February 16, 2025 • 31 mins
Stan Bell, (The Bellringer) has made black history in Memphis by being the only and first black DJ to have actual shift on 4 of the top rated radio stations in the Market. K97, V101, WDIA and Hallelujah FM.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, hello everyone, and welcome to another edition of the Pulse.
Thank you for being here with me all this Black
History month. Man, We've been talking about some history around
here and I'm loving every minute of it. And a
lot of you probably don't even know some of the
history that we're getting ready to talk about today. Ladies
and gentlemen, My special guest today is the extraordinary legendary.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
That's all you got adjectives.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Y'all know who it is, the bell ring gud airchair.
Ladies and gentlemen, they ain't but one. You know what
I'm saying. The bell ringer Stan Bell is in the
building and class is going to be in session for
(00:57):
the next how many minutes? Twenty eight? Now, Yeah, thank
you for saying yes. Thank you for saying yes. You
know I was telling Tracy last week. I think a
lot of times, you know, we are so about the
business of sharing black history that we don't share what
happens in our building. In the iHeartRadio Building, iHeart Media
(01:20):
Memphis Building, Stan Bell has made some history around here.
Maybe you guys don't even know it, but he is
the only radio junk in our cluster, and probably the
only one in the market that's had a radio show
on four radio stations, and these ain't just no. Four
(01:47):
of the top radio stations in Memphis, Tennessee's what's what's
your guy that does your open on your show.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Stan Bell? Maybe that's the Spanish fly Fly classes session.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
So tell us about that because when you started, because
I know you started very young, you've been djaying for
a very long time. How old were you when you
started DJing first.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Off on commercial that way or just on.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
The period period.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Well, let's put like this. I started in on K
ninety seven to nineteen eighty six, but I was on
college radio uh in like the early well the early
to mid eighties, right, yeah, and then college from college
radio uh to Jackson, Tennessee. Yeah, in eighty five. So
(02:41):
I've been on quite a for quite some time. But
first of all, let me say thanks for having me
on this pull on the pulse, thank you for further
My mama told me I always expressive gratitude. First, I
ain't gonna go into this thing without telling you thank you, No,
thank you, You got your fingertips on the puls of
the community. So I had to say, yes, I'm taking
(03:02):
back from the beginning and up to now. So I
had to say yes when you invited me to come on,
be on and show. You know, it feels different being
on this side of the control.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
You don't look comfortable at right right.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
I just kicked back. I'm like, but I'm I'm in
the hot seat now. You know, I stand up on
my show and stuff, so you gotta be sitting in
this hot seat fielding questions, I'm using the one asking.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
The questioned seriously, because I know you've done radio in
different places, and you started out you said with radio
station and what station? What campus were you on when
you started?
Speaker 2 (03:37):
It was w U T M, which is U T
Martin T Martin, Yeah, ninety point three FLA. Then even
before that store me it was there was an AM
station on campus. That's really where we get started at.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Yeah, it was.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
It was at AM six eighty something like that. The
dawn of contemporary radio is what oppositioning statement was. So yeah,
I left there, went to the f side of it
on college radio.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
But I heard you were you were you were doing
the ones and twos before all of that.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Oh yeah, yeah, if you want to talk about being
in the streets, playing the streets, okay, okay, yeah, well
it all got started stoing me. My father, uh pretty
much gave me my first break. You know. I used
to dj, uh well DJ, but I will select the
music to play for when he would have his uh
Masonic brothers off his lodge will come over to the house,
right and they have these barbecues, you know, cookouts and
(04:30):
stuff like that. So we had this component set. Yeah,
I mean his old school, the spindle and the records
dropping down, you know, after one is over, the next
come on. But you know, he would tell me, you know,
he said, I want you to play this record. Then
after that you played this when played out and then
after a while I kind of got into my I
(04:50):
didn't realized what I was doing was was really uh
programming the party. Wow, you know, and I didn't know.
I'm a kid about probably about ten you ten doing that. Yeah,
and I would he wouldn't let me come out there
because we had it speakers on the in the backyard.
Yeah you know you know how you put him in
the backyard, you barbecue, y'all have money, Well it was
(05:13):
in rigged, in rigged.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
Yeah money there, y'all had a little change.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Yeah, yeah, he has to speaks up there in the back,
you know, coming out permeating from the dining from the
living room. Actually I did, and it would it would
project outside. You know, you had a.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
Den, y'all were y'all?
Speaker 2 (05:35):
Yeah, I thought everybody had did well. And I take
that back, I know, no.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
But seriously, that's how I started. Your dad put that in.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
You see.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
Now that's amazing to me. Is your father still with us?
Speaker 2 (05:48):
No, he's in the celestial city. Uh. He passed away
in nineteen ninety seven, December nineteen ninety seven. You always, oh, absolutely, absolutely, yeah,
you know, owe a whole lot. He was dead of gratitude,
I do. He served in the military career conflict, you know, yes,
(06:12):
he made as high as a sergeant of course in
the army master sergeant thre up, three down, and then
he uh, I mean, but the music then came from him,
you know that, that playing the music and looking at
the admiral covers and knowing what to play next. And
after a while, after a couple of other barbecues on
down the road, he turned me loose and just let
me put put it on. So I couldn't go back
there with the grown men and the you know, the
(06:34):
Masons is that kind of thing. But he I could
look through the sliding door onedow and look at them
having fun, and I could really see if the music
that I was playing was where they reacting to it was.
You know, they didn't do a lot of dancing, but
you kind of tell, yeah, they were feeling the vibe
out there. So that's where it all started. And we
took that and a little bit. I know he had
put planeted something into my spirit to take this thing
(06:57):
a little bit further. Wow.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
So first when you went to ut Martin and you decided,
did you say, hey, I want to be on the radio.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
Well, that was the intent. It started early with me
Storman it got bit by the broadcasting bug, if you will.
That's in the seventh grade. Yeah, I was about twelve
at Snowden Junior High in Memphis Stone Junior High. It's
snow in middle Now. I was just talking to doing
(07:28):
the Super Bowl. As we said, now that it's over,
the big gang went up fifty nine. I was talking
to one of my friends who went to Snowed with me,
Attorney Bretrian Thompson, one of my oldest friends, and he
was we were sitting in an English class at Snowden
and the English teacher. Our teacher said, I guess we
had a little break. He said, we want you to go.
You finished our work early or something. He said, I
(07:48):
want you and Bretcham to go down to the band
room and interview the director of bands, the band director.
This is the seventh grade?
Speaker 1 (07:55):
What great? What class was that? This?
Speaker 2 (07:56):
I guess was the English class. I think it was
an English class. Her name may come to me, miss,
I want to say ooh. I was almost said Tepping Paul,
but I think it was another lady name, maybe either
pend the Grass or Tepping Paul. But we went down
to the bandroom and interviewed mister Danny Thomas. I do
remember his name, Uh, not to be confused with.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
Saint Jude, right, you know that's where my mind.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Actually his name is Jackie Thomas. Jackie Thomas. He taught
band and she gave us a cassette player and we
had that Michael, know how you my baby microphone to
it externally and you know I would hold the mic
and he would have grabbed the cassette. We walked down
there and we actually interviewed him. Wow, and UH didn't
(08:40):
get any pushback or anything because I was like, we
gonna interrupt this teacher's classroom when he's and the band
is playing all that stuff. And he carved out a
little time to talk to us. Wow, and then we
it was like an assignment from the teacher. So I
guess he understood, so he carved out some time. I
guess he gave us about maybe twenty minutes, you know,
an interview on Yeah, and we were throwing them questions.
