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| Above, Jim Ladd. |
If one grew up in Los Angeles during the years of "underground radio" and "progressive rock radio", a huge piece of that youth is now gone.
DJ Jim Ladd died yesterday at age 75 from a sudden heart attack.
Ladd was a practicioner of "freeform" radio and played what he wanted thematically, not some pre-programmed canned junk station "suits" wanted. He was a popular DJ on stations KMET and KLOS.
I enjoyed listening to his radio shows during my work night shifts, particularly when he played sets of The Doors and had Doors' keyboardist Ray Manzarak on as a guest.
Deadline reported:
Jim Ladd, the longtime Los Angeles FM deejay known as “The Lonesome L.A. Cowboy” who had hosted a SiriusXM show for 12 years and was the inspiration for Tom Petty‘s album The Last DJ, died Saturday of a heart attack at his L.A. home. He was 75.
His death was announced today by fellow veteran DJ Meg Griffin, who hosted Ladd’s Deep Tracks show in his place today. Griffin said his wife Helene Lodge-Ladd had asked her to announce the news at the start of his show that aired live weekdays from 2-6 p.m. PT. It was Ladd’s first national program.
“I am so sorry for the shock that just hit you as you are listening right now,” Griffin told listeners. “He never stopped caring. He delivered the truth. He lived for the music.”
To read more, go here.
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