We return to the fabulous Robyn Watts collection for this trip back to 80s Houston CHR!
John Lander has a lot going on this hot Summer day! The astronauts on the Space Shuttle Discovery have checked in to give a message of congratulations to the Q for being Number 1, it’s Labor Day Weekend and Ray Parker Junior is coming into the studio (and the girls are going wild!)
This is a fast-paced morning show, typical of a period in time when FM had really just come into it’s own – and probably at the height of it’s period of creativity before consultants would come in and ruin the sound with liner cards, formulas, safe lists and ponderous in-your-face imaging. No, this is GREAT radio, from a time before consolidation and cost cutting sucked the life out of it.
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John Lander is one of the best morning guys right there with Scott Shannon and Rick Dees!
I’ve modeled my morning show off the lander show!
Rex MCNeill in the morning
Are there any other John Lander airchecks out there? Did he work in the Tampa Bay Market in the late 70s-Early 80s? I hope somesone can help by e-mailing me! Thanks Dr Johnny P LoveTrain-College Radio DJ from 1620 WBUL Tampa,Fla
KKBQ was amazing growing up. Does anyone remember the streetsheets 79Q put out. Looking to collect originals or copies are good too…especially those with Hall & Oates.
Please reply on here if you know where I can get these.
Thanks,
Dan
i grew up in houston and loved the q-zoo and john lander and mr. leonard i won the mystery oldie at least 5 times great air check.
As a teenager, I listened to John Lander and the Nut Hut in Philly. I still have great memories of the whole bunch. Mr. Leonard was my favorite!! I wish there could be another radio show like that again. I live near Charlotte, NC now though.
hey it’s chris allen from the old 79Q and 93Fm in houston…i worked there with john lander, mr leonard,bob king, john rio, clete dumpster, jackie, bill taylor and lou lou the panther of love…also ron parker, hollywood, gary michael night and easy randy street back in the 80’s from 84 to 89…93Q was a powerhouse and so much fun to work at…you guys can contact me at bigjohn93qfm@msn.com
A friend of mine Chris Allen in Tyler Texas told me about this site. I am “the other voice” on this air check with John Lander. I had no idea this site existed and would love to make contact with any old
radio people at KKBQ. I had the honor of working with John Lander as a sidekick for several years during my time at 93Q from 1983-1991. It was such an incredible time in my life that when it ended…I got out of the business realizing I had been part of something that would most likely never happen again. I have some 93Q and Q-Zoo airchecks I will try to find and post here in the near future…hopefully someone will get the kick I just had finding this aircheck and hearing things I had not heard in YEARS!
Bob King – Fulshear, TX
LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT! This show used to get me going in the mornings. Just yesterday I shared with a coworker my rendition of Mr. Leonards “Monday Morning Blues”. Who was the voice of Mr. Leonard and where is he? This was REAL radio!!
Hi Roberta,
“Mr Leonard” was a guy by the name of John Rio. He did work on the morning shows for Z100/NY, Q105/Tampa, Pirate Radio/LA, Eagle 106/Philly, & WMMS/Cleveland (there were probably more, but those were the ones that I clearly remember). Several years ago, “Mr. Leonard” was syndicated as a “joke of the day” feature for other radio stations (Kiss 95.1/Charlotte, NC was one of the stations), but I don’t know if that’s still the case.
Bob King & Chris Allen: Thanks for the comments. Both of you, as well as other air-talents that worked at KKBQ-AM/FM during the CHR era, were outstanding.
Robyn
looking for old friend “Chris allen”, edward allen pickett, dj in austin in 1986 at Key 103. where’s he at today?
You mean to say that John Rio actually did the voice of Mr. Leonard???
Yes, I can confirm that. John Rio is my uncle and he did the voice and all the writing for Mr. Leonard. Incredibly funny man!!!
Does anyone have a copy of the old Elvira parody “Flu Virus” that they used to play? I can’t find it anywhere and would love a copy. I’d really like it for my cheerleading camp.
Thanks,
Katie
Dulles Vikings Rule! Class of ‘08!
I had the privelege of working with John Rio when we were in high school. We were announcers on a small FM station. John’s creativity and zany antics on air kept us in stitches. I am glad he was successful with it. I would love to find out contact information for him.
