At age 12, as a student at St. John of the Cross Catholic School in Lemon Grove, Tom Irwin was confronted by Sister Mario. “Thomas, get over here,” ordered the nun.
Two years earlier, at age 10, Irwin had decided he wanted to grow up to become a disc jockey. He created his own mock radio station in his Spring Valley bedroom using two record players and a microphone.
As he tells the story, Irwin dutifully responded to Sister Mario. “What can I do for you?” Irwin asked.
“Thomas,” the nun said, “You need to learn how to read and write and write a sentence properly in a paragraph.”
Irwin, who grew up to become radio and TV legend “Shotgun” Tom Kelly, replied to the nun, “Sister Mario, all I wanna do is play the hits.”
So, it’s fitting that Irwin’s memoir book, released in late July, has the same title, “All I Wanna Do Is Play The Hits.”
“I’m so proud of this book because it’s not all about me,” Irwin told Times of San Diego. “Yes, the book includes my favorite stories about growing up in the radio industry in the `60s and `70s. But, the book is not only about radio. There are funny stories about people who did not work in radio. The book is a fun read for anybody.”
After a 50-year career, Irwin, who celebrated his 75th birthday on Aug. 8, is still working five days a week as an afternoon DJ on SiriusXM 60s Gold (Channel 73). With his booming voice, he’s remains one of the last big Top-40 radio personalities.
This bear of a man remains instantly identifiable by this trademark Smokey Bear-style ranger hat and “Brrrr-yah, you better believe it, baby” sign-on. In 2013, he was honored with his own star on the iconic Hollywood Walk of Fame and superstar Stevie Wonder was one of the presenters. He also is a two-time Emmy award winner and winner of the Billboard Air Personality of the Year award.
He graduated from Mt. Miguel High School in Spring Valley in 1968, and worked in San Diego, Merced, Oxnard and Bakersfield before joining San Diego’s KGB Radio at age 21. By 1970, he had adopted Kelly as his radio name. “Shotgun” was a nickname from his dad because he preferred riding in the front seat rather than the back seat of a car.
He worked at several San Diego radio stations, including KPRI, KGB, KFMB, KCBQ, KBEST and B-100, before Los Angeles. In San Diego television history, he was the on-air host of two shows for children, including “Words-A-Poppin,” a word-driven kids game show seen on Channel 10 (1974-1979), and the “KUSI Kids Club,” which aired for 12 years (1983-1995).
In 1997, he began a 22-year stint as afternoon host at KRTH (K-Earth 101-FM) in Los Angeles before joining SiriusXM in 2018. He voices the weekday satellite radio show from his home studio in Fletcher Hills. The show ends early on Wednesday afternoons so Irwin can continue his long-standing mid-week tradition of running his model trains on the tracks at the San Diego Model Railroad Museum.
Irwin said he has been writing the book, off-and-on, for the past five years. While attending the annual National Association of Broadcasters convention, Irwin said he would visit with the late Jim Bohannan, a famous talk-show host and NAB Hall of Fame member.
Irwin said, “Jim was a listener to my afternoon show, which he heard in the evening on the East Coast. Jim said to me, `Tom, when are you going to write a book? You’ve got incredible stories to tell.’ Well, a year went by. At the next NAB convention, Jim said, `How’s that book coming along?’
“Then, unfortunately, Jim Bohannan passed away (in 2022). So, his death motivated me to start writing again. Then, I stopped again, but eventually ran into T.K. Arnold, who lives in Carlsbad, and I sent him a few draft chapters to review.”
Thomas K. Arnold, a longtime San Diego journalist, currently operates his own media company, JCH Media, publisher of Media Play News, a Hollywood trade magazine that focuses on the distribution of entertainment content to the home on three major platforms, including streaming, digital and the physical disc (DVD, Blu-ray Disc and 4K Ultra HD). JCH Media is the publisher of “All I Wanna Do Is Play The Hits.”
According to Arnold, “Tom had been talking about writing a book for years. Late last year, he began sending me drafts. I kept telling him to wait until he had a final draft. Then, in February of this year, Tom sent a nicely written draft that he had written with Neil Ross. Tom recorded words on his phone and Neil put it into writing.
“I began doing some editing and adding segments about the history of Top 40 and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Before long, I found myself embroiled in the book and volunteered to be project manager. I helped Tom select photos and arrange a table of contents. I also asked a friend, Rob Weinberg, to do a final edit. Another friend, Allison Gritton, our magazine’s art director, worked on a design. It was a collaborative effort.”
According to Arnold, Irwin’s 280-page autobiography is a collection of interesting, fun stories and anecdotes mixed with customary biography details.
“It’s a fast, easy read, very insightful, often funny, but very heartwarming with stories from Tom about the birth of his daughter, the drug use and rehabilitation and heart surgery,” said Arnold. “There are other stories about Cousin Brucie, Wolfman Jack, Don Steele, Stevie Wonder and mentors, associates and friends.
“My favorite chapter is when Tom met President Reagan at a campaign rally in San Diego and was later invited to the White House by Congressman Duncan Hunter to meet with the president. Before the meeting, he burst his pants, so he hastily changed in Hunter’s office before arriving at the White House in Hunter’s car, where he gave the president a ranger hat just like the one he wears all the time.”
The book features a number of QR codes that takes readers to video clips. “That was Linda’s idea,” said Irwin, referring to his wife.
“All I Wanna Do Is Play The Hits” is available on Amazon. Irwin is signing books from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., every Friday in August at Rudford’s restaurant, 2900 El Cajon Blvd., San Diego.