(09:02):
I'm just like you're doing with me and your other guests.
And but we were just you know, twelve, and that's
when it kind of started from there. And then after
you know a Left Snow Junior High went to the
north side, right, Yeah, they had this thing called the
w d I A High school reporters. Yeah, teenage reporters.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Yeah. So when I went there, just one second stand listen,
thank y'all for joining us for the polls. I am
Stormy and today our Black History segment, we're talking to
the one and only Stan Bell. Okay, go ahead, Stan.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
And I heard the seniors, the juniors and seniors, you know,
they would let them do it, you know, the class
would you get all the fun stuff. But they used
to play it back to us on the PA system
at school. I said, man, it's so cool. So they
got to go to the radio station on the weekends
a record wow, right, And I heard this at school
in the classroom, you know, you know at the end
(09:54):
of the school you know, they play you know, they
play fun stuff and they do the announcements and say, now,
the wd I High School report just represented the North
Side High School. Let's listen to them. And they were
it just sounded so cool. They they were flowing and
they were telling about all the great things, fantastic activities
that go on yeah to school. Yeah, And I thought
it was just so fascinating. It was cool. So I
went to the guidance counselor professional school counselor yeah as
(10:17):
we call them now, and to ask how could I
be down? How can I be down? I want to
do that? Well here, I am just a sophomore.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
So it kind of went to the upper class and
I guess they had some folks in line. After the
ones who would regularly do it graduated, then somebodyl would
be next in line. So I wanted to be the
next next in line. So after that application, long story short,
and I was, uh, they accept the application and they said, okay,
you're up. When I got to be a junior, so
I did in my junior year and my senior year. Wow,
(10:45):
so and we would have partners. So I had had a.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Big man on campus.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
You know. After a while the people were like wow,
you know, they were like looking up to you, and
of course they wanted to shout out. So you get
back to doing. So it came out, you know, and
a little bit.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
I know.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
All that was leading up to the grid career that
I have now.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
So where Carla come in? Was she one of them?
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Mister Bell?
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (11:04):
Yeah, I met my boo and Memphis I held up
in my arms, you know, I wined her and I
dined I know you did. And I gave her that
cap of chum. Oh lord, and she kissed me on
my lips. Can I say this on the radio? And
I rubbed her on her thighs, and then before you
know it, I was getting that fire new pie.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
Lord, have mercy, and you're gonna get me taken off there?
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Yeah, yeah, we don't. We don't step up to the edge.
I ain't gonna cross it. But I may already have.
But I met sister Bell. I did me the Memphis.
She went to Central High School. And you know what
the first sight was it? Well I did when I
saw I said, you know what, she might just be
the one, really, and she passed all the checkpoints, all
(11:52):
the you know, if I say it now test you know,
because you know you hang out with a disc jockey,
you know that's a serious test because we always on
the gold. You know, we're doing all the gigs, stay
to the end. Everybody, Yeah, everybody want to come up
to you, how to let you know? I mean she
passed the flying colors, she said, matter of fact, she
didn't really really know who I was, so to speak,
you know. And so you know, we dated for a
(12:14):
while and then you know, after a while, I said,
this is not phasing her. I mean she's the one. Yeah,
so you know what, you know it when you know
it's the one, you just feel it. And so and
she uh, I mean no jealousy, and I mean she
can cook. I ain't no, I ain't know that then,
but you burned now, I'm like, whoa, I ain't see
(12:35):
all that coming. I just knew she was somebody that
I had no problem with my career. Yeah, mind me
DJing you know, being out lakers.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
And support is real. You know what they say, This
is what I say. Behind every good man, there's an
even better woman that what I say.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
Yeah, trump on that lady Jenks. I got some vanilla wafers,
but yeah, she's been a blessing to me.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
And you know, it's I think it's it's it's it's
interesting that you would talk about your love story considering
the fact that this is like a love weekend because
Valentine's Day was Friday. You know what I'm saying, this
is a love weekend and a lot of people talking
about black love. You know, you see essence and ebony
and a lot of even TV shows talking about you
know that black love. And it sounds like you and
(13:28):
Carla have something because your your your your your everything
that I think a young man should look up to.
You got a wife, you got your three sons, and
you're I'm not in your house, but you seem like
an amazing dad. I hear the support that you have
(13:49):
for your kids. You talk about them, Yeah, you you.
I'm sure you admonish them at home if you have to,
and things like that. But those and not only that,
but your career is man it's not even really because
I have the same career. But for us, I think
we love so much what we do. It's like it's
(14:11):
like your life is a is a tapestry or even
a quilt. It's just woven so perfectly.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Thank you, you know, I receive it.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
You know it's something to be admired, is basically what
I'm trying to say.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Yeah, I've always held onto, you know, to find a
job that you love to do and feel that it matters.
How could anything else be more fun? So and so
if you got the job that you love, Okay, you
got that, then if you want to add on another
piece of that, which would be a family when it's time,
because see, I guess for what ever, since this makes
(14:45):
I married late? I din't get married. I was thirty two,
thirty two, So is that late count of sort of well.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
You know about average, it's it's it's I would say,
it's not late now, but when you got married it
was late.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
It was. Yeah, this generation is not no, it's not no, no,
you're right right, shoot, but not getting married at forty two? Shoot, yeah,
if at all? Right? So yeah, so I didn't think
of it as that that way. You're right, but but
it really I think God was kind of telling me
to just take your time. I got one for you.
(15:19):
You know, you just keep doing. You do your DJing
and and doing your radio gear. Because you know, I
had been on the air on K ninety seven since
nineteen eighty six, and I didn't get married till nineteen
ninety two. So what's that six years before I could
beat you?
Speaker 1 (15:38):
I look at you knew her? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (15:39):
Yeah, we met, I guess about eighty started dating about
eighty eight, and then it was off and on right. Yeah,
I commemb period where we didn't know, we didn't go
out much, and we you know, we kind of lost touch.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
That kind of thing, ladies, there's hope anyway.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
Yeah. Yeah, Well Jeff Jeffery Osbale said this song it
takes separation to ring about appreciation. Yeah, so that look
gap h It was like, wow, it came. She came
back around. I came back around some kind of way.
And I'm gonna tell you the funny thing I met
Carlo tell you at the Credit Union Memphis area to
(16:18):
just credit Union. She was a branch manager right. Matter
of fact, before she came branch manager, she was just
like she was a tailer, and then she moved up
to head tailor tailor, and then we were seeing each
other and stuff like that. My mother is responsible pretty
much for us being together. And she I don't know
if she did intentional or not. I didn't see it coming.
