10 Questions
10 Questions Revisit with Rick Nuhn
Name: Rick Nuhn
Title: Nationally Syndicated Radio Host
Station: Syndicated-Top 10 Now & Then
Market: 30+ Markets
Your social Media Links: Instagram, Twitter, FB, Website
Company: “Format 3000”
Born: July 3, 1952
1) Would you share with us how you got started in radio? (Tell the story and the places you worked)
Well, I was in the “hippie activist” era of my life and I was attending Arizona State University working towards a degree in Social Welfare. 3 years in, I was BORED. I heard about a Junior College which ironically was near where I was living at the time, Phoenix College. They were offering an “Introduction to Radio 101.” So, there I am on one day in class when the teacher walks in and said, “ A Local Radio Station is looking for a part time position, see me after class.” Well, I’m flexed and ready to be the 1st one in line. I wasn’t going to let anybody get in my way. Bell rings and I made a mad dash to the podium, and I was first. I looked behind me and no one was in line…no one. I realized then that you must really want something and be committed from the beginning to succeed. Those other folks went on to be whatever, teachers, accountants, but certainly not radio. It was a class credit for them, for me it was a beginning to a career
2) How did your transition into the music industry happen and what surprised you the most?
As it turned out the “part time job (see above) was with a guy I idolized by the name of Louie Enriquez. The station was KXTC (greatest call letters ever) a 100,000-watt JAZZ station, .crazy right? Louie had a show called “Listen To Louie” Saturday Night from 10PM -2AM. This was when SNL 1st started airing, everyone was talking about it, and I went a year or two never seeing it. From there I worked my way up from the Saturday night gig to Overnights then to Afternoon Drive. One day the station GM walked in and said, “What do you do at night?” I said EXCUSE ME. He said, “ don’t you spin records in a nightclub somewhere? I said, “yes I do.” He said,“ I will be right back.” Fifteen minutes later he comes back in and said, “We are changing the format of the radio station to Disco tomorrow, and you are the Program Director” My immediate reply, “WHAT’S A PROGRAM DIRECTOR?”
That opened the door and really started my career. The station went from an 0.4 to over a 5 share in the 1st book. Not knowing much about radio and thanks to the Disco craze, I now find myself on radio panels with cats like Frankie Crocker, Barry Mayo, Alvin John Waples, and so many others more experienced than me. What an honor and what a way to get in the game I loved. Eventually the station was sold and went corporate. They asked me to write an overview of what the station should morph into (they didn’t know I knew they were going to change the format to country) I refused and of course they fired me. I knew it might not have been the right move, but I forged ahead. I had made some great connects in the record biz and i heard a new station was coming into the market KZZP. BOOM !
I became one of the Original Jocks there doing Overnights with Crazy Dave Otto in Mornings, Randy Michaels in Mid Days, Steve Goddard in PM Drive and Mike Graves 7pm to 12m. Subsequently, I was truly blessed to have Steve Rivers play a role in my career as he hired me to do weekends on the legendary KOPA. I was surrounded by unbridled talent…Buddy Baron, Chuck Bear, John Volpe, Scott Thrower, Rivers himself and a cast of all-time great jocks.
Most importantly KOPA had a daytimer, KXAM, so along with Chris Robbins, Rivers asked us what could we do with that little AM’er down the hall? We turned that little thing into a rousing success. When another AM in town (a full-timer) switched formats to challenge us. You guessed it….they gave me a gig and for a couple of years we turned KUKQ-AM, the sister to KUPD, into one of the hottest stations in Phoenix.
From there LA came calling and I was offered the Morning Drive gig in Market # 2 @ KGFJ, UNBELIEVABLE! Kevin Fleming, the PD of the station, took a chance on me which I will never forget and then he also made me music director. My career was in another gear. After 2 years in the AM Drive slot, I made a transition to the Record side.
While on the radio in Phoenix I made some lifelong friends from the record business. Vaughn Thomas, Primus Robinson, Bob Conrad, Joe Morrow, Michael White, Michael Johnson, and most importantly Sylvia Rhone. It was Sylvia that coaxed me into the record business, and it opened up my life. I worked with Sylvia and Atlantic Records for 12 years and those years were golden. It was a great time to be in the game and the music, the memories, and the success we had, stays with me to this day.
3) What are you up to these days?
For about the last 16 years or so, I have been blessed to write and host Top 10 Now & Then a nationally syndicated UAC Countdown Show. Ron Shapiro, my dear friend, and business partner is the Executive Producer of the show. He spent years at Watermark working with Casey Kasem and American Top 40. He doesn’t make me sound nearly as good as Casey was, but he sure makes me and the show sound “World Class” and unlike anything else on the dial. Top 10 Now & Then is on across the country from San Diego to Pensacola in about 35 markets total. As it has been for everybody, the pandemic took a toll on radio, but I see more opportunity for the show & syndication now as staffs are being cut along with operating costs. We provide a top notch 2-hour show that simply can’t be done in-house. With help of our syndicator, Benztown we continue to seek out partners at radio and you should know that in virtually every market we are in, we attract listeners and perform above market expectations ratings wise. If you are reading this, you should really contact me and get Top Ten Now And Then on your station….we will light it up for you, guaranteed!
4) When you were a kid growing up, what did you want to be?
