The LA Rock legend will be hosting an exclusive, daily free-form rock show on Deep Tracks, channel 27. Ladd began his career in 1969 at KNAC Long Beach. After two years there, he moved to KLOS. In 1974 he moved to KMET, where he made his mark in the 70s and 80s while also hosting and producing Innerview, an hour-long nationally syndicated interview program that aired during the same period.
For several years, Ladd worked only on-and-off on the radio because he refused to follow a playlist, as most station owners demanded. In the late 1980s, Ladd worked at KMPC-FM there, where he helped to shape its “Full Spectrum Rock” blend of classic and modern rock. It later rebranded at “The Edge.”
Ladd also worked at KLSX and KLOS again, where show routinely lead its time slot in Arbitron ratings. On 10/26, Ladd was among various staffers let go from KLOS following the acquisition of station owner Citadel by Cumulus Media.
On 11/5, Ladd gave a three-hour farewell broadcast on KFI-AM LA.
At Sirius, Ladd will continue to personally select all the music heard on his show, as he has done from the start. He’ll also conduct regular interviews with classic rock legends that he has developed personal relationships with.
“I am thrilled to bring the Jim Ladd free-form rock radio show to SiriusXM. By joining SiriusXM, I will be bringing my “free-form” show nationwide,” said Jim Ladd. “Traditional FM radio has turned its back on the very thing that made rock radio the magical experience it was intended to be. SiriusXM is kicking down the doors of the stagnant, preprogrammed fodder that passes for radio today by encouraging me to do my free-form show so we can all share this experience live as it happens.”
RBR-TVBR observation: Amen. If more “Alternative” stations today played a wider mix of well-picked Indie Rock and deeper cuts in general, the torch would be carried in commercial radio. But no, in many cases folks have to be driven to satellite or online to hear something they haven’t heard thousands of time already.
