Steve Williams has been in radio practically all his life. He began at 16 years old and has been going ever since. So, when Karen Williams asked him to help her create a different type of music show for WLTH 1370 AM/92.7 FM’s afternoon drive show from 2 p.m. – 5 p.m., he thought it would be a fun idea. Both Williams’ had done radio on WLTH. He did the afternoon drive and she did the morning show in the late 90’s. But his radio experience also has included morning drive on WJPC in Chicago and several radio stations in Alabama in the 80s. He also served in the promotions department of Malaco Records for five years.
The Drive from 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. on WLTH 1370 AM/92.7 FM debuted in December and has become one of the top music and entertainment shows in the region for its time slot. Karen Williams (the two are not related) said when they sat down to talk about the format of the show, they were both determined it would not be the same old talk that was heard on many local stations.
“We tell our listeners we don’t do politics and negativity. We only talk about the music, the artists, the labels of the 60s, 70s and 80s. We also try to provide a lot of laughs. People are so stressed out that if we can provide some laughs, we hope that helps alleviate the stress – at least for three hours. I think our listeners appreciate that,” said Karen Williams.
The show features classic soul music from the 60s, 70s and 80s. From time to time the show has interviewed people in the music industry. The show has interviewed Gary native and two-time Grammy nominee and international house music star Kym Mazelle. Mazelle is known as the Mother of House Music and began her career in the house music genre in the late 80s. They have also interviewed Ken Bedford who worked for Ebony magazine and Ebony/Jet Showcase in the 70s and 80s. They plan to talk with more music icons in future shows.
“We also want to highlight our artists, musicians, and music executives that come from Gary. People don’t realize how many people from Gary and nearby communities have impacted the music we listen to,” said Steve Williams.
“When we were on the air in the 90s we had a VEEJAY Records week. We brought in Chuck Barksdale of the Dells, talked with “The Ice Man” Jerry Butler, Eugene Record of the Chi-Lites and of course, the group that started it all for VEEJAY and put Gary on the map, the Spaniels.”
Williams and Williams just started their classic soul podcast called The Back Cover. It covers a lot of the same topics that they talk about in their show. New episodes will load every week. The podcast doesn’t play music, but it still has the laughs and features some clips of their radio show. It can be found on Stitcher and Spotify and at http://backcover.libsyn.com.
NOTE: The Drive from 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. is on vacation until July 8.
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