Don Steele
Encyclopedia
Don Steele, born Donald Steele Revert (April 1, 1936 - August 5, 1997), was one of the most popular disc jockeys in the United States
, from the middle of the 1960s until his retirement (for health reasons) in May 1997. He was known as "The Real Don Steele," a name given to him by his program director in Omaha, Nebraska, who hoped the moniker would click with listeners and make him stand out from other radio personalities.
, Steele graduated from Hollywood High School
, served in the United States Air Force
and then studied at a local radio school, the Don Martin School of Broadcasting, where he also taught for a short time. Shortly thereafter, Steele began his radio career working outside of L.A. at a small station, KBUC in Corona, CA then moving on to KEPR Kennewick, KIMA
Yakima and KXLY
Spokane, all in Washington; KOIL
Omaha, Nebraska; KISN
Portland, Oregon, and KEWB
San Francisco before returning to Los Angeles to help kick off what would become one of the most influential radio stations in the country, 93/KHJ, Boss Radio, in April 1965.
in Los Angeles
, where he helped to promote the "ultrahip" top-40 Boss Radio
format which began on April 27, 1965. He also appeared on TV as host Boss City and The Real Don Steele TV Show, a show which ran from 1965 to 1975 on KHJ-TV channel 9 in Los Angeles. When the popularity of AM radio gave way to FM stereo in the 1970s, Steele continued to remain a popular personality at the station. Following the years at 93/KHJ, The Real Don Steele continued to be heard on Los Angeles radio stations, including KIQQ
(K-100), KRLA
, KCBS-FM
and KRTH-FM
(K-Earth 101), until he died in August 1997.
In the book Los Angeles Radio People, Steele recalled the beginnings of Boss Radio in 1965: "We were standing literally at ground zero, then (the radio format) became a huge giant. It was like a mushroom cloud that went up -- heavy on the mushroom."
Steele was never one to analyze the evolution of rock radio. In a 1995 interview, he insisted, "Look, you take the Motown sound and the British Invasion and you throw in Elvis and Roy Orbison, and you have a music mix that's hard to beat at any time or any place."
"Robert W. Morgan
was the first one hired for Boss Radio," KHJ program director Bill Drake
said. "He recommended Steele. He flew down from San Francisco. I was a little leery because I had heard he was kind of a crazy man, but it turned out he was very dedicated to his work."
The Real Don Steele stayed at KHJ until June 1973, then moved on to L.A. radio stations KIQQ
, KTNQ
, KRLA
, KODJ
, KCBS-FM
and arrived at KRTH in July 1992. He recorded commercials, and at one time had a successful, nationally syndicated radio show.
That show, "Live From the 60's", was created by Steele along with friend and contemporary M.G."Machine Gun" Kelly
, who followed Steele at KHJ-AM, then D.J'd with him in the '70s at 10Q. "Live From the 60's" was a three-hour program that featured oldies exclusively from the 1960s. Each hour of the show profiled a certain year from that decade. It was written and performed in present tense, and peppered with audio clips of news events, presidential speeches and TV shows that correlated with that particular year. The show ran in syndication, and was marketed to radio stations with an "Oldies" format from 1988 until 1993. Repeats of earlier shows aired in some markets as late as 1996.
) among the 232 personalities nominated. The ballot was printed by Don Barrett in his 1994 book, and results are published in the second volume of his book. Rick Dees
said of Steele in Barrett's book, "Pure, raw energy and focus. And he still has it every day. That's amazing!.
Boyd R. Britton, who worked with Steele in the late 1970s at KTNQ said, "He educated me in star quality, in energy and focus. He epitomized energy on the air." Reflecting on Steele's habit of using very high headphone levels, Britton said, "Very early on he was extremely hearing damaged. It was very difficult for him to hear in a group. That made his natural speaking voice almost as loud as his on-air voice."
In 1993, from KRTH, Steele told the Los Angeles Times
: I don't think I'm any different now. I've never stopped. I've never changed. I never did anything else. This is the music of my life."