She would have me come pay her bills, you know,
she would write to check out. And then she said, Okay,
(16:39):
I want you to have a list go up to
the credit union and you to pay this, pay that,
pay that. She said, I don't feel like going up there.
You go up there, that kind of thing. Yeah, I
don't think she knew her, because she didn't say ask
for her by name. She just said, just pay this bill,
go do it. So I'm like going going back and forth.
And we would do this at least, you know, because
(16:59):
I have to go up there. She said me maybe
twice a month, you know, fifteenth and the thirtieth, right,
And I found myself going up to a little more often.
Need a mobile pain. So I caught her eye. And
then I knew one of the tellers who was sitting
next to her, who were kind of next to her
on teller's roll. Right, yeah, credit Union. I asked her,
(17:22):
you know, I knew her. I said, who is that
over there? And she said, you know it says is
Carlor you know that kind of thing, and and I said,
h hook me up. Tell I need to meet her,
you know that kind of stuff like that. So yeah,
and one thing led to another and then you know,
we got touched that way. Long story short, and uh shoot,
(17:43):
I had to pop that question on her after getting
after you know, getting to nowhere and going out more
often and met her parents. They were cool, I mean.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
So so was the was the pop the question a
big grand gesture like did you do it on the radio?
Did you know?
Speaker 2 (18:01):
You know what? When almost I came really close to
popular question doing church. I used to do the church announcements,
you know what, you know, you to do the announcements
in church, and I thought about it. I asked a
good friend of mine by the name of Carolyn Simms.
We grew up together in the church at Saint John
Baptist Church on Vans. We were good friends too. She
(18:21):
went to Hamilton, uh, and of course I was the
north side and we were you know, you know, kind
of close. And she went to ut Martin by the way, too,
So I felt like I kind of talked to her.
I said, I got this young lady, I kind of
like when I and she knew Calum. But I said
something that. I said something like, I want to do
something big and different unique. When I popped the question
and I asked her, she said, should I do? I'm
(18:43):
thinking about doing it. Doing the church announced when I
finished the last announcement, and these are your your morning
announcements governing yourselves accordingly, Oh, I forgot just one announcement,
and I thought about doing it, And she says, Dan,
I feel you on that gesture, but I don't know
if you might want to do that. I don't even
think colin those maybe not until now. So I didn't
(19:05):
do it. So I just I did the old traditional way,
you know, I went to your parents' house, you know.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
Yeah, a moment, so that's how you do it.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
Yeah, yeah, it was. It was almost fairy tale action.
But yeah, yeah, So I don't know if I had
I done it in church with what the effect would
have been. I might have got embarrassed.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
No, it's happened. To tell them to two and for
those of you that are just joining us, Stan Bell
is on the show Ladies and Gentlemen, the man who's
made black history in Memphis by working on four of
the top He's had a radio show on four of
the top radio stations in this market. As a matter
of fact, right now, he is still on two of
those radio stations.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
Yeah, mornings, any evening and evenings. Yeah, morning's on the
legendary w d S. Yeah, in the morning, six to ten.
So you know, we go a little over it, get good. Yeah,
then take a little break, good, little good brunch and
all that kind of stuff. See, sister Bill needs a
little something, you know. Yeah, I'll go to the house
(20:03):
kicked back for a little bit, you know, go up
on job if I need to. And then before you
know it is through a rock and it's time to
do my thing on the FM side of one on one.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
Okay, So how does it feel to have to be
on two stations, but also to be rated so well
on both of them? How does that feel?
Speaker 2 (20:24):
Blessing? I didn't see any of it coming. I just
wanted to work on wd I A when I was
a young kid growing up listening to HERB the K
and Bill Atkins and and.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
You were kind of doing it. Yeah, yeah, you were
making your way to it.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
Making my way to it full circle now, who thunk? Yeah, listen,
the roof is the dog Thomas. And you know, my
guy was heard the k when I was coming up,
you know, in the mid to late seventies. You know,
he was the guy, the big guy on campus, so
to speak on wd I A. So I wanted to
be like herd Yeah, and I wanted that same shift
seven till eleven I think he was on. It just
seemed like I was just the hot show, the young
(21:01):
folk with listen to all that kind of stuff. So,
you know, so growing up listening to those cats, you know,
and what it was the other part of your question,
Oh yeah, what are the different stations? Yeah yeah, yeah
to the juke around. Yeah, they joke around here is
kind of like, well, you know, he's the egot. You know,
I've done for radio stations, right, you know, as we're saying,
(21:22):
you know, Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. Right, so we've
done the urban station, you know, ninety seven of course
w d I A V one oh one and then
Hallelujah f So yeah, so that's four station, that's right. Yeah,
what's up Tracy? Right, But I'm gonna tell you the funny
thing about how that worked. Of course, you know w
(21:43):
d I A uh, it's always been a great radio station.
But by the time I graduated college, you know, from
UT Martin FM was strong. I mean it was so
I was like, I won't to be okay ninety seven. Yeah,
So I applied three times and it was the third
time as a charm, I guess first time I said no,
you know, you know, I'm out of college. You know,
I'm like, oh, what I'm gonna do? They told me no.
They told me no because because as you know, Stormy,
(22:05):
just having a college degree does not that does not necessarily
mean you guarantee the jobs, you know what I mean,
So you gotta do something. So first time I asked
about it, and then nobody's leaving. Everybody's happy. So it's
you know, and next time, your boy, we don't know
if you ready for commercial yet. You know, you just
got our college. You ain't ready for commercial, So well
what do I start? I mean, you know, but that
(22:26):
was a big, successful, successful stick, as we say. And
then so next time, you know, they were like, okay,
let's give you a shot. But the way that happened,
you know, the K ninety seven was because of a
skating rink and coming to Tennessee. I was the how
would they say, the house disc jockey, and when Pam Wells,
who was the program director of K ninety seven at
the time in eighty six, invioded me to just, you know,
(22:50):
come sit into the station and you know, rest pretty
much history after that. So she hired me, and then
the way the the Hallelujah came about Big Sue. I
don't know if you've had it on your show yet.
I have Big Sue, I have VP operation whatever. But anyway,
I had been here for a while. Well I'll come
back to it. Let me let me go to one
(23:11):
on one all right, So one left K I said,
with one on one, you know what, did you go
kicking and scream I went kicking and screaming. How'd you know,
screaming and hollering and shouting anybody in my way? I
was like Western snipes, uh. When they told him he
had to get out of there, mine mine mind, you
know how you stand down? Although it was that jungle
pick some up jungle, Well, I was like, what all
these things, y'all, y'all, let me go here.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
So basically what I remember the days.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
Let me let me play kick and screen.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Put a pin in it right there. I remember the
days when when we would always say people would say, uh, eventually,
and you I've heard you. I heard you say it
years ago. Wow, eventually, you know, you said you when
you were on one on one he say eventually, I'm on,
I'm on. I know I'm gonna end up on w D.
I A wow, you said that. In me we would
(23:57):
have meetings and things like that. Really, I think you
just kind of spoke it into existence, and I mean
it should have It should happen anyway. It's just a
natural progression of the history of stan Bell, you know
what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Yeah, it's fate would have it, you know. A rest
in peace to my predecessor, mister Bobby Oja. You taught
me quite a few things along the way, and even
more so than that. Uh. You know, I just stand
on the shoulders of so many disc jockeys, if you will,
radio talent jocks, their personalities, announcers, all the monikers that
we have. Yeah, you know, even back through the years.
