When Joel Cash took me to lunch in 1999,
the very first thing I noticed was his warm smile, complemented by his equally
warm, deep voice. His voice seems to have been frozen in time...from the
days when his live commercials won awards.
Joel was born in upstate New York, and raised in Detroit. After spending
two years with the United States Army in the late 1950s, he worked his golden
pipes on the Radio battle-field.at WCOP, WRKO, WBZ and WMEX. Finally moving
south again, he worked at WFTL/1400 in Fort Lauderdale, with the station's
then-MoR format. Later, Joel became successful in his own non-broadcast-related
business, located in South Florida.
"First let me say that being the first jock hired by WRKO, I think, was
an exciting time of my life. I really didn't have any idea of what the magnitude
of this radio station and its impact on the market would be, but It was
a job and a good one, After a month or so of hearing the reaction from listeners
and other people in the business, I realized that I had landed the big one
of my career. It was fun and looked forward to going to work each
day. But as with any employment, it had its problems and it was a job. People
think being on the radio is always a glamorous position, but it has its
ups and downs just like anything else. I will say there were more ups than
downs in the first five or six years, but when new program directors came
in, they always had different ideas and it was change again. I went through
7 Program Directors, I believe."
"Before WRKO, I did the morning show for WCOP. Used to have fun with that
and the ratings showed it. I was at WBZ for a summer doing the all-night
show and hated the hours....I don't know how Dick Summer handled it for
so many years. While in Connecticut (before WCOP), I worked with Dick Fatherley,
a news man at a station in Hamden (the former WDEE/1500). In my opinion,
he is probably one of the best commercial announcers of all time. His presentation
of a commercial, I believe, is unsurpassed. He should be doing some network
announcing."
"I wasn't impressed with all the talent on the air, but there were a few
exceptions. One of the names that sticks out in my mind is Bruce Bradley
(of WBZ). I liked his style and delivery. Always thought he was smooooth.
Everyone has his own style and feels comfortable with it and that's why
they do it. Everyone has has his own tastes and either you like someone
on the air or not. One of the things that bothered me was a program director
trying to change you to what he liked or his style, when it didn't fit your
personality. Then it sounded trite and forced....I've heard some of those
tapes of me and don't like them..It always amazed me that one station could
hire you because they liked what they heard, but when you got there, they
tried to change you. Why hire you in the first place?"
"I have been asked what my favorite song was, but there really wasn't any
that sticks out in my mind. Having been there so long, I played a lot of
different songs and it would be difficult to pick one. I did like the 60's
music. Unlike many of the jocks, when I went home, I didn't listen to rock
'n roll. Never really took the job home with me. I found there were other
things to talk about besides radio when I was with friends. As a matter
of fact, I probably never talked about radio with friends who were outside
the business and seldom did I discuss it if I wasn't in the broadcasting
atmosphere. Some of the people in the business couldn't talk about anything
else."
"There are so many stories to tell. I've met a lot of people, including
celebrities, and I really enjoyed what I did. I sometimes wonder if I should
have pursued it, but I did get involved with a station to see if I still
liked it and I did, but I don't think I could do it full time. I think I
enjoyed it, because my well-being wasn't dependent on it. Over the past
year I have received mail from some listeners and established a friendship
with others. If you would like to write,
send your e-mail to this
Website and he will forward it to me. I will answer you personally."
"Thanks for listening and I hope this site brings back some good memories
for all of you." (Joel Cash) |