LaDona Harvey Leaving KOGO Radio After 26 Years
KOGO 600-AM morning news anchor LaDona Harvey is leaving the station after 26 years. She told listeners she is moving to Phoenix at the end of this month to care for her ailing father who has Alzheimer’s.
She explained to listeners that her stepmother died earlier this year, leaving no one to care for her father. And while she doesn’t want to leave San Diego, she believes it is in her father’s best interest to move to Phoenix to be with him rather than uproot him to the San Diego area.
“I made a really, really tough decision, and I only made it at the end of last week that I could not figure out a way to get him here and do it in a way that would be not harmful to him,” she said to listeners on Aug. 5. “It is the hardest decision I have ever made. I have never been through an emotional roller coaster like this.”
Harvey said it’s possible she may return to the station at a later date. “Hopefully, this is not all there is. I would love to come back someday,” she said. “But, right now, my dad needs me.”
She has been a co-anchor of KOGO’s “San Diego Morning News” with Ted Garcia for the past 10 years.
“It is time for me to say goodbye to that era, and it’s not because I want to,” Harvey told listeners. “I love what I do. I love working with you, Ted Garcia, and it has been just such a great pleasure.”
KOGO is one of eight San Diego radio stations operated by iHeartMedia San Diego. The eight San Diego radio stations include KOGO 600-AM, KGB-FM 101.5, KGB-AM San Diego Sports 760, KHTS-FM Channel 93.3, KIOZ-FM Rock 105.3, KMYI-FM Star 94.1, KSSX-FM JAM’N 95.7 and KLSD 1360-AM The Patriot.
Sports-Talk Hosts with KGB-AM also on Classic Rock KGB-FM
It’s a busy schedule nowadays for three radio talk-show hosts, including “Big” Rich Ohrnberger, Travis “TD” Dale and Ben “Fletch” Fletcher.
The hosts of the “Big Rich, TD and Fletch” show have launched a new morning program on KGB-FM 101.5 San Diego’s Classic Rock during the 6 to 10 a.m. weekday timeslot.
Previously, since 2022, the trio has been heard weekday mornings on KGB-AM San Diego Sports 760.
However, in addition to KGB-FM in the mornings, they have added a 1 to 3 p.m. afternoon show on KGB-AM.
Both KGB-FM and KGB-AM are operated by iHeartMedia San Diego.
“The energy, humor and positivity that Big Rich, TD & Fletch bring to their shows in San Diego is infectious,” said Taylor Jukes, senior VP of programming, iHeartMedia San Diego. “These three have lively and engaging perspectives across three generations and their love of sports, technology and pop culture will engage San Diegans on the morning commute.”
Ohrnberger, a former NFL offensive linesman, has hosted multiple on-air shows for San Diego Sports760 since the end of his NFL career. He spent six years playing for the New England Patriots, Arizona Cardinals and San Diego Chargers. He also has served as color analyst for San Diego State Aztecs football game broadcasts.
“I feel very fortunate to be working alongside two extremely talented people,” said Ohrnberger. “TD and Fletch are not only great hosts, but they’re my friends.”
Dale has worked in various roles across Southern California in talk-show programming, producing, traffic and radio sales. “So excited to make the jump over to the legendary 101.5 KGB,” said Dale.
Fletcher served as a producer and morning show co-host on San Diego Sports760 before joining Big Rich and TD on-air. He has been part of the San Diego State Aztecs football and basketball broadcasts for the last six years.
Clint August, host of a weekday morning show on KGB-FM, has moved to afternoons on KGB-FM from 3 to 7 p.m.
August has been heard on San Diego radio stations since 1998.
In January 2023, August, an afternoon host on KGB-FM since 2010, moved to mornings to anchor “KGB Mornings with Sarah, Boyer and Clint,” a show that was created following the December 2022 retirements of Dave Rickards and Cookie “Chainsaw” Randolph, who hosted a legendary San Diego morning radio show called “The DSC Show” for 32 years.
KGB’s previous morning show joined together August with two former members of the “DSC” morning show, Sarah Beebe and Chris Boyer. Beebe and Boyer are no longer with the station.
San Diego Press Club Accepting Journalism Awards Entries
The San Diego Press Club is now accepting entries for its 51st Annual Excellence in Journalism Awards, which recognizes outstanding achievements of journalism and public relations professionals in San Diego.
The awards program is open to San Diego County residents who have had news content either published, broadcast, aired or online from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024. The deadline to submit entries is Wednesday, Aug. 14.
“Every year, we see the impact an Excellence in Journalism Award can have on the career of professionals in our community,” said Nicole Vargas, 2024 president of the club. “Having our work judged by peers from other press clubs around the nation is a fantastic measure of our skills and talents.”
The Excellence in Journalism Awards program features 500 awards in more than 180 categories and 10 divisions. The categories cover a range of topics and writing styles including breaking news, investigative reporting, editorial, photo essay, press release writing, reviews, specialty reporting and more.
The award program also includes special career achievement awards and the introduction of scholarship winners selected from local community college and four-year university journalism programs.
Additionally, this year’s Wildcard Award category is “artificial intelligence.” The award will recognize a story or coverage that addresses the impact and advancements of AI technology.
Winners will be announced Oct. 22 at an awards ceremony at the Liberty Station Conference Center in Point Loma.
Rick Griffin is a San Diego-based public relations and marketing consultant. His MarketInk column appears weekly on Mondays in Times of San Diego.