Steele appeared in the torts case Weirum v. RKO General Inc., 539 P.2d 36 (Cal. 1975), in which the California Supreme Court held Steele's radio station liable for a death caused by a teenage drag race that resulted from Steele's "bread to spread" promotional contest.
. He appeared in several films, many times playing a disc jockey
. These included Death Race 2000
(1975), KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park
(1978), playing himself hosting a KISS
look-alike contest, Rock 'n' Roll High School
(1979), Eating Raoul
(1982), and Gremlins
(1984). On TV, Steele had appearances in a 1966 episode of Bewitched
, and in an episode of Here Come the Brides
in 1970.
He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
in 1995, located at Hollywood Boulevard
and La Brea Avenue
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, from the middle of the 1960s until his retirement (for health reasons) in May 1997. He was known as "The Real Don Steele," a name given to him by his program director in Omaha, Nebraska, who hoped the moniker would click with listeners and make him stand out from other radio personalities.
Early career
Born in Hollywood, CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Steele graduated from Hollywood High School
Hollywood High School
Hollywood High School is a Los Angeles Unified School District high school located at the intersection of North Highland Avenue and West Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California.-History:...
, served in the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
and then studied at a local radio school, the Don Martin School of Broadcasting, where he also taught for a short time. Shortly thereafter, Steele began his radio career working outside of L.A. at a small station, KBUC in Corona, CA then moving on to KEPR Kennewick, KIMA
KIMA-TV
KIMA-TV is the CBS affiliated television station serving the Yakima, Washington region. The station is owned by Fisher Communications.The station operates two semi-satellites--KEPR-TV in the Tri-Cities and KLEW-TV in Lewiston, Idaho...
Yakima and KXLY
KXLY-FM
KXLY-FM is a country music outlet in Spokane, Washington that broadcasts at 99.9 MHz with an ERP of 37 kw. The station is owned by Morgan Murphy Media.-History:...
Spokane, all in Washington; KOIL
KOIL
KMMQ is a radio station licensed to serve Plattsmouth, Nebraska, USA. The station is owned by NRG Media and the license is held by Waitt Omaha, LLC.KMMQ broadcasts a Regional Mexican music format to the Omaha metropolitan area....
Omaha, Nebraska; KISN
KISN (Portland)
KISN was an AM radio station licensed for Vancouver, Washington but based in Portland, Oregon, broadcasting on 910 kHz and licensed for 5,000 directional watts. During the 1960s and early 1970s, KISN was not only the number one rated rock station in the market , but at times also rated as...
Portland, Oregon, and KEWB
KNEW (AM)
KNEW is a radio station in San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, CA, USA. The station is owned by Clear Channel. Prior to the format change, the station operated as CNET Radio, offering business and technology news 24 hours a day...
San Francisco before returning to Los Angeles to help kick off what would become one of the most influential radio stations in the country, 93/KHJ, Boss Radio, in April 1965.
National prominence
Steele became nationally-known as a DJ on radio station KHJKHJ (AM)
KHJ Radio in Los Angeles, California broadcasts Spanish-language entertainment programming as La Ranchera. It was also one of America's most formidable Top 40 radio stations in the 1960s and 1970s as 93 KHJ before changing its format in 1980....
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, where he helped to promote the "ultrahip" top-40 Boss Radio
Boss Radio
Boss Radio was the name of two radio programming formats, both launched in the early 1960s: One in the United States, and one in the United Kingdom. Although the names were the same, the formats were quite different.-Boss Radio in the United States:...
format which began on April 27, 1965. He also appeared on TV as host Boss City and The Real Don Steele TV Show, a show which ran from 1965 to 1975 on KHJ-TV channel 9 in Los Angeles. When the popularity of AM radio gave way to FM stereo in the 1970s, Steele continued to remain a popular personality at the station. Following the years at 93/KHJ, The Real Don Steele continued to be heard on Los Angeles radio stations, including KIQQ
KIQQ
KIQQ may refer to:* KIQQ , a radio station licensed to Barstow, California, United States* KIQQ-FM, a radio station licensed to Newberry Springs, California, United States...