I owe them a huge debt of gratitude. I owe
(24:33):
them a lot of credit because I stand on their shoulders.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
You know.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
I mentioned some of the likes of you know, Mark Stansbery,
brother Ford Nelson, al Ford's and Nelson whom a lot
of a lot of those announcers. I went to church
with Rufus Thomas. Yeah, you went to Saint John Baptist Church,
Vance Avenue six forty Vans. Rufus was a member there,
Rufus Thomas Jr. At people didn't know he was a junior.
I would see him come in and marvel at him,
you know, because I didn't realize who was this guy
(24:56):
coming in, you know, sharply dressed guy, you know, sept
towards maybe three quarters of the sanctuary back. Uh, And
it was just something about him. Corlin Thomas was also
you know their van Nisse you know. Uh and and
and Nat D. Williams was my Sunday school teacher.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
Yes, is now you've got young men. They are looking
at you like you looked at them. Could be no,
ain't no, could be.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
Yeah, ain't no.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
Could be. So if if if this is gonna be
a tough one for you, if Rufus Thomas were alive today,
and uh, knowing you were at d I A and
and uh kJ mss what you what do you think
he would say to you?
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Okay, so he was alive. Matter this is, this is
it's kind of interesting to Stormy. Rufus Thomas transitioned about
a week before I went to V one oh one.
What well, Yes, So Rufus Thomas passed away in December
(26:07):
of two thousand and one. And the reason why I
know it so clearly like that matter of fact, I
may want to say December seventeen somewhere there back because
a little bit after my birthday. My birthday is December fourteenth, right,
And he passed away in two thousand and one. And
he always he said, you know when I left K
(26:28):
ninety seven, kicking and screaming in two thousand and one,
after fifteen years of dedicated, long fun service to the company. Yeah,
and they tell me when I'm coming in one day,
three o'clock, I said. I was like I was running.
I was like, it was just right up, time to
come in play my themes, son, They said, they told me,
they say, no need to play that theme song. We
(26:49):
got you. The boss wants to talk to you in
the back. And so that was two thousand and one.
That's when they gave me the news that I would
be going to. You know, I would no longer be
a K ninety seven whr kids, we know it, I'll
be going to. I said, where I'm going? Instead told
me said we would like to have you a work
on one on one, be one on one point one.
I was like, oh no, they're playing too much slow stuff.
(27:11):
You know, I'm the hype guy. If you think I
got energy now, just imagine two thousand and one some
years ago. You know, I came in I never sat
down on my show stand up kicking jamming. People look
at me like I was crazy. I mean, these are
co workers and stuff, and said, this guy here, there's
too much energy to the room. What's going on? And
Pam well said, that's why I hired him. So when,
of course all these jocks are long gone, you know,
(27:32):
I got a chance to work with the likes of
Jimmy Smith. They called him the incredible Jimmy Smith. He
may know him from the Arkansas Connection. He went to
Conway and then he was just a big jock. He
was a big jock. You know. Pam Wells hired me
Lisa Lips. I don't know if he recognized that name.
We had a lot of Mac Wiggins. His name is
Mike Wiggins. I worked with sky Walker. Remember they just
(27:54):
called him John Skywalker.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
You know, man.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
It was just great John Lawson, I mean, the news
department was just we just had an incredible time. A C. J.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
Morgan.
Speaker 2 (28:02):
Yo, So what it's time me to leave on like
all this history. I'm getting ready to go to one
on one. They playing too much slow song. I want
to be there. And then I talked to my wife
about it. I told her what they had said to me,
and she said, you better take that job, and uh,
you know, and so I said, okay, let's do it.
And I told the GM Bruce Stemps at the time.
Yeah right, yeah. The program director was Nate Bell, the
(28:22):
relation that I know, and it was his brainchild. And
I'll say that now, yeah, you know, uh to put
me over there, yeah you know. And and and then
I think you about some jumping, a little jump pump
to that pump circumstance, jumping over there, jumping jumping like
this in this child jump.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
And one on one now wow, Yeah, from when you
started to where it is now. Yeah, the number one
rated radio station in the market and maybe in the
country now.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
I saw some some staggering numbers. I don't want to
glow it, but I did. You know how every now
and they'll put us in that room and they'll show
some numbers on the screen.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
Yeah, man, yeah, man, you're pulling them.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
Yeah. People on the one we pulling them.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
You're pulling them because the success doesn't just stop there,
it's it goes straight with you to w D I.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
Okay, so yeah, let's let's do it like this. So
from one on one big Suit came in. As I
mentioned earlier, I was doing my show and she.
Speaker 1 (29:20):
We're gonna have to do a part too.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
Project looks like the sequel because we almost running out
of day. And she asked me, we want to go
to one on we want to go to Hallelujahs what
just right after interview and then at the time presidential
candidate Joe Biden, Yeah you did that big get that one. Yeah,
that was that was that's a big on the career.
That's big on on the list. Uh. And then right
after that she came in and said, uh, they've been
there's been talking about you moving over to Hallelujah. I said, oh,
(29:44):
moving or not again? You know w h al you said, no,
you're still gonna be on V, but you'll be able
to do that in a different time slot. Right. So anyway,
so fast forward, do the V. I mean, yeah, we
do K, we do V, we do Hallelujah, and then
we go over to w D I A. I didn't
see that one coming.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
Wait a minute, now, you spoke at all those times,
but you didn't see it. Come on, We didn't know.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
Well, I didn't know mister oj was was leaving him.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
Okay, we didn't know that that's what that was.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
And so I said, would Bobby will be here forever,
you know, that's his deal d I A. So let
me just be the best I can on the stage
that I'm working with on.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
But but could you have if Bobby were still alive.
Couldn't you see yourself doing something else on DA?
Speaker 2 (30:24):
You know, well, you know I was on DA prior
to be doing the Morning Show. And I think that's
when that was another reason why I think the Powers
to be said, you know what, he's got some experience
on w d I. I don't know if you remember
back in twenty twelve somewhat thereabout Bobby hired me to
do nights on D I a right, remember, because they
didn't want just the music.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
Actually right, because you and I were both over there
at the same time.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
Yes, yes, yes, yeah, And that's how.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
It seems like I'm following you, doesn't it. Oh my goodness, listen,
we I've got to wrap this up. But oh no,
you know what I'm going to do. If if, if
you're willing to do it, Let's do part two next week.
How about that?
Speaker 2 (31:05):
Sure? Well, yeah, let's do it. I'm smacking now, ladiess
do my apologizing. Vanilla wafers are good.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
The story is so incredible. I think people want to
hear it all, and I want to give it to
him because here's the deal. We only get one month
for Black History, okay, so we don't get you out
in black this Black History Next week Part two with
stan Bell The Bell Ring serving.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
You well, pushing more power than a duracy.
Speaker 1 (31:33):
Thanks Stormy, keeping our fingertips on the pulse of our community.
