Bill Gardner

What Are These Trophies???

Not long ago, well-respected National Radio Consultant Mike McVay told me, "You have done it all.  Bill Gardner understands radio more than most ever did.....or will." Thanks Mike!  The amazingly humble HRHOF Inductee Mike McVay said "YOU are the one who should be in the National Radio Hall of Fame.  Seriously!"  Thanks again Mike.

Legendary radio programmer and former Exec VP NBC-FM Stations  Walter Sabo just told me, "Mike Phillips said you were the best AC jock alive, and he was right!"  Thanks Walter!  (On the air as Walter Sterling, currently national talk show personality by the way).

Another of America's leading radio consultants and a national name you radio guys know, (not George Johns, by the way), humorously calls Bill Gardner "the best radio morning man in America NOT currently on the air!"  We protect his confidence.  Ask and I'll whisper his name to you.

During the halcyon days at KOOL-FM Phoenix with General Manager Clancy Woods and Program Director Tim Maranville, our many number one "25-54 adults and 12+ persons" rating "books" were rewarded with these personalized trophies, still proudly displayed here at our home. Bill Gardner's ability to "remain under the radar," (amazingly sometimes even to his own consultants and management), has allowed him to "sneak into a situation," and enjoy some of the most defense- free, dramatic turnarounds, and a 100% success record as morning personality and program executive! 

 

An Exact Fit for Your Job Needs?

Bill Gardner has been an "immediate impact player" in Adult Contemporary, Country, Oldies, Classic Hits, and Rock & Roll radio.  There's "easy-to-document" success* as a Drive Time On Air Personality, a VP/Programming or Program Director, even President/General Manager while owner-operator of an Arizona AM/FM combo, many times assuming both senior programming and morning drive on air roles simultaneously back when doing both was thought to be impossible :-)  And this "easy-to-document success" doesn't happen some of the time...it happens every time!

(*Search or ask for your copy of the Arizona Republic July 31, 1999, article where with virtually no other change in KOOL 94.5 mornings other than hiring Bill Gardner, the Spring 1999 ratings "book" their radio and TV columnist detailed Bill Gardner with "the biggest gain in Valley radio," almost immediately moving from 13th to 4th most popular morning show in Phoenix."  Soon after to be #1 25-54!)

Bill Gardner On The Air!

You've found the site for airchecks, interview samples, resume, letters of recommendation and more for legendary radio morning guy Bill Gardner, for almost a decade through 2008 the top-rated morning personality of KOOL-FM Phoenix, as well as morning personality and program director for Los Angeles area's 92.7 Jill FM through summer 2010.

And a special thank you to the many KOOL 94.5 Phoenix listeners who've sought me out via search engines and sent emails to my email address below.  Even after more than ten years, new emails continue to arrive in my inbox!  Really!  Your thoughts and loyalty are genuinely appreciated!  It's nice to be missed, especially when I wasn't given a chance to say goodbye on air!

 

 Bill Gardner IN The Air!

I enjoyed a wonderful forty-five-year radio career in some of America's biggest radio stations and greatest cities.  (See the list by clicking "resume" at the top of the center column if you like).  But when bottom-feeding corporations slashed radio salaries and replaced most of us with lower cost people or recorded or out of town recorded voices, I'm SO fortunate to also have that Airline Transport Pilot license and join a small airline here in Las Vegas for almost nine years.   Until my retirement, my position was as an Airline Captain, with 4AM breakfast in progress pictured below. It was fun to be in a profession where gray hair and plenty of experience are actually appreciated!  :-)  But when I realized it wasn't as much fun anymore, I'm gone!

 

FUN Web Search?

Web site archive!  Enter billgardnerontheradio.com, or koolradio.com at www.archive.org and see posts dating back to my decade doing mornings at KOOL 94.5 Phoenix!  There's different stories and different radio stations each week.  See some fun posts you may have missed!

 

My long time friend and team mate Bruce Buchanan kept talking to me..."Come to Salt Lake City..Do the morning show at Classy FM. .It's beautiful! here:"  He was right.  Most people have never seen Salt Lake City.  In Denver, I remember driving near an hour from home to get to the mountains.  In Salt Lake City, I turned east and I'm literally in them! 

   

Our house backed on national forest and if you keep going straight up the mountain, the Alta Ski and Snowbird Resorts!  I remember hearing the avalanche cannons being fired off on Saturday mornings high above us as I lay in bed!   But it was not like Utah didn't take some getting used to.       

  

    

If you know me, you know I'm a beer guy!  And back then in Utah, it wasn't sold anywhere but in a handful of State Liquor Stores.   3.2 beer was sold in convenience stores and gas stations, but sold WARM so no one would be tempted to drink one on the way home.  :-)  Relocating from Half Moon Bay California, I packed twelve cases of my then favorite Corona beer back into the cargo hold of our Bonanza and headed east.  :-)  And every restaurant required a $35 membership card to buy a beer or cocktail with dinner!   If you had six or seven favorite dining spots, it got expensive quickly.  BTW, they've loosened those laws since our time there in the mid-1980;s and joined the rest of us in the 21st century. :-)

Here's what it looked like to be on the air at KLCY-FM Salt Lake City!.  

 

A cool "perk" to being on the air there was that all of the ski resorts would LOVE to have you saying you were skiing at their slopes yesterday and how great the fun and conditions. About a half dozen ski resorts were about thirty minutes away.  So we were always given free lift tickets, or in the case of the Snowbird Resort, even a free season's pass.  I remember a lift operator saying to me once, "You must be someone important.  The only other guy I've seen with one of these was Herb Bass, the owner/developer of Snowbird!" Made me laugh. . :-)   

Cool Pic of the Day....

26 nominees were just announced for the National Radio Hall of Fame.  Turns out two of my good old friends are among them this year.   "Shotgun Tom" Kelly on the left, and Joey Reynolds between us are among this years names. Voting runs another week or so, and only six will enter the Hall of Fame after they're tallied later this month.  An induction cereemony is set for October.  BOTH of these two deserve to be in!  "Shotgun Tom" and I worked together on legendary KCBQ San Diego and we've tipped a pail on every trail since.  And super dude Joey Reynolds and I were team mates and became long time friends at pioneer top 40 WIBG Philadelphia also back in the 1970's.  Above, they both were visiting us in Las Vegas..       

 

Those Beautiful Girls Keep On Coming! . 

 "If you want people to visit your web site, you'd better have a picture of a beautiful girl!"  One of my favorite quotes from my friend and radio consultant, the late George Johns.  I had a fun and excellent 40+ year radio career with plenty of it following good advice from George, so here we go again.  :-)

From the cover of "Gentleman's Quarterly," she's labeled simply with three of my favorite things..."Rio...beach.... lady."  Three for three!    .