Radio

Mort Crowley – Legacy

Mort Crowley spent 14 years in St. Louis radio with stops at KWK, KXOK, KSD, KMOX and KMOX-FM. As with many disc jockeys, he moved around a lot, working first in Philadelphia.

After his job at KWK in 1958, Crowley was on stations in Cleveland, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Detroit, Flint and Chicago before returning to St. Louis.

His on-air creativity and sometimes acerbic wit endeared him to many of his listeners as he zeroed in on newsmakers with lampooning and mimicry. He was on the air on all five stations but also served as program director, operations manager and morning drive announcer. ​

Sheldon Grafman – 2004

​Sheldon “Shelley” Grafman was the driving force behind the success of KSHE from 1967 thru February 1984.

​Hired in late 1967 in sales he eventually rose to the position of General Manager. At one time he was in charge of running stations for Century Broadcasting in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Detroit from his home base in Crestwood.

​Known for his devotion to the Album Oriented Rock format of the 70’s he was instrumental in creating the “free form” sound that made KSHE an institution not only in St. Louis but on a national level.

​Throughout his 17 years at KSHE, Grafman was involved in all aspects of the station, operating out of his office, a 12×12 room in the cinder block building located at 9434 Watson Road.

​Grafman also took an occasional air-shift using the on-air name of Shelley Graham. ​Hundreds of bands that went on to achieve superstar status were given their first break by playing a KSHE-sponsored concert.

​Eventually Shelley was promoted to national programming director and executive vice-president of Century Broadcasting, KSHE’s parent company.

Russ David – Legacy

​Russ David will always be associated with his long-running music show, “Playhouse Party,” which was heard on KSD for 16 years and WEW an additional 10 years.

​But his career spanned much more. He worked briefly in the music department at KMOX and was a studio musician and program host on KSD prior to Playhouse Party. His live network music show on NBC originated from the KSD studios.

​Russ attended the St. Louis University School of Commerce for a couple years at the insistence of his parents but then left to become a professional musician.

​During his stint at KSD he hosted Alpen Brau Time, and he wrote all the scores and conducted the orchestra for the acclaimed Land We Live In program. He also served as music director for KSD even after most of the live music shows were dropped.

Rod “Dr. Jockenstein” King – 2004

Rod King began in the radio business as “Touché the D.J. – the jock that never stops.”

His first gig in the St. Louis area was on WESL, East St. Louis. His experience also included KATZ-AM and FM, St. Louis.

Many listeners remember his “roll call” segment each morning on WESL in which he invited his young audience to call in as part of his rap over a rhythmic music bed.

The famous musician George Clinton dubbed him “Dr. Jockenstein” after Rod emceed one of the Parliament-Funkadelic concerts in St. Louis.

Over the years King developed a large, loyal listenership.

Among his many awards: DJ of the Year from Black Radio Exclusive Magazine and the Black Achievement Award from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. ​

Rex Davis – Legacy

​Rex Davis began his career in Cincinnati as Frank Zwygart (his real name), but management there awarded him the nom de air of Rex Davis, and that’s how he came to St. Louis in 1946. He was immediately thrown into action here as an aggressive newsman at KMOX.

His biggest success, in terms of ratings, came in 1974 when station manager Robert Hyland teamed Davis up with Bob Hardy for a two-person morning drive program called “Total Information AM,” a show that, during its peak, pulled a 33 average share of the listening audience.

He was the consummate newsman, felt by many listeners to be the true “Voice of St. Louis,” which was the motto associated with the station since its inception.

Davis also had a humorous side, which began to come out in 1973 with his regular appearances on the Jack Carney Show, another KMOX ratings phenomenon. Carney would regularly set up Davis, alternately giving him the punch lines or making him the target of jokes. Listeners responded with delight, hearing their authoritative newsman as a human being.
Rex Davis retired from KMOX in 1981.

Ron Morgan – 2004

​Ron Morgan came to St. Louis in 1973, taking an on-air position on Pulitzer powerhouse KSD. It was the beginning of a stay in St. Louis radio that would span nearly twenty years.

Known as “Morgan in the Morning,” he peppered his programs with droll humor supplemented with an infectious laugh and gave his program team plenty of opportunities to share the spotlight.

He also did mornings at KSD-FM and KLOU, as well as other shifts at KMOX and KHTR.

Morgan was also program director at CBS-owned KLOU when it hit the air with an oldies format, giving the station a strong group of personalities to complement the music, and he served as operations director at KSD-FM.

Ron Morgan was visible in the community as a long-time supporter of the Easter Seals Society.