Rob Grayson
Host - Morning EditionMy heroes have always been disc jockeys. I especially admired the ones who could take the canvas of the fourteen-second intro of a teeny-bopper song and paint a masterpiece. From my youth, I strove to emulate them. I had the good fortune to walk in some of their footsteps, albeit a respectful pace behind.
The Mississippi Delta in the 70's was a great place to begin a career in radio. My first after-school job was doing the afternoon shift at an easy-listening FM in my hometown of Greenville at age 14.
George Klein brought me to Memphis, and WHBQ, in 1976. Most of the ensuing time has been spent in the general Memphis radio community, and producing and engineering at Wilkerson Sound Studios.
I landed on the WKNO doorstep in 2001, and am tickled that they continue to let me show up here every morning.
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Worlds collided in 1965 when the Beatles, on tour in the states, had a meeting with Elvis Presley in LA. But other than memories and conflicting stories…
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The story, as I understand it, can be summed up in these two parables, noted by Chris Davis in the Memphis Flyer in 2006. At the peak of their popularity…
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In 1964, British invaders did, with guitars, drums and hair, what their 1812 predecessors with bayonets, guns and war ships couldn't. They laid siege to…
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If you’re one of those who has to find organization in the midst of chaos, you could divide the history of Hi Records into roughly three parts, defined by…
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In 1964, as the nation’s record charts were awash with British product ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous, the Memphis recording scene was hanging…
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One of the few false starts in the meteoric rise of Elvis Presley’s early entertainment career was an ill-fated run in Las Vegas in 1956. Elvis, Scotty…
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Many Memphis teenagers greeted the dawn on Sunday, February 4, 1964, with their future sights set on being athletes, astronauts, or accountants. The event…
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The Patty Duke Show premiered on TV in September of 1963, in which the actress played the dual role of twin-like “identical” cousins. At the same time,…
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Col. Tom Parker didn’t want Elvis Presley to leave the country. Parker cited security nightmares and instability abroad. Folks who have researched it also…
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Have you ever had a song running through your head and it just wouldn’t go away? Rufus Thomas had that problem, exacerbated by the fact that the song was…