his partner become majority owners of ICBC. Inner City, founded by Percy Sutton in 1971, owns 17 radio stations in markets such as New York City (including the Black heritage WBLS-FM (107.5) and Gospel AM (1190), San Francisco, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Columbia, S.C., Fort Lauderdale, FL and Jackson, MS.

Pepe Sutton, CEO of Inner City, in an editorial last year in The New York Times, suggested that President Barack Obama bail out Black broadcasters as he did with automakers GM and Ford. And Sutton had also called on the Congressional Black Caucus to pressure its debt holders to back off.

Radio/TV Personality Bo Griffin Remembered (1959-2010)

It’s with a very sad heart, we report the untimely death due to intestinal cancer of radio personality Bontia “Bo” Griffin, recipient of BRE Magazine’s first Shannon Dell Breaking the Glass Ceiling Drummer Award. She was one of the greats. Bo was one of the first female personalities to be the lead on a major market morning show, and that was WPOW-FM (Power 96) in Miami. She was No. 1 and also did stints on WEDR-FM (99 Jamz) and WHQT-FM (Hot 105) as well as entertainment reporter for local TV. Let me tell you, if you didn’t know Bo, then you didn’t know…personality radio. She lit up your radio with her wit, a sparkling laugh and knowledge of her community, the world. If it was hot, Bo was on it! She was funny, she could be provocative and she was beautiful to listen to. She was also one of the first radio personalities to segue into television. I know because I introduced her to the great Don Brown of NBC News, who immediately saw her vivacious personality, and she began doing double duty on Power 96 and NBC 6 in Miami as the TV station’s entertainment reporter. Originally from Greenville, South Carolina where she also launched her own clothing boutique, Griffin went on to the television show “Good Day Live,” guest host of the Game Show Network’s “GSN Live,” host of the travel series “Blue Ribbon” on Turner South as well as the home makeover show, “The Big Reveal” for HGTV. That was her dream, to be in front of the camera.

God bless her…she was my friend, she was a shining example of a professional, of a person who loved what she did, and she did it well. May she rest in peace, but I know she won’t. She’s already up there, lighting up that big radio station in the sky!

Percy Sutton Remembered (Nov 24, 1920-Dec 26, 2009)

“He was a great man,” commented Charles Warfield Jr., the president and chief operating officer of ICBC Broadcast Holdings Inc., to the Associated Press on the passing of the broadcast media’s chairman, Percy Ellis Sutton, 89.

The pioneering civil rights attorney who also represented Malcolm X before entering politics and developing his media empire that included the first black-owned radio station in NYC—WLIB-AM—which he purchased with his brother Oliver in 1973, and the Inner City Broadcasting empire’s flagship, famed WBLS-FM (107.5), New York’s top-rated station. The media empire grew to eventually include stations in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Detroit, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Antonio, Jackson, Mississippi and Columbia, SC, along with syndicated projects, television and internet technology properties as Sutton passed the baton on to his son Pierre “Pepe” Sutton. A two-term NY NAACP president, Sutton also headed a group that purchased the Amsterdam News, the second largest black weekly newspaper in the country. And in 1981, he came to the rescue of the shuttered Apollo Theater.

President Barack Obama issued his condolences: “Percy Sutton was a true hero to African Americans in New York City and around the country. We will remember him for his service to the country as a Tuskegee Airman, to New York State as a state assemblyman, to New York City as Manhattan Borough President, and to the community of Harlem in leading the effort to revitalize the world renowned Apollo Theater. His life-long dedication to the fight for civil rights and his career as an entrepreneur and public servant made the rise of countless young African Americans possible. Michelle and I extend our deepest condolences to his family on this sad day.”

The last child in a family of 15 children, Percy Ellis Sutton was born in San Antonio, Texas to a father, Samuel Johnson Sutton, who was born into slavery, and a mother, Lillian, who both changed their lots in life through education. S.J. became the principal of a black high school and Lillian, a teacher. And the 12 surviving family members who became adults all went to college with the older ones lending support for the younger ones to succeed.

An early entrepreneur, the elder Sutton infused that spirit in his siblings, especially his youngest, Percy. Selling real estate, farming, running a mattress factory, funeral home and skating rink in addition to his principal duties, S.J. Sutton not only introduced the young Percy to commerce and enterprise but also to civil rights injustices—a calling that permeated his life.

A strong advocate of education, Percy was the product of three historically black institutions of higher learning–Prairie View A & M University in Texas, Tuskegee University in Alabama and Hampton University in Virginia—eventually entering Columbia law School on the GI bill, transferring to Brooklyn Law School so he could sandwich in work around his schedule, taking on the 4pm to midnight shift at the post office, followed by a subway train conductor shift until 8:30am, before reporting to law school at 9am.

