THE WXYZ ‘BROTHER JOHN’ MYSTERY VOICE IS SOLVED


THE WXYZ ‘BROTHER JOHN’ MYSTERY CLARIFIED

___

Was ‘Brother John‘ actually the voice of Alan Almond?

 

That was the question Motor City Radio Flashbacks could not ascertain with an answer.

We had received word from a frequent visitor to the website who stated it was he (without any given 100% degree of certainty implied) after hearing our aircheck feature this website posted here on September 7, 2017.

In all due fairness, the voice does sound very much extraordinarily as similar — one may think that could be Alan Almond.

We received the final answer to this question.

Thank you, Jim Heddle, of Phoenix, Arizona, for your (September 11) email response.

___

Hi Jim,

Brother John’s show was not local, it was syndicated nationally and was carried in Detroit by WXYZ-FM. Here is some information about him from allmusicguide.com:

Born February 14, 1932, John Rydgren (or Brother John, as he came to be known as an on-air DJ and radio personality) was an ordained minister in the American Lutheran Church, and for a time was a director of the American Lutheran Church’s radio and television films division. His claim to pop history fame came in the 1960s and early ’70s when his early syndicated FM radio shows, most notably the show called Silhouettes, which was broadcast across the U.S. (and in Vietnam) between 1966 and 1968, reached a wide-ranging audience. Positioning himself as a sort of “hip preacher” between Christianity on one hand and the emerging “Flower Power” generation on the other, Rydgren interspersed progressive and psychedelic rock tracks with his thoughts on spirituality, philosophy, and the changing times, all in a deep, sincere, and affecting baritone. He also released three LPs of his thoughts and musings laid over a backdrop of fuzz guitars, heavenly choirs, and sitar drones, Worlds of Youth (1966), Cantata for New Life (1967), and Silhouette Segments (1968), during this time period. He died on December 26, 1988, from a heart attack at the age of 56. Omni Records reissued remastered versions of Rydgren‘s three LPs, along with bonus tracks and an additional LP, They Say, in a two-disc set in 2012.

According to the Detroit News, Alan Almond died in 2015 at the age of 67. You might also be interested to know that before Alan landed his job at WNIC, he briefly did the morning show on WPAG in Ann Arbor.

 

Take care, Jim Heddle   

___

We have our answer.

And a special thank you to Mike Landry and Andrew Wagonner for your added confirmations in regards (same as above) having shared as well.



Loading

MICHIGAN RADIO: A ‘JACK THOMAS’ WLEW MEMORY

WATH (Athens, OH) JACK THOMAS

WLEW (Bad Axe, MI) JACK THOMAS 1975

WLEW (Bad Axe, MI) JACK THOMAS 1993

WLEW * Jack Thomas * 1975


JACK THOMAS on WLEW REMEMBERED

___

Motor City Radio Flashbacks would like to extend our thanks to Frederick Vobbe for sharing this Michigan broadcasting memory in behalf of his brother, Jack Thomas. Fred Vobbe was chief engineer for Detroit radio stations WHNE-FM, WMJC-FM and WHND-AM, Birmingham, Michigan, in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Today, Fred resides in Lima, Ohio, still doing what he does best as chief engineer for major media outlets (radio and TV) in the Buckeye state. We present Fred’s own words he shared of his brother’s broadcasting career, verbatim, below.  

Audio and photos courtesy of Fred Vobbe.

___

My brother Jack Thomas started broadcasting in 1958 at McKinley School’s educational radio station, WTDS-FM, while a student. In his spare time he recorded radio shows with his friends in his parent’s basement, and collected the latest rock & roll 45s while imitating the sounds of WJBK AM and other stations in Detroit.

In high school he jocked “sock hops” for private and company parties. His first “big time” job in radio was with WATH AM/FM in Athens, Ohio, serving as a Staff Announcer and Chief Engineer. He took the name “Jack Thomas” when on the air. After a decade in Athens he moved to WLEW AM/FM in Bad Axe, Michigan, in 1973 in a similar role.

Being a small market station he set up remotes, assisted in news broadcasts, assembled music libraries, and repaired the station’s broadcast equipment. Jack was proud that he entertained his audience with clean humor, “On This Day in History“and “Jack’s Birthday Book” where he kept a list of area listener’s birthdays and mentioned them on the air while reading entertaining stories and trivia.

While at both stations he produced automation tapes, first for WATH-FM 105.5, and later for both WLEW AM and FM. After retiring from WLEW in 2006, Jack worked part-time briefly for WCPT-FM, and was on the air as “Brother Jack.”

Thomas’ career in broadcasting in the thumb area comprised well over thirty years in radio, where his name is still remembered today.

Jack Thomas passed away in February 2017 at the age of 76.

 

Frederick Vobbe,  August 19

 




Loading