I'm Stormy. We'll see you next week, same time, same
station for Part two with stan Bell. We'll see you
next week.
Well, hello everyone, and welcome to another edition of the Pulse.
Thank you for being here with me all this Black
History month. Man, We've been talking about some history around
here and I'm loving every minute of it. And a
lot of you probably don't even know some of the
history that we're getting ready to talk about today. Ladies
and gentlemen, My special guest today is the extraordinary legendary.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
That's all you got adjectives.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Y'all know who it is, the bell ring gud airchair.
Ladies and gentlemen, they ain't but one. You know what
I'm saying. The bell ringer Stan Bell is in the
building and class is going to be in session for
(00:57):
the next how many minutes? Twenty eight? Now, Yeah, thank
you for saying yes. Thank you for saying yes. You
know I was telling Tracy last week. I think a
lot of times, you know, we are so about the
business of sharing black history that we don't share what
happens in our building. In the iHeartRadio Building, iHeart Media
(01:20):
Memphis Building, Stan Bell has made some history around here.
Maybe you guys don't even know it, but he is
the only radio junk in our cluster, and probably the
only one in the market that's had a radio show
on four radio stations, and these ain't just no. Four
(01:47):
of the top radio stations in Memphis, Tennessee's what's what's
your guy that does your open on your show.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Stan Bell? Maybe that's the Spanish fly Fly classes session.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
So tell us about that because when you started, because
I know you started very young, you've been djaying for
a very long time. How old were you when you
started DJing first.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Off on commercial that way or just on.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
The period period.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Well, let's put like this. I started in on K
ninety seven to nineteen eighty six, but I was on
college radio uh in like the early well the early
to mid eighties, right, yeah, and then college from college
radio uh to Jackson, Tennessee. Yeah, in eighty five. So
(02:41):
I've been on quite a for quite some time. But
first of all, let me say thanks for having me
on this pull on the pulse, thank you for further
My mama told me I always expressive gratitude. First, I
ain't gonna go into this thing without telling you thank you, No,
thank you, You got your fingertips on the puls of
the community. So I had to say, yes, I'm taking
(03:02):
back from the beginning and up to now. So I
had to say yes when you invited me to come on,
be on and show. You know, it feels different being
on this side of the control.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
You don't look comfortable at right right.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
I just kicked back. I'm like, but I'm I'm in
the hot seat now. You know, I stand up on
my show and stuff, so you gotta be sitting in
this hot seat fielding questions, I'm using the one asking.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
The questioned seriously, because I know you've done radio in
different places, and you started out you said with radio
station and what station? What campus were you on when
you started?
Speaker 2 (03:37):
It was w U T M, which is U T
Martin T Martin, Yeah, ninety point three FLA. Then even
before that store me it was there was an AM
station on campus. That's really where we get started at.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Yeah, it was.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
It was at AM six eighty something like that. The
dawn of contemporary radio is what oppositioning statement was. So yeah,
I left there, went to the f side of it
on college radio.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
But I heard you were you were you were doing
the ones and twos before all of that.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Oh yeah, yeah, if you want to talk about being
in the streets, playing the streets, okay, okay, yeah, well
it all got started stoing me. My father, uh pretty
much gave me my first break. You know. I used
to dj, uh well DJ, but I will select the
music to play for when he would have his uh
Masonic brothers off his lodge will come over to the house,
right and they have these barbecues, you know, cookouts and
(04:30):
stuff like that. So we had this component set. Yeah,
I mean his old school, the spindle and the records
dropping down, you know, after one is over, the next
come on. But you know, he would tell me, you know,
he said, I want you to play this record. Then
after that you played this when played out and then
after a while I kind of got into my I
(04:50):
didn't realized what I was doing was was really uh
programming the party. Wow, you know, and I didn't know.
I'm a kid about probably about ten you ten doing that. Yeah,
and I would he wouldn't let me come out there
because we had it speakers on the in the backyard.
Yeah you know you know how you put him in
the backyard, you barbecue, y'all have money, Well it was
(05:13):
in rigged, in rigged.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
Yeah money there, y'all had a little change.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Yeah, yeah, he has to speaks up there in the back,
you know, coming out permeating from the dining from the
living room. Actually I did, and it would it would
project outside. You know, you had a.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
Den, y'all were y'all?
Speaker 2 (05:35):
Yeah, I thought everybody had did well. And I take
that back, I know, no.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
But seriously, that's how I started. Your dad put that in.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
You see.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
Now that's amazing to me. Is your father still with us?
Speaker 2 (05:48):
No, he's in the celestial city. Uh. He passed away
in nineteen ninety seven, December nineteen ninety seven. You always, oh, absolutely, absolutely, yeah,
you know, owe a whole lot. He was dead of gratitude,
I do. He served in the military career conflict, you know, yes,
(06:12):
he made as high as a sergeant of course in
the army master sergeant thre up, three down, and then
he uh, I mean, but the music then came from him,
you know that, that playing the music and looking at
the admiral covers and knowing what to play next. And
after a while, after a couple of other barbecues on
down the road, he turned me loose and just let
me put put it on. So I couldn't go back
there with the grown men and the you know, the
(06:34):
Masons is that kind of thing. But he I could
look through the sliding door onedow and look at them
having fun, and I could really see if the music
that I was playing was where they reacting to it was.
You know, they didn't do a lot of dancing, but
you kind of tell, yeah, they were feeling the vibe
out there. So that's where it all started. And we
took that and a little bit. I know he had
put planeted something into my spirit to take this thing
(06:57):
a little bit further. Wow.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
So first when you went to ut Martin and you decided,
did you say, hey, I want to be on the radio.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
Well, that was the intent. It started early with me
Storman it got bit by the broadcasting bug, if you will.
That's in the seventh grade. Yeah, I was about twelve
at Snowden Junior High in Memphis Stone Junior High. It's
snow in middle Now. I was just talking to doing
(07:28):
the Super Bowl. As we said, now that it's over,
the big gang went up fifty nine. I was talking
to one of my friends who went to Snowed with me,
Attorney Bretrian Thompson, one of my oldest friends, and he
was we were sitting in an English class at Snowden
and the English teacher. Our teacher said, I guess we
had a little break. He said, we want you to go.
You finished our work early or something. He said, I
(07:48):
want you and Bretcham to go down to the band
room and interview the director of bands, the band director.
This is the seventh grade?
Speaker 1 (07:55):
What great? What class was that? This?
Speaker 2 (07:56):
I guess was the English class. I think it was
an English class. Her name may come to me, miss,
I want to say ooh. I was almost said Tepping Paul,
but I think it was another lady name, maybe either
pend the Grass or Tepping Paul. But we went down
to the bandroom and interviewed mister Danny Thomas. I do
remember his name, Uh, not to be confused with.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
Saint Jude, right, you know that's where my mind.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Actually his name is Jackie Thomas. Jackie Thomas. He taught
band and she gave us a cassette player and we
had that Michael, know how you my baby microphone to
it externally and you know I would hold the mic
and he would have grabbed the cassette. We walked down
there and we actually interviewed him. Wow, and UH didn't
(08:40):
get any pushback or anything because I was like, we
gonna interrupt this teacher's classroom when he's and the band
is playing all that stuff. And he carved out a
little time to talk to us. Wow, and then we
it was like an assignment from the teacher. So I
guess he understood, so he carved out some time. I
guess he gave us about maybe twenty minutes, you know,
an interview on Yeah, and we were throwing them questions.