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Opening law offices on 125th Street in Harlem, Sutton represented Malcolm X and was a strong advocate for civil rights. From that threshold he began a long career in politics, serving as a New York State Assemblyman and eventually President of the Manhattan Borough, becoming the highest-ranking black politician in the state. Even running for a Senate and Mayor seat himself, Sutton found greater impact in supporting other candidates like Rev. Jesse Jackson’s two presidential races.

One of those, David N. Dinkins, NYC’s first black mayor, said, “I stand on the shoulders of Percy Sutton.”

Another, current New York governor David Patterson, described Sutton as “… one of New York’s and this nation’s most influential African-American leaders – a man whom I am proud to have called a friend and mentor throughout my entire career.”

“It was Percy Sutton who talked me into running for office and who has continued to serve as one of my most valued advisors ever since,” added Paterson. “Percy was fiercely loyal, compassionate and a truly kind soul. He will be missed, but his legacy lives on through the next generations of African-Americans he inspired to pursue and fulfill their own dreams and ambitions.”

Rev. Al Sharpton, who recently visited him in the nursing home where the retired statesman resided, commented: “He personified the black experience of the 20th century. He started the century where blacks were victims. We ended as victors.”

Sutton is survived by his wife Leatrice Sutton and son Pierre “Pepe” Sutton from that marriage, who carries on his legacy as chairman of the board of the ICB Holdings, Inc, expanding the company’s reach and positioning it for the 21st century, and a daughter, Cheryl Lynn Sutton, from a second marriage.

Sonja Hamm Life Celebrated

Former morning host at Radio One gospel WPZE-FM (Praise 102.5) passed away on March 25 from colon and abdomen cancer according to her husband of 24 years Gary Hamm. The Durham, NC native started her 20 plus year radio career in Raleigh-Durham, where she hosted one of the top morning shows as well as a weekly program for the CBS and Fox affiliates. She also covered the Carolinas for BRE Magazine, before moving to Atlanta in 2004 to take over the new morning host spot on Praise. Replaced by the syndicated Yolanda Adams Show in 2007, Hamm moved to middays, eventually leaving the station last August.
Commented Praise PD Derek Harper: ““You don’t have a lot of jocks like her anymore. People felt her reach through the radio to embrace them.”
A member of Creflo Dollar’s World Changers Church International in College Park, Hamm will be returned to Creedmoor, NC for burial on Tuesday, March 31 at Christian Faith Center. Burthey Funeral Services is coordinating arrangements. WPZE promotions director, Cie Cie Wilson McGhee added that the station is also planning a memorial as well.  Condolences can be placed on her website at sonyahammlive.com.

Chicago Radio Personality Richard Pegue Funeral March 9

Legendary Chicago DJ, Richard Pegue, passed away March 3 from heart failure.
Known for playing “The Best Music of Your Life,” the phrase he coined for the name of his radio show, Pegue began spinning music at high school dances at the age of 11 after receiving a reel-to-reel from his grandmother. While attending Hirsch High School, he formed the doo-wop group, the Belvederes as well as a lifelong friendship with fellow broadcaster, Richard Steele.

Between 1961 and 1965, Pegue continued singing, but also ventured in songwriting, releasing the single, “I’m Not Ready to Settle Down,” which was performed by the Cheers.

In 1968, Pegue became the music director for WVON, joining the legendary air personalities at WVON known as the “Good Guys.”  After the station was sold in 1975, he worked at several radio stations in Chicago and Northwest Indiana, including WOPA, WJPC and WGCI.

Also a record producer, Pegue was considered an expert on old classics from the ’50s, ‘60s and ‘70s. His radio show, called The Best Music of Your Life, featured music from these periods, commonly known as “dusties.” One of his claims to fame was his annual Dusty Records Convention, which he held in Chicago for more than 20 years. In fact, Chicago named a street after him during his career for his contributions.

He also produced commercial jingles, including the memorable Moo & Oink spots during the time Tom Joyner was the spokesperson for the brand.

And he contributed a regular column on the vintage music he loved so much in the weekly newspaper, Chicago Citizen, under the byline of Dr. Richard Pegue. His last column appeared this week. Even though he had suffered a stroke in 1998, Pegue stayed active. In addition to his weekly column, he started this week spinning the hits at the Charles Adler Senior Center, bringing the house down at the WVON Seniors’ Breakfast and from midnight on Saturday until 6am Sunday morning playing his dusties on Kennedy King College’s WKKC (89.3) station that is run by Marv Dyson.

He is survived by his son, Chris Michaels, who currently is an evening air personality on WGCI.

Services are scheduled for Monday, March 9, at 11am at the Apostolic Church of God at 6320 South Dorchester Avenue in Chicago with interment following at Mt. Hope Cemetery. Messages can be left on his website: www.thebestmusicofyourlife.com

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