Jim Ladd
Encyclopedia
Jim Ladd an American
disc jockey
, radio
producer and writer
, is one of the few notable remaining freeform
rock
DJs in United States commercial radio.
outlaw
s, beautiful women
or fast cars
. He regularly adds appropriate listener requests to his themed sets; sometimes a request will inspire an entire set.
He had three theme-based shows every week, on Monday, Wednesday and Sunday nights. On Monday, Jim featured the Blues on 'MOJO MONDAY' from 10PM pst to 11PM. On Wednesday at midnight, he performed an hour-long, uninterrupted segment called "Headsets." This is a theme-based collage of music blended seamlessly together, with one song leading into the next, incorporating sound effects such as voice overs and quotes from movies relating to the theme. On this program Ladd creates what he calls the "Theater of The Mind" (headphones are recommended). A "Headsets" album, done in collaboration with Billy Sherwood
, is forthcoming.
Sunday night began at 9PM PST (to Midnight), a theme show called "Theme of Consciousness", where Ladd played listeners' requests for songs based on a single theme, such as "Colors", "Fire", "Dance", etc. This show recreates what Ladd calls the "Tribal Drum", describing the communal effect of radio in his pioneering days of FM radio. His repertoire combines classic rock standards by artists like the Beatles
, the Doors
and Led Zeppelin
with songs and artists not normally heard on commercial radio. As was once standard in radio, most of his broadcasts end with a long song, such as the Doors' "When The Music's Over," Led Zeppelin
's "Achilles Last Stand" or even Pink Floyd
's 23-minute-long "Echoes."
, a small Long Beach
rock station. After two years there, he moved to Los Angeles
station KLOS
. In 1974 he moved to KMET, known to its legions of listeners as "The Mighty Met", where he would remain for the rest of the 1970s and most of the 1980s while also hosting and producing Innerview, an hour-long nationally syndicated interview program that aired during the same period.
After what many listeners and people in the industry perceived as a long steady decline in the station's output, attributed by most accounts to the station's decision to bring in consultant Lee Abrams
and the strict "album oriented rock" formatting he favored, KMET management shocked southern California and all of radio by abruptly dumping rock music, the call letters and the entire air staff in 1987, switching to a new age
format with no DJs at all. But the loss over the years of KMET
's most creative DJs made the end not that much of a surprise.
bassist Roger Waters
' second solo album Radio K.A.O.S.
, portraying a fictional disk jockey named "DJ Jim". Ladd joined Waters on the tour that followed, and appeared in the three music videos for the album. Ladd also played an all-night DJ in Crowe's 1989 film Say Anything....
For several years, Ladd worked only on-and-off on the radio because he refused to follow a playlist, as most station owners demanded. In the late 1980s, Ladd worked at KMPC
, where he helped to shape its "Full Spectrum Rock" blend of classic and modern rock, and was enthusiastic about its rebranding as KEDG "the Edge" in March 1989, but was laid off when the station abruptly abandoned its rock format two months later.
In 1991 Ladd released a semi-autobiographical book titled Radio Waves: Life And Revolution On The FM Dial (St. Martin's Press), based on his radio career and the rise and fall of freeform
rock radio in LA, from the genesis of freeform on the West Coast through the demise of KMET in 1987. The names of many people and radio stations Ladd encountered during that two decade period were swapped for pseudonyms; however, Raechel Donahue
has said that she insisted Ladd use her real name and that of her late husband Tom Donahue
in the book. David Perry, Ace Young, Jack Snyder, Damion, and the late personalities B. Mitchel Reed and J.J. Jackson, were also among those identified by their actual "air names".
That same year, Ladd was hired by KLSX
.
ratings. KLOS renewed his contract in January 2007. In addition, he has produced, written and narrated a number of nationally syndicated programs, including interviews, concert specials and album premieres.
Most recently, Ladd has used his MySpace
and Facebook
pages to interact with his listeners, who he refers to as "The Tribe." He often takes requests in the comments section, and has used the site as a source to become familiar with his listeners and promote free form radio. Beginning March 10, 2008, Ladd allowed his show to be streamed on KLOS's web site.