Funny I do recall having a little micro recorder when I was a kid, I would emulate the cats on the radio at the time, but the call letters were always N-U-H_N! Like most kids I had dreams of many careers ; Architect or FBI Guy (that will surely get a laugh from my close friends). I always wanted to be involved in the community and advocate for my fellow Latinos. (Hence the college stint for Social Welfare) and I tried to reflect that position when I was on the air throughout my career.
5) Would you share the names of some air personalities you grew up listening to?
WOW! Phoenix had some great jocks. KRIZ, KRUX, KOOL, KDKB . Lucky Lawrence did mornings at KRUX (I think , he might have been KRIZ) in any case Al McCoy (the long-time voice of the Phoenix Suns) did Mid-Days. One day someone had left a litter of Cats at the station doorstep. So, in the transition between shifts, they were giving away Cats, “Call in Now & Win a Feline.” Well, I did and I had that cat “Lucky” for quite a few years. In 7th Grade we had a dance at my elementary school, Maryland. Mighty Ed Mitchell from KRUX was to DJ the dance.
Well Mighty Ed had a few too many “pops” and was a no show. The folks at the dance picked one guy from 8th grade (David Gonzalez) and one guy from the 7th grade (yours truly Rick Nuhn) to take over the DJ duties. When I look back now, I realize that that was the moment that got me hooked. So many other great ones in the Valley of The Sun. Sonny Knight, Pat McMahon, Bob Shannon, William Edward Compton, Mike Reynolds, Hank Cookenboo, Tony Evans, and Bill Heywood. Kind of amazing when you think about it.
6) What are you most proud of?
Right now, I would have to say I’m most proud of the success my daughter Daryl has had in New York City. She owns a Natural Wine Shop & Small Plates Restaurant called “Peoples Wine” She is quickly establishing herself as one of the top purveyors of wine and hospitality in the City. I’m also proud of being able to help many others further their career in radio. Alex
Santamaria, Super Snake, Althea Long, J.D. Houston, Alicia Torres, Dave Pratt, John Edwards, Triscina Gray just to name a handful.
7) Who have been some of your influencers and mentors?
The list would have to start with Sylvia Rhone and the aforementioned-Louie Enriquez, Steve Rivers, Kevin Fleming, Steve Smith, Rdub, Michelle S, Ron Shapiro, and The Benztown Crew. They all helped me succeed in radio. In Records my tenure was made better by guidance from Richard Nash, Henry Jefferson, Walt, Love, Buddy Dee, Venice Starks (really all that 80’s & 90’s Atlantic Staff) Jerry Greenberg, Miller London, Dwight Bibbs Jerry Boulding and of course Jill Weindorf who I spent more than 10 years with at Concord Music Group.
Great PD’s I had the pleasure to work with include Butterball (RIH), Derek Brown, Steve Crumbley, Traci LaTrelle, Jack Patterson, Vinny Brown, Cliff Winston, Marvin Robinson, Lynn Briggs, Lynn Tolliver, Harold Austin, Derrick DC Corbett, Mark Dylan, Mike Love, Stan Branson, Jamillah Muhammad, Minnesota Fatz and of course some cat named Sam Weaver, ha ha. Special shoutout to the PDs that always made it harder than it had to be.
8) What’s your forecast for the future of radio and music?
I strongly believe that there will always be a need for radio. That future will include music, but I see information and news as the foundation for people’s needs. Streaming etc. has eroded the younger base, but it remains to be seen what will evolve over the next generation. As in any form of entertainment, content and creativity are paramount. Put together properly, it can lead to success financially and in the community. There is a future here.
9) Fill in the blank: I can’t make it through the day without?
A sporting event (pretty much anything) and a cooking show (always trying to hone that skill)
10) What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
“Be mindful of the lane you are in and drive it aggressively at all times, put your turn signal on, if necessary, but keep on movin.”
Bonus Questions
What would people who think they know you, be surprised to find out??
I collect matches (they don’t make too many anymore) and concert tickets (they don’t make many of them anymore either)
How do you see your future evolving?
Continuing to water my syndicated show, one day look at possible ownership opportunities, ongoing support for my daughter in her pursuit of excellence and build out the land I own in San Felipe Baja California.
Would you share two of your funnier radio and music industry moments?
I don’t know if this is funny….but it happened, I had to get something out of my car when I was doing overnights at KZZP. I went from the studio to the lobby out to the car. Well, I had a key to the front door, but little did I know that the door from the lobby to the studio automatically locked. YIKES!
I took the only thing I could think of to use, a fire extinguisher and had to break the glass to get back in before Billy Joel “Just The Way You Are” faded out and the red-light went on. I spent the next 5 hours picking up glass and fearing the meeting with my PD John Stephens (it worked out….for a second).
Here’s the 2nd true story. There are only 4 people that know this to be true, and 2 of them are dead. After a Zapp Concert in Phoenix, we were backstage, and the talk turned to Zapp’s forthcoming project. I asked Roger what he was going to call it and he replied he didn’t know yet.
I said to him, “Well Brother it’s kinda like “The Saga Continues” he immediately motions his brother Larry over and he says write that down, we got the name for the next project!
Look it Up “The Saga Continues” was released in 1984 and Roger and the group became lifelong friends.