(K-100), KRLA
KRLA
KRLA is a radio station broadcasting a News/Talk format. Licensed to Glendale, California, USA, it serves the Southern California area. The station is currently owned by Salem Communications.- KIEV :...
, KCBS-FM
KCBS-FM
KCBS-FM is a radio station in Los Angeles, California broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area on 93.1 FM. KCBS-FM airs an adult hits music format branded as "Jack-FM"....
and KRTH-FM
KRTH-FM
KRTH is a U.S. oldies radio station located in Los Angeles, California, broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles Area. Its signal covers an extremely large area, due in part to height upon Mt...
(K-Earth 101), until he died in August 1997.
In the book Los Angeles Radio People, Steele recalled the beginnings of Boss Radio in 1965: "We were standing literally at ground zero, then (the radio format) became a huge giant. It was like a mushroom cloud that went up -- heavy on the mushroom."
Steele was never one to analyze the evolution of rock radio. In a 1995 interview, he insisted, "Look, you take the Motown sound and the British Invasion and you throw in Elvis and Roy Orbison, and you have a music mix that's hard to beat at any time or any place."
"Robert W. Morgan
Robert W. Morgan
Robert Wilbur Morgan was an award-winning morning radio personality best known for his work at several stations in Los Angeles, California, in particular KHJ-AM....
was the first one hired for Boss Radio," KHJ program director Bill Drake
Bill Drake
Bill Drake , born Philip Yarbrough, was an American radio programmer who co-developed the Boss Radio format with Gene Chenault via their company Drake-Chenault.-Early career:...
said. "He recommended Steele. He flew down from San Francisco. I was a little leery because I had heard he was kind of a crazy man, but it turned out he was very dedicated to his work."
The Real Don Steele stayed at KHJ until June 1973, then moved on to L.A. radio stations KIQQ
KIQQ (AM)
KIQQ is a radio station broadcasting a Regional Mexican format. Located in Barstow, California, USA, the station serves the High Desert/ Eastern Sierra area. The station is currently owned by MBR Licensee LLC....
, KTNQ
KTNQ
KTNQ is a radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, with a Spanish News/Talk format. It is owned by Univision. on June 13, 1925 until 1955 it was called . From August 1, 1955 until 1960 it was called KPOP. From June 29, 1960 until 1976, it was called KGBS...
, KRLA
KRLA
KRLA is a radio station broadcasting a News/Talk format. Licensed to Glendale, California, USA, it serves the Southern California area. The station is currently owned by Salem Communications.- KIEV :...
, KODJ
KODJ
KODJ is a radio station broadcasting an classic hits format. Licensed to Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, the station serves the Salt Lake City area.-History:...
, KCBS-FM
KCBS-FM
KCBS-FM is a radio station in Los Angeles, California broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area on 93.1 FM. KCBS-FM airs an adult hits music format branded as "Jack-FM"....
and arrived at KRTH in July 1992. He recorded commercials, and at one time had a successful, nationally syndicated radio show.
That show, "Live From the 60's", was created by Steele along with friend and contemporary M.G."Machine Gun" Kelly
M.G. Kelly
Michael Gary Kelly , known professionally as M. G. Kelly and Machine Gun Kelly, is an actor, disc jockey and radio personality...
, who followed Steele at KHJ-AM, then D.J'd with him in the '70s at 10Q. "Live From the 60's" was a three-hour program that featured oldies exclusively from the 1960s. Each hour of the show profiled a certain year from that decade. It was written and performed in present tense, and peppered with audio clips of news events, presidential speeches and TV shows that correlated with that particular year. The show ran in syndication, and was marketed to radio stations with an "Oldies" format from 1988 until 1993. Repeats of earlier shows aired in some markets as late as 1996.
Recognitions
A poll seeking the top 10 disc jockeys in Los Angeles from 1957 to 1997 rated Steele second (behind Gary OwensGary Owens
Gary Owens is an American disc jockey and voice actor. His polished baritone speaking voice generally offers deadpan recitations of total nonsense, which he frequently demonstrated as the announcer on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Owens is equally proficient in straight or silly assignments and is...