On October 26, 2011, Ladd was among various staffers fired from KLOS following the acquisition of station owner Citadel Broadcasting
by Cumulus Media
.
On November 5, 2011, Ladd gave a three-hour farewell broadcast on AM station KFI
in Los Angeles.
In speaking about the show, Ladd said “Ask any of the great musicians out there and they’ll tell you that it never would have happened without the team of people who had the vision to help bring their gifts to the world and recording engineers and producers, they’re some of the most crucial…and oh, the stories they can tell. One of the reasons why Masters of Sound is so appealing to me, is that it’s an untapped cultural goldmine and I’m excited to see what we’ll discover.”
album The Last DJ
and its title track. In his career, he has become friends with many rock legends such as Roger Waters
, Tom Petty
, John Lennon
, George Thorogood
and Jackson Browne
, along with original MTV
veejay J.J. Jackson and filmmaker Cameron Crowe
. Along the years, he has earned the unparalleled respect of the artistic and musical community, with the artist counting him "one of their own", while setting an example in integrity and professionalism within the music and broadcast industries.
Ladd received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
at 7018 Hollywood Boulevard
on May 6, 2005 where friend Jackson Browne
made a speech. Other friends that attended include Ed Begley Jr., John Densmore, Woody Harrelson, Robby Krieger, George Thorogood, Tommy Shaw and Benmont Tench.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
, radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
producer and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, is one of the few notable remaining freeform
Freeform (radio format)
Freeform, or freeform radio, is a radio station programming format in which the disc jockey is given total control over what music to play, regardless of music genre or commercial interests. Freeform radio stands in contrast to most commercial radio stations, in which DJs have little or no...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
DJs in United States commercial radio.
Radio show style
Unlike the vast majority of his contemporaries, Ladd personally selected every song he played on his weeknight show on KLOS-FM in Los Angeles. Station management gave him complete control over show content. He combines music with atmospheric sound samples and social commentary, often inviting listeners to participate on the air. Most of his music sets center around a theme or story-line, such as Wild WestAmerican Old West
The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
outlaw
Outlaw
In historical legal systems, an outlaw is declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, this takes the burden of active prosecution of a criminal from the authorities. Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute...
s, beautiful women
Woman
A woman , pl: women is a female human. The term woman is usually reserved for an adult, with the term girl being the usual term for a female child or adolescent...
or fast cars
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
. He regularly adds appropriate listener requests to his themed sets; sometimes a request will inspire an entire set.
He had three theme-based shows every week, on Monday, Wednesday and Sunday nights. On Monday, Jim featured the Blues on 'MOJO MONDAY' from 10PM pst to 11PM. On Wednesday at midnight, he performed an hour-long, uninterrupted segment called "Headsets." This is a theme-based collage of music blended seamlessly together, with one song leading into the next, incorporating sound effects such as voice overs and quotes from movies relating to the theme. On this program Ladd creates what he calls the "Theater of The Mind" (headphones are recommended). A "Headsets" album, done in collaboration with Billy Sherwood
Billy Sherwood
William "Billy" Wyman Sherwood is a musician, record producer, and engineer.-Family:Sherwood comes from a musical family which includes his father Bobby Sherwood, who was an actor, musician, and big band leader, his mother Phyllis, a singer and drummer, and brother Michael, a keyboardist and...
, is forthcoming.
Sunday night began at 9PM PST (to Midnight), a theme show called "Theme of Consciousness", where Ladd played listeners' requests for songs based on a single theme, such as "Colors", "Fire", "Dance", etc. This show recreates what Ladd calls the "Tribal Drum", describing the communal effect of radio in his pioneering days of FM radio. His repertoire combines classic rock standards by artists like the Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, the Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
and Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
with songs and artists not normally heard on commercial radio. As was once standard in radio, most of his broadcasts end with a long song, such as the Doors' "When The Music's Over," Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
's "Achilles Last Stand" or even Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
's 23-minute-long "Echoes."
Early years and KMET
Ladd began his career in 1969 at KNACKNAC
KNAC is an internet based heavy metal music radio station. It was previously a Los Angeles, California area FM radio station.-KNAC at 105.5 FM:...
