Almost 39 Years And Still . . . “Lovin’ Every Minute Of It” By Lori Baldassi
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ou know that voice. It’s the one attached to your alarm in the morning that helps you through your work day or your ride home. This voice is familiar for listeners from Vancouver to Calgary to Edmonton and at one point across Canada. This voice is that of veteran radio broadcaster, John Beaudin. Beaudin is in his 39th year on air and as the band Loverboy sings, he is still “Lovin’ Every Minute of It”! Through the years, he’s experienced a multitude of musical genres, Radio call letters, music fads, and the good, the bad and the ugly of the music broadcast industry. A self-described music lover, Beaudin’s longevity in radio is a rarity by today’s standards, but it’s the fact that he is still very much an enthusiastic openminded curious fan that reels you into these interviews. Off-air Beaudin started two successful YouTube channels — Rock History (YouTube.com/c/RockHistoryMusic) and Rock History Book (YouTube.com/c/ RockHistoryBook). I highly recommend both channels as you will find compelling interviews that no one else has, with bands such as: Scorpions, Chicago, Tower of Power, Rascals, Boston, Supertramp, Eagles, Jethro Tull, Colin James, Triumph, Eddie Money, Elton John Band, Toto, and Genesis.
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John Beaudin has been in major market radio (Edmonton, Vancouver and Calgary) for almost 40 years. He currently hosts the evening show at Move 103.5 Radio in Vancouver and on iHeartRadio. Photo courtesy of Shannon Edwards-Beaudin.
Have a burning question about a band, an album, an artist? Tune into Beaudin’s Let’s Talk Rock on Friday Night Live, co-hosted by his wife Shannon Edwards-Beaudin. As I mentioned, he has almost 39 years of answers! (See: YouTube.com/watch?v=50HLx3XXRBk) After all these years of interviews its Beaudin’s long-trusted relationships with these artists that bring out the real stories on those channels.
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To be clear, these are NOT gossip sites. These musicians are no longer tethered by record labels, lawyers, management or public views and the familiarity and ease, with which he drives the entire process, brings out some startling revelations. One-on-one interviews go deep on sound, producers, musicianship, gear, song writing, changes in direction musically and the business of the music industry from the people who were there. Beaudin prides himself on producing “music news” on the channels as it happens from the announcement of tours, remastered albums, biographies and deaths. Recently, I had to chance to catch up with him from his new home in Moncton, New Brunswick, about all things radio. Biz X: How do you approach an interview with touring Classic Rock acts knowing the audience, while sold out, is coming to hear the hits from 40 years ago, when there is no radio to support their new music? Beaudin: They all know that radio would not support their new music, yet they’re still creating some. I start the interview by telling the artist you know how this works. For example, if it’s Journey, I say I’m going to talk about the Escape album then we’re going to talk about the tour and then go into the new music. Here’s the thing, they still want to write music. They still have the muse to do it. They survive playing the same songs, by throwing something new in the mix. Bruce Hornsby, for instance,
