Landon King
The following bio comes from an interview I did with a broadcast journalism student at West Texas A&M:
When and where were you born? I was born and raised in Lubbock, Texas…home of the Texas Tech RED RAIDERS!
What is your earliest memory of music? My dad got me the Beatles ‘Help!’ record when I was about 4-years-old and I went absolutely crazy for them. I remember listening to that record over and over and over again with these huge old Sony headphones that my parents got me for Christmas…probably because they were sick of having to hear ‘Ticket to Ride’ blaring through the walls of my bedroom at all hours of the day and night.
Who was the most influential person to you as a child? My dad. He’s a good dude.
Did you have any nicknames? A bunch that I can’t say here. I’m constantly called ‘Lando’ and my close friends call me ‘Lando Calrissian’…because I’m a raging nerd. Although, Boba Fett is my favorite Star Wars character. Not that you asked.
Where did you attend high school? Monterey High School
Did you play on any sports teams? I played baseball for the legendary Bobby Moegle for about a week my sophomore year until he asked me to stop showing up for practice. That’s actually true.
Were you involved in any school clubs? I joined theater after my illustrious baseball career was squashed. Theater quickly became something I enjoyed immensely. And I was actually pretty good at it!
How would you describe yourself as a student, both socially and academically? Terrible student academically. I did well socially because I was pretty much friends with everybody. Plus, I was in a band! The Porcelain Gods. We were awful, but remember kids, even being in an awful band gets you more attention from the ladies than no band at all.
Did you earn any honors or were you recognized for any achievements? I got ‘Best Personality’ my senior year. Take that, Prom King!
Did you attend college? I went to Texas Tech for a brief period. I got a full-time slot on KOOL FM and quickly decided that I would rather play music all day and talk on the radio.
What was your first job in radio? In high school, we had what was called a ‘work-study’ program where you got credit for having a job AND you didn’t have to be at school until 10:30am. You got to skip your first class of the day so you could go to your job. The legendary Jack Dale…’The voice of the Red Raiders’…hired me to produce his show every weekday from 7am-10am and I did that for high school credit. It was awesome.
In addition to being paid money, how else has your radio career created value in your life? It’s really everything to me. That’s the best way I can put it. I live and breathe radio. More specifically, classic hits radio. It’s far and away the most enjoyable and rewarding format in the business. Trust me. You don’t get into radio for the money. There really is none. You do it because you really enjoy the listeners and you have a passion for the music you play for them every day. You have to have both of those things. If you don’t, you’ll never connect with your audience.
Finally, what would be your ideal radio job? Well, for starters, I would stay on the station where I’ve been for years. I would just do my show from a beach in the Bahamas…and the KOOL Morning Show wouldn’t start until noon.
