John Records Landecker is now once again saying those famous call letters (WLS), Robert Murphy is now back in Chicago doing mornings on Rewind 100, and Spike O'Dell is now living the good life of retirement.
JOHN RECORDS LANDECKER
Rick: So one day you're doing a talk show on WIMS in Michigan City, and then suddenly out of nowhere, it's the John Records Landecker Music Explosion! How did that happen and why?
That's how it started. I re-named it the John Records Landecker Music Explosion, and I played songs off my iPad, and people e-mailed me songs from all over the country--because they were listening online, and it really took off. Radio guys started sending me jingle packages, and customized things, and I played it all. It was a blast!
Rick: Is that when WLS came calling?
John: Yes, but that's not why. The WLS thing was something I had put in motion a year ago or so. I heard that all the Citadel stations had been purchased by Cumulus, and one of my good friends--someone that I had worked for years ago in Chicago, Jan Jeffries--was the guy that ran their programming. I called him up and said: "Look I want back in." I knew that I never should have been let go from there in the first place, and now they were even using the call letters W-L-S again, and it seemed so natural for me to come back.
Rick: But it took quite a while for the sale to go through.
John: It took over a year, and this was no ordinary transaction. We're talking multi-billion dollars. Jan was doing a million things during that time, so I didn't want to bother him, but eventually the sale went through--and then he let me know he was moving to Chicago. And now, amongst his bazillion or so responsibilities, he was actually going to program WLS-FM! We finally met up not too long after that, and hit it off just like we always did. He said, "Why don't you try it out quietly over the weekend to see if you like it, and if you still sound good we'll let you do a weekend shift." And it went great! Now I'm doing weekends and fill-ins. I've been on for Scott Shannon quite a bit over the last few weeks.
Rick: So you're working seven days a week now?
John: Well, that's not going to work, unfortunately. I was on the air last week on WLS, and on Facebook I gave everyone the wrong call letters to listen online. I thought to myself, I can't do both anymore. My last show at WIMS was Thursday.
I loved being on WIMS. I really did. I loved working with Ric Federighi and Johnny Rush and Paula Griffin. They are great people and great broadcasters, and I'll miss working with them. But the opportunity to come back to WLS, working for someone like Jan Jeffries was too good to pass up.
Rick: I can hear how happy you are through the airwaves. Just hearing you say those call letters...it just sounds right.
John: It feels fantastic. Unbelievably cool. Just way beyond anything I could conceive of. It's like somebody built a radio station for me to work on. And Jan and I get along unbelievably well. This is his concept, and he's the driving force behind it, and I'm there to have a good time and be the icing on his cake from the WLS music era.
Ever since I left nights at WLS in the 70s, everything has been a challenge. I did different shifts. Afternoons. Mornings. Talk radio. I sought out those challenges, but in all of those situations I never would describe it as being in a comfort zone. I'm glad I did 'em, but this is a party. This is the best thing I've done since coming to WLS since 1972, and I think Chicago is going to eat this station up. I consider this a new beginning.
ROBERT MURPHY
Rick: It was great hearing you back on Q-101 last summer...obviously I wasn't the only one that thought so. Rewind 100 snatched you up.
Rick: Any trouble climbing back into the saddle?
Robert: Since I had been professionally hibernating for several years, there were some new "teachable moments" but I quickly remembered how much I enjoyed having a daily interaction with Chicago via radio. It's all I have ever done and I was thrilled to get "back in the saddle". I've been provided with a clear set of goals and a great and supportive staff. The only drawback: When I first started getting out of bed at 3:30am to do a morning show, I was in my teens. Now that I am just slightly older, it is just a bit harder. Okay, I'm a lot older and it's a lot harder.
SPIKE O'DELL
Rick: Spike, every time I check out your facebook page it makes me smile. People are supposed to enjoy retirement, and it's so obvious that you're in hog heaven.
My children live here and they keep us busy with grand kids and going places. (we have 3 grandsons now with a 4th arriving in the spring) I spend my time golfing and doing a lot of photography. Tennessee is such a beautiful place to take pictures.
Rick: Have you been following what's going on at your old station?
Spike: A lot of changes at the 'ol "Love Pump" I see. Change is always going to happen and I know it takes some people a little time to get used to it.
I'm glad the powers that be are returning the station to more of a personality approach and pulling back the elements a little for the talent. It's the right thing to do. I fought the "traffic and weather on the 7's" hard, but to no avail. It was very restrictive and limited your ability as a host to do much of anything but get ready for your next "traffic and weather on the 7's". There were already a couple of stations in town that were doing that...why try to sound like them? I never understood the thinking there.
It will be fun to sit back and watch how the station progresses over the next year or so. Strong personalities are in place...you've got the Cubs and Hawks and great college sports on the radio. Sounds like a pretty solid mix to me.