(09:02):
I'm just like you're doing with me and your other guests.
And but we were just you know, twelve, and that's
when it kind of started from there. And then after
you know a Left Snow Junior High went to the
north side, right, Yeah, they had this thing called the
w d I A High school reporters. Yeah, teenage reporters.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Yeah. So when I went there, just one second stand listen,
thank y'all for joining us for the polls. I am
Stormy and today our Black History segment, we're talking to
the one and only Stan Bell. Okay, go ahead, Stan.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
And I heard the seniors, the juniors and seniors, you know,
they would let them do it, you know, the class
would you get all the fun stuff. But they used
to play it back to us on the PA system
at school. I said, man, it's so cool. So they
got to go to the radio station on the weekends
a record wow, right, And I heard this at school
in the classroom, you know, you know at the end
(09:54):
of the school you know, they play you know, they
play fun stuff and they do the announcements and say, now,
the wd I High School report just represented the North
Side High School. Let's listen to them. And they were
it just sounded so cool. They they were flowing and
they were telling about all the great things, fantastic activities
that go on yeah to school. Yeah, And I thought
it was just so fascinating. It was cool. So I
went to the guidance counselor professional school counselor yeah as
(10:17):
we call them now, and to ask how could I
be down? How can I be down? I want to
do that? Well here, I am just a sophomore.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
So it kind of went to the upper class and
I guess they had some folks in line. After the
ones who would regularly do it graduated, then somebodyl would
be next in line. So I wanted to be the
next next in line. So after that application, long story short,
and I was, uh, they accept the application and they said, okay,
you're up. When I got to be a junior, so
I did in my junior year and my senior year. Wow,
(10:45):
so and we would have partners. So I had had a.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Big man on campus.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
You know. After a while the people were like wow,
you know, they were like looking up to you, and
of course they wanted to shout out. So you get
back to doing. So it came out, you know, and
a little bit.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
I know.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
All that was leading up to the grid career that
I have now.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
So where Carla come in? Was she one of them?
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Mister Bell?
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (11:04):
Yeah, I met my boo and Memphis I held up
in my arms, you know, I wined her and I
dined I know you did. And I gave her that
cap of chum. Oh lord, and she kissed me on
my lips. Can I say this on the radio? And
I rubbed her on her thighs, and then before you
know it, I was getting that fire new pie.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
Lord, have mercy, and you're gonna get me taken off there?
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Yeah, yeah, we don't. We don't step up to the edge.
I ain't gonna cross it. But I may already have.
But I met sister Bell. I did me the Memphis.
She went to Central High School. And you know what
the first sight was it? Well I did when I
saw I said, you know what, she might just be
the one, really, and she passed all the checkpoints, all
(11:52):
the you know, if I say it now test you know,
because you know you hang out with a disc jockey,
you know that's a serious test because we always on
the gold. You know, we're doing all the gigs, stay
to the end. Everybody, Yeah, everybody want to come up
to you, how to let you know? I mean she
passed the flying colors, she said, matter of fact, she
didn't really really know who I was, so to speak,
you know. And so you know, we dated for a
(12:14):
while and then you know, after a while, I said,
this is not phasing her. I mean she's the one. Yeah,
so you know what, you know it when you know
it's the one, you just feel it. And so and
she uh, I mean no jealousy, and I mean she
can cook. I ain't no, I ain't know that then,
but you burned now, I'm like, whoa, I ain't see
(12:35):
all that coming. I just knew she was somebody that
I had no problem with my career. Yeah, mind me
DJing you know, being out lakers.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
And support is real. You know what they say, This
is what I say. Behind every good man, there's an
even better woman that what I say.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
Yeah, trump on that lady Jenks. I got some vanilla wafers,
but yeah, she's been a blessing to me.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
And you know, it's I think it's it's it's it's
interesting that you would talk about your love story considering
the fact that this is like a love weekend because
Valentine's Day was Friday. You know what I'm saying, this
is a love weekend and a lot of people talking
about black love. You know, you see essence and ebony
and a lot of even TV shows talking about you
know that black love. And it sounds like you and
(13:28):
Carla have something because your your your your your everything
that I think a young man should look up to.
You got a wife, you got your three sons, and
you're I'm not in your house, but you seem like
an amazing dad. I hear the support that you have
(13:49):
for your kids. You talk about them, Yeah, you you.
I'm sure you admonish them at home if you have to,
and things like that. But those and not only that,
but your career is man it's not even really because
I have the same career. But for us, I think
we love so much what we do. It's like it's
(14:11):
like your life is a is a tapestry or even
a quilt. It's just woven so perfectly.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Thank you, you know, I receive it.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
You know it's something to be admired, is basically what
I'm trying to say.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Yeah, I've always held onto, you know, to find a
job that you love to do and feel that it matters.
How could anything else be more fun? So and so
if you got the job that you love, Okay, you
got that, then if you want to add on another
piece of that, which would be a family when it's time,
because see, I guess for what ever, since this makes
(14:45):
I married late? I din't get married. I was thirty two,
thirty two, So is that late count of sort of well.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
You know about average, it's it's it's I would say,
it's not late now, but when you got married it
was late.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
It was. Yeah, this generation is not no, it's not no, no,
you're right right, shoot, but not getting married at forty two? Shoot, yeah,
if at all? Right? So yeah, so I didn't think
of it as that that way. You're right, but but
it really I think God was kind of telling me
to just take your time. I got one for you.
(15:19):
You know, you just keep doing. You do your DJing
and and doing your radio gear. Because you know, I
had been on the air on K ninety seven since
nineteen eighty six, and I didn't get married till nineteen
ninety two. So what's that six years before I could
beat you?
Speaker 1 (15:38):
I look at you knew her? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (15:39):
Yeah, we met, I guess about eighty started dating about
eighty eight, and then it was off and on right. Yeah,
I commemb period where we didn't know, we didn't go
out much, and we you know, we kind of lost touch.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
That kind of thing, ladies, there's hope anyway.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
Yeah. Yeah, Well Jeff Jeffery Osbale said this song it
takes separation to ring about appreciation. Yeah, so that look
gap h It was like, wow, it came. She came
back around. I came back around some kind of way.
And I'm gonna tell you the funny thing I met
Carlo tell you at the Credit Union Memphis area to
(16:18):
just credit Union. She was a branch manager right. Matter
of fact, before she came branch manager, she was just
like she was a tailer, and then she moved up
to head tailor tailor, and then we were seeing each
other and stuff like that. My mother is responsible pretty
much for us being together. And she I don't know
if she did intentional or not. I didn't see it coming.
She would have me come pay her bills, you know,
she would write to check out. And then she said, Okay,
(16:39):
I want you to have a list go up to
the credit union and you to pay this, pay that,
pay that. She said, I don't feel like going up there.