, a small Long Beach
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
rock station. After two years there, he moved to Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
station KLOS
KLOS
KLOS is an FM rock music radio station based in Los Angeles, California, that debuted in 1969. The station is owned by Cumulus Media. It is home to the nationally broadcast Mark & Brian radio show, and Off The Record host Uncle Joe Benson.-History:...
. In 1974 he moved to KMET, known to its legions of listeners as "The Mighty Met", where he would remain for the rest of the 1970s and most of the 1980s while also hosting and producing Innerview, an hour-long nationally syndicated interview program that aired during the same period.
After what many listeners and people in the industry perceived as a long steady decline in the station's output, attributed by most accounts to the station's decision to bring in consultant Lee Abrams
Lee Abrams
Lee Abrams is an American media executive who has held a number of posts for large and influential companies, and is generally credited with developing the "Album Oriented Rock" format employed by hundreds of radio stations across the country.-Career:...
and the strict "album oriented rock" formatting he favored, KMET management shocked southern California and all of radio by abruptly dumping rock music, the call letters and the entire air staff in 1987, switching to a new age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
format with no DJs at all. But the loss over the years of KMET
KMET
KMET was a Los Angeles radio station originally owned by Metromedia that first took to the air in June 1968 at 94.7 MHz and signed off on February 14, 1987...
's most creative DJs made the end not that much of a surprise.
Jumping station to station, and side projects
In 1987, Ladd appeared on Pink FloydPink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
bassist Roger Waters
Roger Waters
George Roger Waters is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. He was a founding member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd, serving as bassist and co-lead vocalist. Following the departure of bandmate Syd Barrett in 1968, Waters became the band's lyricist, principal songwriter...
' second solo album Radio K.A.O.S.
Radio K.A.O.S.
Radio K.A.O.S. is a 1987 concept album by former Pink Floyd bassist, singer songwriter Roger Waters. It is his second solo album.-Storyline:The concept is based around a 23-year-old disabled man from Wales named Billy....
, portraying a fictional disk jockey named "DJ Jim". Ladd joined Waters on the tour that followed, and appeared in the three music videos for the album. Ladd also played an all-night DJ in Crowe's 1989 film Say Anything....
For several years, Ladd worked only on-and-off on the radio because he refused to follow a playlist, as most station owners demanded. In the late 1980s, Ladd worked at KMPC
KMPC-FM (defunct)
KMPC-FM and KEDG, 101.9, was a commercial FM radio station that served the Los Angeles, California area in the 1980s. Although there was a change of call sign during this period, the station was essentially the same....
, where he helped to shape its "Full Spectrum Rock" blend of classic and modern rock, and was enthusiastic about its rebranding as KEDG "the Edge" in March 1989, but was laid off when the station abruptly abandoned its rock format two months later.
In 1991 Ladd released a semi-autobiographical book titled Radio Waves: Life And Revolution On The FM Dial (St. Martin's Press), based on his radio career and the rise and fall of freeform
Freeform (radio format)
Freeform, or freeform radio, is a radio station programming format in which the disc jockey is given total control over what music to play, regardless of music genre or commercial interests. Freeform radio stands in contrast to most commercial radio stations, in which DJs have little or no...
rock radio in LA, from the genesis of freeform on the West Coast through the demise of KMET in 1987. The names of many people and radio stations Ladd encountered during that two decade period were swapped for pseudonyms; however, Raechel Donahue
Raechel Donahue
Raechel Donahue is a rock radio pioneer generally associated with her husband Tom Donahue, who died in 1975. She was the original entertainment reporter for CNN, briefly served as VJ for Cable Music Channel and a longtime radio personality in San Francisco on KSAN and in Los Angeles on KMET,...
has said that she insisted Ladd use her real name and that of her late husband Tom Donahue
Tom Donahue
Tom "Big Daddy" Donahue , was a pioneering rock and roll radio disc jockey, record producer and concert promoter....
in the book. David Perry, Ace Young, Jack Snyder, Damion, and the late personalities B. Mitchel Reed and J.J. Jackson, were also among those identified by their actual "air names".
