Kendall B, Class of 1992, On 30 Years in Radio

Kendall B, Class of 1992, On 30 Years in Radio

Author: WJPZ February 10, 2023 Duration: 41:52
WJPZ at 50
HistoryEducation

"If you stay ready, you ain't go to get ready."  - Sugar Free

That lyric is a mantra that Southern California native Kendall B has lived by ever since he got to Syracuse University and WJPZ.  When a morning show co-host didn't show up, this young overnight jock stuck around to do the show with Jim Gallagher.   When the prior host of the Saturday Night Dance Jam didn't show up to train him, Kendall took over the show.   And when a slot opened up on the morning show his senior year, he started hosting it.   This mantra served him well in his professional career, too.

Kendall started as an overnight jock in Greensboro, North Carolina, subsisting on extra Bojangles chicken sandwiches in his freezer.   By always being ready, he worked his way up to morning show producer, and eventually nights, hosting Kendall B's Night Train, in a truly golden era for Hip Hop and R&B.

Next, it was off to Denver to do middays, then mornings when that slot opened up.  His "interim" morning show gig lasted seventeen years, becoming a fixture in the community.   In fact, when that gig ended, he was approached by another GM in town who wanted him badly enough to let him do the show remotely.   It didn't matter that Kendall and his wife were headed home to LA.

Kendall stayed ready - getting into corporate radio training with Futuri Media, and after his last on-air gig ended, he moved his show to Amazon's new Amp platform - where his Denver and national listeners can hear him every weekday morning, Pacific time of course.

As a 30 year radio veteran, Kendall shares his thoughts on the current state of the industry, and what it needs to do going forward.  And we wrap up with a couple hilarious stories from WJPZ circa 1990, involving a cassette deck and a men's room.

More: Kendall B's show On Amp (live weekdays at 9am Eastern/6am Pacific): https://live.onamp.com/Y3w4zkVR6wb

Kendall's Goodbye Break on YouTube: https://youtu.be/OjLJDD52GuI

Join Us in Syracuse for Banquet on March 4th: https://bit.ly/WJPZ50BanquetTickets

The WJPZ at 50 Podcast is produced by Jon Gay '02 and JAG in Detroit Podcasts

Want to be on the show? Email JAG at jag@jagpodcastproductions.com

Connect with the WJPZ Alumni Association: https://wjpzalumniassociation.org/


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For fifty years, the student-run airwaves of Syracuse University's WJPZ at 50 have been more than a radio station; they've been a launchpad. This oral history project captures that legacy not through dry facts, but through the voices that built it. Each episode is a conversation with a different alumnus, from the pioneers of the 1970s to recent graduates, tracing how their hands-on experience in what's called the "world's greatest media classroom" shaped careers in broadcasting and far beyond. You'll hear personal stories of late-night broadcasts, technical mishaps turned into triumphs, and the forging of lifelong bonds that created a unique professional family spanning generations. This podcast digs into the real, often messy, work of learning by doing, revealing how a campus station became an enduring institution. Tune in for a collection of fifty interviews that together form a living archive, celebrating the people, not just the programming, behind five decades of student-led radio.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

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