You go up there, that kind of thing. Yeah, I
don't think she knew her, because she didn't say ask
for her by name. She just said, just pay this bill,
go do it. So I'm like going going back and forth.
And we would do this at least, you know, because
(16:59):
I have to go up there. She said me maybe
twice a month, you know, fifteenth and the thirtieth, right,
And I found myself going up to a little more often.
Need a mobile pain. So I caught her eye. And
then I knew one of the tellers who was sitting
next to her, who were kind of next to her
on teller's roll. Right, yeah, credit Union. I asked her,
(17:22):
you know, I knew her. I said, who is that
over there? And she said, you know it says is
Carlor you know that kind of thing, and and I said,
h hook me up. Tell I need to meet her,
you know that kind of stuff like that. So yeah,
and one thing led to another and then you know,
we got touched that way. Long story short, and uh shoot,
(17:43):
I had to pop that question on her after getting
after you know, getting to nowhere and going out more
often and met her parents. They were cool, I mean.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
So so was the was the pop the question a
big grand gesture like did you do it on the radio?
Did you know?
Speaker 2 (18:01):
You know what? When almost I came really close to
popular question doing church. I used to do the church announcements,
you know what, you know, you to do the announcements
in church, and I thought about it. I asked a
good friend of mine by the name of Carolyn Simms.
We grew up together in the church at Saint John
Baptist Church on Vans. We were good friends too. She
(18:21):
went to Hamilton, uh, and of course I was the
north side and we were you know, you know, kind
of close. And she went to ut Martin by the way, too,
So I felt like I kind of talked to her.
I said, I got this young lady, I kind of
like when I and she knew Calum. But I said
something that. I said something like, I want to do
something big and different unique. When I popped the question
and I asked her, she said, should I do? I'm
(18:43):
thinking about doing it. Doing the church announced when I
finished the last announcement, and these are your your morning
announcements governing yourselves accordingly, Oh, I forgot just one announcement,
and I thought about doing it, And she says, Dan,
I feel you on that gesture, but I don't know
if you might want to do that. I don't even
think colin those maybe not until now. So I didn't
(19:05):
do it. So I just I did the old traditional way,
you know, I went to your parents' house, you know.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
Yeah, a moment, so that's how you do it.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
Yeah, yeah, it was. It was almost fairy tale action.
But yeah, yeah, So I don't know if I had
I done it in church with what the effect would
have been. I might have got embarrassed.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
No, it's happened. To tell them to two and for
those of you that are just joining us, Stan Bell
is on the show Ladies and Gentlemen, the man who's
made black history in Memphis by working on four of
the top He's had a radio show on four of
the top radio stations in this market. As a matter
of fact, right now, he is still on two of
those radio stations.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
Yeah, mornings, any evening and evenings. Yeah, morning's on the
legendary w d S. Yeah, in the morning, six to ten.
So you know, we go a little over it, get good. Yeah,
then take a little break, good, little good brunch and
all that kind of stuff. See, sister Bill needs a
little something, you know. Yeah, I'll go to the house
(20:03):
kicked back for a little bit, you know, go up
on job if I need to. And then before you
know it is through a rock and it's time to
do my thing on the FM side of one on one.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
Okay, So how does it feel to have to be
on two stations, but also to be rated so well
on both of them? How does that feel?
Speaker 2 (20:24):
Blessing? I didn't see any of it coming. I just
wanted to work on wd I A when I was
a young kid growing up listening to HERB the K
and Bill Atkins and and.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
You were kind of doing it. Yeah, yeah, you were
making your way to it.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
Making my way to it full circle now, who thunk? Yeah, listen,
the roof is the dog Thomas. And you know, my
guy was heard the k when I was coming up,
you know, in the mid to late seventies. You know,
he was the guy, the big guy on campus, so
to speak on wd I A. So I wanted to
be like herd Yeah, and I wanted that same shift
seven till eleven I think he was on. It just
seemed like I was just the hot show, the young
(21:01):
folk with listen to all that kind of stuff. So,
you know, so growing up listening to those cats, you know,
and what it was the other part of your question,
Oh yeah, what are the different stations? Yeah yeah, yeah
to the juke around. Yeah, they joke around here is
kind of like, well, you know, he's the egot. You know,
I've done for radio stations, right, you know, as we're saying,
(21:22):
you know, Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. Right, so we've
done the urban station, you know, ninety seven of course
w d I A V one oh one and then
Hallelujah f So yeah, so that's four station, that's right. Yeah,
what's up Tracy? Right, But I'm gonna tell you the funny
thing about how that worked. Of course, you know w
(21:43):
d I A uh, it's always been a great radio station.
But by the time I graduated college, you know, from
UT Martin FM was strong. I mean it was so
I was like, I won't to be okay ninety seven. Yeah,
So I applied three times and it was the third
time as a charm, I guess first time I said no,
you know, you know, I'm out of college. You know,
I'm like, oh, what I'm gonna do? They told me no.
They told me no because because as you know, Stormy,
(22:05):
just having a college degree does not that does not necessarily
mean you guarantee the jobs, you know what I mean,
So you gotta do something. So first time I asked
about it, and then nobody's leaving. Everybody's happy. So it's
you know, and next time, your boy, we don't know
if you ready for commercial yet. You know, you just
got our college. You ain't ready for commercial, So well
what do I start? I mean, you know, but that
(22:26):
was a big, successful, successful stick, as we say. And
then so next time, you know, they were like, okay,
let's give you a shot. But the way that happened,
you know, the K ninety seven was because of a
skating rink and coming to Tennessee. I was the how
would they say, the house disc jockey, and when Pam Wells,
who was the program director of K ninety seven at
the time in eighty six, invioded me to just, you know,
(22:50):
come sit into the station and you know, rest pretty
much history after that. So she hired me, and then
the way the the Hallelujah came about Big Sue. I
don't know if you've had it on your show yet.
I have Big Sue, I have VP operation whatever. But anyway,
I had been here for a while. Well I'll come
back to it. Let me let me go to one
(23:11):
on one all right, So one left K I said,
with one on one, you know what, did you go
kicking and scream I went kicking and screaming. How'd you know,
screaming and hollering and shouting anybody in my way? I
was like Western snipes, uh. When they told him he
had to get out of there, mine mine mind, you
know how you stand down? Although it was that jungle
pick some up jungle, Well, I was like, what all
these things, y'all, y'all, let me go here.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
So basically what I remember the days.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
Let me let me play kick and screen.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Put a pin in it right there. I remember the
days when when we would always say people would say, uh, eventually,
and you I've heard you. I heard you say it
years ago. Wow, eventually, you know, you said you when
you were on one on one he say eventually, I'm on,
I'm on. I know I'm gonna end up on w D.
I A wow, you said that. In me we would
(23:57):
have meetings and things like that. Really, I think you
just kind of spoke it into existence, and I mean
it should have It should happen anyway. It's just a
natural progression of the history of stan Bell, you know
what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Yeah, it's fate would have it, you know. A rest
in peace to my predecessor, mister Bobby Oja. You taught
me quite a few things along the way, and even
more so than that. Uh. You know, I just stand
on the shoulders of so many disc jockeys, if you will,
radio talent jocks, their personalities, announcers, all the monikers that
we have. Yeah, you know, even back through the years.
