SDN Radio News Flashback:

"Shotgun Tom" Debuts on K-Earth 101 (September 18, 1997)

As of 2007, he's just celebrated his tenth anniversary with the same radio station.

The well-known deejay famous on such radio stations as KCBQ 1170, B100, K-Best 95, KCBQ-FM, KFMB-AM, KGB 1360 during the glorious days of Boss Radio, and television stations such as KGTV and KUSI, has been in the business for a quarter of a century prior to his first radio job in Los Angeles.

At B-100FM, Shotgun was honored with the Billboard Magazine Air Personality of the Year Award for Major Markets in the mid-1970’s. He also received two Emmy Awards for his performance as host of the syndicated TV word game show for kids, "Words-a-Poppin", which aired on KGTV in 1978.

Shotgun was the morning and afternoon host for the KUSI TV "Kid's Club" for 12 years in San Diego and was the host of a TV Dance show in the 70's on KGTV in San Diego called "Disco 10" (get it?) in 1978.

In 2000, Shotgun won the Radio & Records “Oldies Personality of the Year” award and competed for that honor with radio personalities from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Detroit.

Shotgun Tom is the co-host of the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telehon in Los Angeles on KCAL 9 TV. He can be heard around the country doing voice-over work and commercials for a variety of stations. In 2007, Shogun Tom was heard as the radio announcer in the movie "Deja Vu" with Denzel Washington and has been the announcer for the Fox Network Television show "America's Most Wanted"

What led Tom to K-EARTH 101 was that KRTH 101 needed a new personality for the coveted afternoon slot after the death of “The Real Don Steele.”

Tom is a professional image voicist for local radio stations, national radio stations, and TV commercials.

Tom's funniest radio story was when he was the first radio personality in the WORLD to play John Lennon's, "Imagine" back in 1971. His boss hand wrote on the record the title of the song. Tom read it on-air as "Here's the brand new John Lennon song "IM-A-GENE."

Tom enjoys playing pool every Saturday night on my Olhausen Pool Table with his family and friends.

Shotgun's Favorites include actor Jack Nicholson, actress Sandra Bullock, film of all time "American Graffitti", song "Reach Out and I'll Be There" by The Four Tops, LA Sports Team the Los Angeles Lakers, subject in school was photography, and the color blue. His hobbies are billiards, especially "8 Ball", photography, and building model railroads.

KRTH 101's website contributed to this report.

We Want Your Old San Diego Radio News Articles

The archives of the old Dave's Radio Waves from 1998-2000 and Cal Radio News from 2001-2003 are finally online once again. SDN is accepting submissions of radio news articles and hopes to host some old news articles from the now-defunct Radio Guide San Diego and Radio Guide Los Angeles magazines.

I went through my closet and found five old issues of San Diego Radio Guide and four of Radio Guide Los Angeles. I'm not sure when they first began publishing or quit, but I first heard about Los Angeles Radio Guide way back in 1989 on the old Wally George Great American Radio Show on KLAC 570. I guess Wally was talking to, I believe it was publisher Ben Jacoby, who let him give a plug about Radio Guide on his show. I sent out some money and got a 1989 Los Angeles Radio Guide with just the listings of all the radio shows and stations that were on back then.

If anyone has some old San Diego radio news bits that I can publish, please let me know.

I would like to personally encourage more 'late breaking stories' about radio mergers, sales, format changes, personnel changes, FCC news and other news about the industry.

If you are a SDN reader and have not contributed recently, please feel strongly encouraged to do so now.

Please take the time to start posting any information, even strong rumor (although you should label it AS rumor) and send to me.

We want to see as much immediate information as possible

Please Click Here to Submit Your Radio News Story