) among the 232 personalities nominated. The ballot was printed by Don Barrett in his 1994 book, and results are published in the second volume of his book. Rick Dees
Rick Dees
Rigdon Osmond "Rick" Dees III is an American comedic performer, entertainer, and radio personality, best known for his internationally syndicated radio show The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Countdown and for the novelty song "Disco Duck." He is a People's Choice Award recipient, a Grammy-nominated...
said of Steele in Barrett's book, "Pure, raw energy and focus. And he still has it every day. That's amazing!.
Boyd R. Britton, who worked with Steele in the late 1970s at KTNQ said, "He educated me in star quality, in energy and focus. He epitomized energy on the air." Reflecting on Steele's habit of using very high headphone levels, Britton said, "Very early on he was extremely hearing damaged. It was very difficult for him to hear in a group. That made his natural speaking voice almost as loud as his on-air voice."
In 1993, from KRTH, Steele told the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
: I don't think I'm any different now. I've never stopped. I've never changed. I never did anything else. This is the music of my life."
Steele appeared in the torts case Weirum v. RKO General Inc., 539 P.2d 36 (Cal. 1975), in which the California Supreme Court held Steele's radio station liable for a death caused by a teenage drag race that resulted from Steele's "bread to spread" promotional contest.
Film appearances
He had his own weekly TV dance-party show, The Real Don Steele Show, on KHJ-TVKCAL-TV
KCAL-TV, channel 9, is an independent television station in Los Angeles, California, USA, owned by the CBS Corporation. KCAL-TV shares its studio facilities with KCBS-TV inside CBS Studio Center in the Studio City section of Los Angeles, and its transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson.-Digital...
. He appeared in several films, many times playing a disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
. These included Death Race 2000
Death Race 2000
Death Race 2000 is a 1975 cult action film directed by Paul Bartel, and starring David Carradine, Simone Griffeth and Sylvester Stallone. The film takes place in a dystopian American society in the year 2000, where the murderous Transcontinental Road Race has become a form of national entertainment...
(1975), KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park
KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park
Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park is a 1978 television film, starring American hard rock band Kiss...
(1978), playing himself hosting a KISS
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
look-alike contest, Rock 'n' Roll High School
Rock 'n' Roll High School
Rock 'n' Roll High School is a 1979 musical comedy film produced by Roger Corman, directed by Allan Arkush, and featuring the Ramones.The film starred P. J. Soles, Vince Van Patten, and Clint Howard...
(1979), Eating Raoul
Eating Raoul
Eating Raoul is a 1982 black comedy about a married couple living in Hollywood who resort to killing swingers for their money. It was directed by Paul Bartel and written by Bartel and Richard Blackburn...
(1982), and Gremlins
Gremlins
Gremlins is a 1984 American horror comedy film directed by Joe Dante, released by Warner Bros. The film is about a young man who receives a strange creature—called a Mogwai—as a pet, which then spawns other creatures who transform into small, destructive, evil monsters. It was followed by a sequel,...
(1984). On TV, Steele had appearances in a 1966 episode of Bewitched
Bewitched
Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...
, and in an episode of Here Come the Brides
Here Come the Brides
Here Come the Brides is an American comedy Western series from Screen Gems that aired on the ABC television network from September 25, 1968 to April 3, 1970...
in 1970.
He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
in 1995, located at Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard
-Revitalization:In recent years successful efforts have been made at cleaning up Hollywood Blvd., as the street had gained a reputation for crime and seediness. Central to these efforts was the construction of the Hollywood and Highland shopping center and adjacent Kodak Theatre in 2001...
and La Brea Avenue
La Brea Avenue
La Brea Avenue is a prominent north/south thoroughfare in Los Angeles. Several museums are located along La Brea, and it is known for having many stores and eateries.-Description:...
.
External sources
- The Real Don Steele audio collection of air checks
- IMDB listing for Don Steele