Jim Ladd worked in LA radio for more than 40 years. He was known as the last true “free-form deejay” – meaning he picked the music himself.
With little warning Wednesday, KLOS (95.5) fired Ladd.
Many consider Ladd a rebel and radio icon. The fingerprint on his show was his. He chose the music and he liked it that way.
“There was no list, no format, no nothing. It was me …choosing this music,” he said.
That is how radio was done in the “golden years” by such personalities as “Wolfman Jack” and Casey Kasem. But things changed in the 1980s when huge corporations started to buy up radio stations and demanded very precise playlists.
Industry watcher Keith Berman from Radio and Music Pros said the change that came with deregulation worked in some ways.
“People want to hear the same songs over and over again,” Berman said.
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Ladd never let control move up to the manager’s office and that made him a standout.
“He was the last personality I know of in commercial radio that was able to pick everything that he did,” Berman said.
Ladd’s fans knew when they listened to his show they were listening to music chosen by Ladd. He was king.
“I could do one set about politics, the next set about sex, the next about the environment. And tell stories through the lyrics and the music,” Ladd said.
Ladd said he is not done yet. He is looking for work at other stations in hopes that he will be king once again.
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