As a kid growing up in the Philadelphia radio market, the main station I listened to was “Hot Hits” 98 WCAU FM, a pretty standard 80s pop station that had some really great personalities and seemed to always play excellent music. I remember going to the Comfort Station, a small book and music store, and picking up rectangular-shaped sheets of paper that had the week’s top 25 songs on one side and a picture of a DJ on the other side. I’m sure somewhere in my parents’ house there’s a stack of those things.
My favorite personality, though, was Terry “Motormouth” Young, a fast-talking DJ who always had some funny comment to play about the song he was coming out of, even if it was a slow ballad. More impressively, he never seemed to stumble on his words. I was listening to a tape this morning from 1985 where Terry Young managed to come out of Dead Or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record),” give a full weather report for the area, and do an intro to the next song all during the opening bars of DeBarge’s “Who’s Holding Donna Now?”
Terry Young also holds a special place in my heart because he was my first big time interview. I called him up when I was in fifth grade and did a phone interview with him (while he was DJing!) for a school project (his favorite song at the time was Eddie Murphy’s “Party All the Time,” which I’m pretty sure he said sarcastically). I can still remember the high that I felt afterwards, especially since he invited me up to the station for a tour sometime (an offer that I sadly, never took him up on). He was very influential in my life and was the first one who really got me interested in radio as well as encouraging me to continue writing and interviewing.
A few years back I Googled Terry Young to see what he was up to and didn’t find much other than a few fan remembrances. Today, though, I was surprised (and happy!) to see that he’s returned to the airwaves on XM’s 60’s station. If anyone here has XM and would be willing to snag me some audio of one of his shows, I’d love to hear it.
Also worth checking out is this aircheck of Terry Young on WCAU in 1982 and this small bit from 1988 on The Fox in Detroit where he, I assume, went after WCAU. This page has a history of WROV in Roanoke, VA where Terry was apparently a pretty wild guy (and that may have gotten him dismissed).
Posted in Miscellaneous
Greg July 28, 2007, 11:40 pm
This is an old blog so who knows if you will see this or not.
Anywho I have XM radio and I love listening to Terry on the 60’s channel and I especially like his show he does once a week where he takes a different radio station from the US in the 60’s and works his magic.
He uses sound bites, actual commercials, dj’s etc and even adds himself to the mix to recreate that radio station for 3 hours a week.
This week’s show is in my hometown of Los Angeles, KHJ 93 and is from 1966.
I added the show in it’s entirety on my site.
http://www.darkshadows222.multiply.com
Enjoy!!!!
Carlos September 3, 2008, 11:23 pm
He’s the man! I interned for T.Y for awhile and what I learned from him was priceless! Thanks Terry!
Cousin Brucie January 12, 2009, 8:42 pm
ItamazesmehowfastTerrycantalkwithoutevercomingupforairbutIamknownasCuzbecauseI’mveryobnoxiusunlikeTerrywhoisatleastfunnyanddoesn’tmentionhisownnameeverytwominutesandclaimhe’sunder70likeIdoandwearadeadanimalonhisheadlikeIdoandisn’tatotalegomaniclikeIam.