T H E S TAT E | I N S I D E R
Selling Memories
Mel Myers helps his radio listeners lighten their loads on morning commutes.
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Mel Myers (far left) is seen here in the late ‘80s with Sam Kinison (middle), who made a surprise appearance at Tulsa’s Jokers Comedy Club during the local Young Comedians Night. Photo courtesy Mel Myers
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sk the veteran Tulsa broadcaster Mel Myers what he’s doing in his recently acquired gig as the morning man for radio station KBEZ (92.9 FM), aka The Drive, and he’s likely to tell you that he’s selling memories. “On the surface, that sounds kind of cold and mercenary – the selling part,” he says. “But what I’m delivering, I hope, is good memories of people’s lives, while at the same time living in the present.” And the reason he can do both of those things, he believes, is because the classic hit songs that make up his playlists have “stayed relevant.” “When I play Led Zeppelin’s ‘Immigrant Song,’ I might be bringing back memories for people who were seniors in high school when Led Zeppelin III came out [in 1970]. But at the same time, I’m bringing back memories for anyone who saw and enjoyed the [2017] Thor: Ragnarok movie. “My grandson Cash, who’s ten, was wanting me to show him some things on guitar, and one of the songs he wanted to learn was ‘Immigrant Song.’ And I’m like, ‘You’re ten years old, dude. What’s your point of reference for this song?’ And it was Thor: Ragnarok.” This, Myers points out, is hardly an isolated case. “I was at a movie a few weeks ago, and a bunch of songs on our 92.9 playlist were in the trailers for upcoming movies. There was one movie where they played a huge chunk of ‘Sweet Dreams’ by the Eurythmics. No voiceovers or anything, just the song accompanying the scenes. “This music is still viable,” he concludes. “There
OKLAHOMA MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2022
are still successful radio stations all over the country playing it, and a lot of it is because it’s still being licensed for commercials and movies. So that’s kind of facilitated what I hope I’m doing, connecting with people in the morning.” Myers has been connecting with Tulsa-area radio listeners for nearly 45 years now, his rich and resonant baritone one of the familiar voices on the soundtracks of our lives. He moved to northeastern Oklahoma in June of ’77, following a stint as a morning jock and program director in Fort Smith, Ark. Phil Stone, later to serve a legendary stretch with partner Brent Douglas at Tulsa’s KMOD (97.5 FM), was his afternoon man in Arkansas; Myers got his first local attention with that same station, serving as KMOD’s midday deejay as well as its production director. During this time, he and fellow broadcaster Dave Michaels, aka Wavy Davy, would become familiar voices on radio spots for rock acts coming to town, especially those appearing at the Cain’s Ballroom, putting him on the ground floor at an exciting time for live music. “I met the Police backstage when they were traveling in a van,” he recalls. “And KMOD sold tickets [to their Cain’s show] for 97 cents. They gave out police whistles as promotional material; I’ve still got one somewhere. And Pat Benatar – she’s the reason my right ear rings worse than my left, because I got up there to take a look at her and stood, stupidly, right next to the P.A. Both my ears ring – the right ear’s worse. Thanks, Pat.”