I owe them a huge debt of gratitude. I owe
(24:33):
them a lot of credit because I stand on their shoulders.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
You know.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
I mentioned some of the likes of you know, Mark Stansbery,
brother Ford Nelson, al Ford's and Nelson whom a lot
of a lot of those announcers. I went to church
with Rufus Thomas. Yeah, you went to Saint John Baptist Church,
Vance Avenue six forty Vans. Rufus was a member there,
Rufus Thomas Jr. At people didn't know he was a junior.
I would see him come in and marvel at him,
you know, because I didn't realize who was this guy
(24:56):
coming in, you know, sharply dressed guy, you know, sept
towards maybe three quarters of the sanctuary back. Uh, And
it was just something about him. Corlin Thomas was also
you know their van Nisse you know. Uh and and
and Nat D. Williams was my Sunday school teacher.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
Yes, is now you've got young men. They are looking
at you like you looked at them. Could be no,
ain't no, could be.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
Yeah, ain't no.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
Could be. So if if if this is gonna be
a tough one for you, if Rufus Thomas were alive today,
and uh, knowing you were at d I A and
and uh kJ mss what you what do you think
he would say to you?
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Okay, so he was alive. Matter this is, this is
it's kind of interesting to Stormy. Rufus Thomas transitioned about
a week before I went to V one oh one.
What well, Yes, So Rufus Thomas passed away in December
(26:07):
of two thousand and one. And the reason why I
know it so clearly like that matter of fact, I
may want to say December seventeen somewhere there back because
a little bit after my birthday. My birthday is December fourteenth, right,
And he passed away in two thousand and one. And
he always he said, you know when I left K
(26:28):
ninety seven, kicking and screaming in two thousand and one,
after fifteen years of dedicated, long fun service to the company. Yeah,
and they tell me when I'm coming in one day,
three o'clock, I said. I was like I was running.
I was like, it was just right up, time to
come in play my themes, son, They said, they told me,
they say, no need to play that theme song. We
(26:49):
got you. The boss wants to talk to you in
the back. And so that was two thousand and one.
That's when they gave me the news that I would
be going to. You know, I would no longer be
a K ninety seven whr kids, we know it, I'll
be going to. I said, where I'm going? Instead told
me said we would like to have you a work
on one on one, be one on one point one.
I was like, oh no, they're playing too much slow stuff.
(27:11):
You know, I'm the hype guy. If you think I
got energy now, just imagine two thousand and one some
years ago. You know, I came in I never sat
down on my show stand up kicking jamming. People look
at me like I was crazy. I mean, these are
co workers and stuff, and said, this guy here, there's
too much energy to the room. What's going on? And
Pam well said, that's why I hired him. So when,
of course all these jocks are long gone, you know,
(27:32):
I got a chance to work with the likes of
Jimmy Smith. They called him the incredible Jimmy Smith. He
may know him from the Arkansas Connection. He went to
Conway and then he was just a big jock. He
was a big jock. You know. Pam Wells hired me
Lisa Lips. I don't know if he recognized that name.
We had a lot of Mac Wiggins. His name is
Mike Wiggins. I worked with sky Walker. Remember they just
(27:54):
called him John Skywalker.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
You know, man.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
It was just great John Lawson, I mean, the news
department was just we just had an incredible time. A C. J.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
Morgan.
Speaker 2 (28:02):
Yo, So what it's time me to leave on like
all this history. I'm getting ready to go to one
on one. They playing too much slow song. I want
to be there. And then I talked to my wife
about it. I told her what they had said to me,
and she said, you better take that job, and uh,
you know, and so I said, okay, let's do it.
And I told the GM Bruce Stemps at the time.
Yeah right, yeah. The program director was Nate Bell, the
(28:22):
relation that I know, and it was his brainchild. And
I'll say that now, yeah, you know, uh to put
me over there, yeah you know. And and and then
I think you about some jumping, a little jump pump
to that pump circumstance, jumping over there, jumping jumping like
this in this child jump.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
And one on one now wow, Yeah, from when you
started to where it is now. Yeah, the number one
rated radio station in the market and maybe in the
country now.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
I saw some some staggering numbers. I don't want to
glow it, but I did. You know how every now
and they'll put us in that room and they'll show
some numbers on the screen.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
Yeah, man, yeah, man, you're pulling them.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
Yeah. People on the one we pulling them.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
You're pulling them because the success doesn't just stop there,
it's it goes straight with you to w D I.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
Okay, so yeah, let's let's do it like this. So
from one on one big Suit came in. As I
mentioned earlier, I was doing my show and she.
Speaker 1 (29:20):
We're gonna have to do a part too.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
Project looks like the sequel because we almost running out
of day. And she asked me, we want to go
to one on we want to go to Hallelujahs what
just right after interview and then at the time presidential
candidate Joe Biden, Yeah you did that big get that one. Yeah,
that was that was that's a big on the career.
That's big on on the list. Uh. And then right
after that she came in and said, uh, they've been
there's been talking about you moving over to Hallelujah. I said, oh,
(29:44):
moving or not again? You know w h al you said, no,
you're still gonna be on V, but you'll be able
to do that in a different time slot. Right. So anyway,
so fast forward, do the V. I mean, yeah, we
do K, we do V, we do Hallelujah, and then
we go over to w D I A. I didn't
see that one coming.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
Wait a minute, now, you spoke at all those times,
but you didn't see it. Come on, We didn't know.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
Well, I didn't know mister oj was was leaving him.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
Okay, we didn't know that that's what that was.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
And so I said, would Bobby will be here forever,
you know, that's his deal d I A. So let
me just be the best I can on the stage
that I'm working with on.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
But but could you have if Bobby were still alive.
Couldn't you see yourself doing something else on DA?
Speaker 2 (30:24):
You know, well, you know I was on DA prior
to be doing the Morning Show. And I think that's
when that was another reason why I think the Powers
to be said, you know what, he's got some experience
on w d I. I don't know if you remember
back in twenty twelve somewhat thereabout Bobby hired me to
do nights on D I a right, remember, because they
didn't want just the music.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
Actually right, because you and I were both over there
at the same time.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
Yes, yes, yes, yeah, And that's how.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
It seems like I'm following you, doesn't it. Oh my goodness, listen,
we I've got to wrap this up. But oh no,
you know what I'm going to do. If if, if
you're willing to do it, Let's do part two next week.
How about that?
Speaker 2 (31:05):
Sure? Well, yeah, let's do it. I'm smacking now, ladiess
do my apologizing. Vanilla wafers are good.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
The story is so incredible. I think people want to
hear it all, and I want to give it to
him because here's the deal. We only get one month
for Black History, okay, so we don't get you out
in black this Black History Next week Part two with
stan Bell The Bell Ring serving.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
You well, pushing more power than a duracy.
Speaker 1 (31:33):
Thanks Stormy, keeping our fingertips on the pulse of our community.
I'm Stormy. We'll see you next week, same time, same
station for Part two with stan Bell. We'll see you
next week.
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