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Nick Charles – 2004

​Nick Charles was a recording artist on the Stax label when he was a disc jockey in Memphis. He joined KXOK in St. Louis in 1962 and brought with him a knowledge of the record and concert business.

Many credit him with being an integral part of the promotion team that brought the Beatles to town August 21, 1966.

During his 21 year tenure as a KXOK jock, Charles stayed connected to the black music scene. He started his own label, Arch Records, and is remembered for his many personal appearances for “hops” at Club Imperial.

Nick had a large following in the Illinois part of the market because of his Shindig appearances at Belleville’s Panarama Bowling Lanes.

His easygoing approach as a disc jockey made him a perfect fit for the KXOK overnight slot, which he held for many years, and he also served as the AFTRA shop steward at the station.

Ed Bonner – 2004

During his run as a dj in 1950s St. Louis, Ed Bonner owned the market.

He began on KXOK in 1951 when he was 28. From the studio in the Star-Times Building he would invite his teenage listeners to come down and watch him work. His first program, “St. Louis Ballroom” soon gave way to the station’s afternoon drive slot, and his large audience encompassed teens and adults.

St. Louisans saw him everywhere, in personal appearances to benefit the Red Cross, Y.M.H.A., Cancer Fund, Heart Fund, March of Dimes, Catholic Youth Organization and many other groups.

A new record played on the “E.B.” show was almost certain to become a local hit. He left KXOK in 1958, taking his listeners with him to the noon – 4 slot on WIL, and the little station at 1430, which had put together a huge stable of talent, overtook KXOK in the ratings.

The Hoopers in St. Louis in 1959 showed Bonner’s audience the largest among all the area’s disc jockeys. He left WIL for a job in Los Angeles in 1962.​

Ed Bench- 2004

​Anyone who worked with Ed Bench describes him as the best radio engineer they’ve ever known.

He served as chief engineer for KSTL, KATZ and KCFM and as an independent contractor for Heritage Media and Clear Channel. Ed Bench was responsible for developing the market’s first stereophonic broadcasts at KCFM, whose initial stereo broadcast was coordinated to begin at the same time as those at WSYR (Syracuse) and WEFM (Chicago), midnight, June 1, 1961.

He received the first Type Approval for a stereo broadcasting system issued by the FCC on January 2, 1961 and operated the first multi-station circular polarized panel antenna in the nation. During his work building KCFM, Bench developed many of the testing techniques that are still being used to test stereo broadcast systems.

He has been honored with lifetime memberships in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.

Emil Wilde – 2005

Emil’s voice was heard on St. Louis radio stations from 1939 to the late 1980s. An accomplished singer, he began working on KFUO in 1939, leaving for the military service for three years during World War II.

He came back to the Lutheran Church-owned station in 1944 and remained for 11 years, and he was the announcer on The Lutheran Hour on the Mutual Network for over 10 years.

There followed a brief stint on WIL, where he was known as Alan Scott.

Wilde continued as a radio newsman on KWK for four years, then on KSD for eight years and KMOX for nine years.

His experience during his many years on the air served him well when, in 1986, he became manager of the student broadcast operation at Lindenwood College in St. Charles. ​

Charlie Stanley – 2005

​Stanley’s first radio job was at KXOK, and his general manager told him he’d never make it in radio. He worked at KATZ before going to a sales job at WEW. He moved up to sales manager and bought the station in 1964, selling it 28 years later.

​Under Stanley’s ownership, WEW gained a following as a middle-of-the-road music station. He bought a 1945 Mack fire engine, painted the call letters on the side, and showed up at just about every parade in the region.

​Charlie Stanley often described himself as a hustler and he admitted there were many times over the years when he was on the verge of losing the station when debts piled up.

​He was affectionately dubbed the “trade-out king” by his colleagues in the radio sales business who marveled at his abilities to get accounts on the air.

Richard J. Miller – 2005

Miller began his work in St. Louis radio when he acquired KXLW in 1958. The station brought music and personality to the R&B/gospel audience in the area. In 1969 he added KADI-FM to his local operations and subsequently bought stations in two other cities.

His local stations provided a career springboard for talented people he hired like Gary “Records” Brown, Jim Doyle, Al “Scoop” Sanders, “Radio” Rich Dalton and Ed Goodman.

Miller established the concept of weekly oldies shows on Sunday nights, and the program spanned three decades. He was one of the first to promote his stations using posters, which have since become collectors’ items.

Miller’s St. Louis stations became regular stops for national talent, including Harry Chapin and Wolfman Jack, who would stop in to do DJ shows when they were in the area.

Richard Miller had sold all his radio properties by the mid ‘90s when he became chairman of Truman Bank.​