That same year, Ladd was hired by KLSX
KLSX
KAMP-FM 97.1 FM, known on-air as 97.1 AMP Radio, is a Rhythmic Contemporary radio station in Los Angeles, California. The station is owned by CBS Radio.The station had long been known as KLSX before the call sign changed on June 30, 2009....
.
Free-form show on KLOS and the internet
Ladd and his free-form rock music returned to KLOS in 1997 and aired until October 26, 2011 Monday thru Thursday from 10PM to 2AM (PST), and on Sunday from 9PM to Midnight. His show routinely lead its time slot in ArbitronArbitron
Arbitron is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio audiences. It was founded as American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with L.A. based Coffin, Cooper and Clay in the early 1950s...
ratings. KLOS renewed his contract in January 2007. In addition, he has produced, written and narrated a number of nationally syndicated programs, including interviews, concert specials and album premieres.
Most recently, Ladd has used his MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
and Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
pages to interact with his listeners, who he refers to as "The Tribe." He often takes requests in the comments section, and has used the site as a source to become familiar with his listeners and promote free form radio. Beginning March 10, 2008, Ladd allowed his show to be streamed on KLOS's web site.
On October 26, 2011, Ladd was among various staffers fired from KLOS following the acquisition of station owner Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the country...
by Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media, Inc. is the second largest Owner and Operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States, behind Clear Channel Communications, operating 570 stations in 150 markets as of September 16, 2011. The company also owns Cumulus Media Networks...
.
On November 5, 2011, Ladd gave a three-hour farewell broadcast on AM station KFI
KFI
KFI is an AM radio station in Los Angeles, California. It received its license to operate on March 31, 1922 and began operating on April 16, 1922 as one of the United States' first high-powered, "clear-channel" stations...
in Los Angeles.
Masters of Sound TV Series
Just prior to the announcement that Ladd was fired by KLOS, it was announced that he would be hosting a new television series, currently in development called Masters of Sound. On the series, Ladd will be bringing together recording engineers and producers, and the pop and rock artists they worked with to tell the first-hand stories about what really happened in the studio as they created their greatest hits.In speaking about the show, Ladd said “Ask any of the great musicians out there and they’ll tell you that it never would have happened without the team of people who had the vision to help bring their gifts to the world and recording engineers and producers, they’re some of the most crucial…and oh, the stories they can tell. One of the reasons why Masters of Sound is so appealing to me, is that it’s an untapped cultural goldmine and I’m excited to see what we’ll discover.”
Cultural impact and recognition
Ladd served as the inspiration for the 2002 Tom PettyTom Petty
Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T...
album The Last DJ
The Last DJ
The Last DJ is the eleventh studio album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The tracks "The Last DJ", "Money Becomes King", "Joe", and "Can't Stop the Sun" are attacks on the greediness of the music industry....
and its title track. In his career, he has become friends with many rock legends such as Roger Waters
Roger Waters
George Roger Waters is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. He was a founding member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd, serving as bassist and co-lead vocalist. Following the departure of bandmate Syd Barrett in 1968, Waters became the band's lyricist, principal songwriter...
, Tom Petty
Tom Petty
Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T...
, John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
, George Thorogood
George Thorogood
George Thorogood is an American blues rock vocalist/guitarist from Wilmington, Delaware, United States, known for his hit song "Bad to the Bone" as well as for covers of blues standards such as Hank Williams' "Move It On Over" and John Lee Hooker's "House Rent Boogie/One Bourbon, One Scotch, One...
and Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....
, along with original MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
veejay J.J. Jackson and filmmaker Cameron Crowe
Cameron Crowe
Cameron Bruce Crowe is an American screenwriter and film director. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine, for which he still frequently writes....
. Along the years, he has earned the unparalleled respect of the artistic and musical community, with the artist counting him "one of their own", while setting an example in integrity and professionalism within the music and broadcast industries.
Ladd 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...
at 7018 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...
on May 6, 2005 where friend Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....
made a speech. Other friends that attended include Ed Begley Jr., John Densmore, Woody Harrelson, Robby Krieger, George Thorogood, Tommy Shaw and Benmont Tench.