Thanks,
Andy
Where is John “Mr. Leonard” Rio working today?
Any pictures of him available?
Here is an old TV Commercial that I captured of 93Q John Lander, and a very hot model! This was recorded back in 1989.
If you can’t use the link, search Google Video for 1989 93Q KKBQ-FM Houston TV Commercial.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5950109206367476577
Hello. Regarding what “Mr. Leonard” looks like, I once saw him(or someone impersonating the “Mr. Leonard” character) at a radio promotion in Downtown Houston outside the Hard Rock cafe. I guess this was back circa maybe ‘96/’97? From what I can remember, the “Mr. Leonard” character I saw was Oriental/Asian in appearance. Can someone who worked with “Mr. Leonard” confirm or deny his race or appearance? The person I saw at the Houston Hard Rock was someone who definitely spoke with “Mr. Leonard’s” unique character voice, and I was surprised to see that he was Oriental/Asian. I dunno. I could be off base on this???? Thanks in advance for any information yay or nay.
I am looking for “Neil Frank Haircut” song. He is a weatherman in Houston and is retiring. I thought it would be nice to have this song to send to the TV station since none of the anchors were around when it was played on the Q morning zoo
what ever happened to Clete(David )? I was his neighbor in 80s.
there is a short clip of john lander in the depeche mode documentary titled 101. it’s about a 5 minute clip. pretty funny.
I heard that you recommended a book about a year ago but didn’t catch the name of the author or title. Do you have a few great “reads” that you recommend. I would appreciate it if you could send me the information. I am a loyal fan. Nuno
Clete Dumpster (Dave) lives in North Hollywood, CA.
I had the tape of the best of the Q Morning Zoo with all the best bits. Unfortunately, now I only have the tape case… the tape is missing.
I’m dying to hear the piece when the Hispanic guy tastes the ultra-hot salsa and goes berzerk, only to end it with “it’s not that hot.” Anyone have it??
And I do remember Mr. Leonard putting his picture in the Houston Chronicle newspaper circa 1991. It was a face with a big hand in front on it… big tease for us loyal high-school fans.
Hi all-
I had the pleasure of working at KKBQ twice…some of you may remember that before the stations went full time simulcast, the AM and FM had separate airstaffs after the Q-ZOO finished it’s daily broadcast. I started in middays on 79Q AM in August 1984 (as “Jeff Mason,” a name I had also used in my prior job at crosstown KRBE. Following Lander and crew, Gary Michael Knight took the handoff on the FM, and I took over on the AM.
In July 1985, the FCC simulcast rules were lifted and the AM and FM airstaffs were merged. At that point I transferred to Gannett’s sister station, KS-103 in San Diego, where I did PMD under the name “Shadow Stevens.
In February of 1987, Lander invited me back to replace afternoon driver, Ron Parker, who had gone to KHKS in Dallas. I stayed at 93Q for another two years doing 2p-6p as “Shadow Stevens,” later going on to Emmis’ “Energy 96.5″ and subsequently as a creator and OM of Nationwide’s MIX 96.5 under the name “Jeff Scott,” working with industry legend Guy Zapoleon.
Today, I’m the National Sales Manager for Cox Radio in San Antonio. It was fun to find this site. I will always remember 93Q as the best time of my life on-air. Lander was and is a great talent, and he assembled an incredible crew. There wasn’t a loser among the bunch, full or part time…they were all top notch and a blast to work with!
By the way, for “Easy Randy Street” fans–he was one of the best night guys out there–you can still hear him today if you have Sirius-XM Satellite Radio. He holds down the midday shift on Sirius Hits 1, going by the name of “Human Numan!”
Ciao!
glad you are alive the last time i saw you at some convention in l.a. and harrits sister was playing electric wah wah sax which you trhought was harriet had fun still in l.a. cleat
Cleat-
Email me…I’m in L.A. at least every two months on business…love to catch up.
Shadow (Jeff)
I have one of the 93Q records that they put out…classic 80’s radio! I don’t know how I would’ve gotten through high school with out Lander, Leonard, Cleat and all!!!!
Hey Jeff
I have tape from the morning you and Al Carson killed the “Energy” format and became Alternative 96.5.