I Am Humbled By This Legends Of Dakota Country Music Honor

This month (May) is the 48th anniversary since I started in this crazy and fantastic career of radio.

It was Memorial Day evening when I first went on-the-air at KWYR AM and FM in Winner, South Dakota. I am proud to say that, for all 48 years I've lived in the greatest state in the nation,

South Dakota.

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Now, I'm a Minnesota boy. I grew up just over there, across the border, on a small 80 acre piece of rented farm ground just a mile south of Leota. It was after about 10 months or so at a Vocational School in Austin, Minnesota that I moved west to South Dakota. And I've been here ever since.

There were radio stops in just about all areas of this great state. Winner. Aberdeen. Volga/Brookings. Rapid City. Sioux Falls.

As a kid, I wasn't the biggest country music fan in the world. But I do recall, back in those long-ago days, there was one artist my dad and I could agree on, could agree was a good-un. Johnny Cash. My dad was a country music guy, and I mean the ones that built the foundation of the genre. I do some writing, and a song I wrote about my dad begins with the line "He loved Roy Acuff and hated the Beatles". That was my dad's musical choice.

I started ti really "get into" country music when I arrived at that first radio job in Winner. This was about the time people like Waylon, Willie, Paycheck, Milsap and many more were hitting the country radio scene. I fell in love with the greatest songwriter ever, Kris Kristofferson.

The love of country music and playing it continued in the late 70's at KKAA in Aberdeen and has remained in me to this day. And yes, being an old dog now, I particularly love the "old stuff".

For about the last 15 years I've worked here at KXRB, one of the legendary country music stations. And while I thought I knew a lot about country music, it was KXRB legend Joe Morrison that took me on a "deep dive". There's a reason I and many others call Joe the "Professor of Country Music". I learned a lot about country music from Joe. And then a lot more. And then a lot more. I am forever grateful.

It's humbling to be a part of the Legends Of Dakota Country Music Hall of Fame. Especially when you check out the Class of 2022 below. So many names fans of country music, and particularly fans of local country music will recognize.

I salute all of the other people entering the Hall of Fame and hope you can join me in honoring them on May 29th.  All of the details are on the poster below. See you in Tea.