Ken Lane, Associate Producer, Z100 Worst to First
and Founder/CEO of Right Lane Management

March 18, 2022

by Fred Deane

Ken Lane

Ken Lane was one of the first twenty employees hired in July of 1983 at Z100 when the Scott Shannon regime began. He was the station’s first Promotions Director, and one of radio’s finest at the time. Ken was instrumental in assembly, organizing, scheduling, and participating in the much-acclaimed Z100 Worst to First documentary.
         Ken parlayed his successful stint at Z100 (1983-1988) into a thriving music industry career. He began his label executive trek with Daniel Glass at Chrysalis Records in 1988, and proceeded to embark on an accomplished label executive path with stops at SBK Records, EMI, Jive, Arista, Island/Def Jam, and Atlantic.
         Currently Ken is the Founder & CEO of Right Lane Management, a music management company that specializes in discovering new talent.
         But for now, let’s get into the making of the celebrated Z100 documentary.

How did your involvement with the project initiate?
I was one of the first people Scott reached out to when he decided he was going to do the documentary. On December 5, 2019, I received an email from Scott’s wife Trish asking me if I recalled who the original Z100 DJ’s were when we signed on in 1983. I proceeded to give her the full complement of jocks.
         Trish also asked who the very first guest was and I told her Tony Orlando, and with that she informed they were going to put together a documentary about the early days of Z100 going “Worst to First” and asked if I wanted to be involved. I didn’t hesitate at all! The next step was to sit down with Scott and Trish and scope out whatever I could do to help.

Can you elaborate on that first meeting, and your association with producer Mitchell Stuart?
Scott, Trish, and I set up a meeting at Scott’s house to discuss Scott’s plans for the documentary. As it turned out, the Executive Producer of the piece, Mitchell Stuart, who ran HQ Productions, and I had a former working relationship.
         In 2002, Mitchell was hired by Z100 to produce some artist-driven TV spots for the station. At the time, I was Head of Promotion for Island/Def Jam and he wanted to use two of our artists in the spots, Mariah Carey and Jon Bon Jovi. I was able to help get the clearances for the TV spots.
         From that point forward, a wonderful relationship ensued between HQ Productions and Z100. Mitchell will say to this day, that I was responsible for the relationship when I helped him get his start there. Ironically enough, our relationship had come full circle with his involvement in the film. When Scott mentioned to Mitchell that I was going to be involved, Mitchell was very excited to “have Kenny Lane back in my life!”

Z100 Van

What was your primary role in the project?
It truly was a multi-purpose role. It was continuous activity in the early stages right into pre-production. I served as the point person to gather most of the people we were going to interview for the piece.
         I worked with Jon Bon Jovi for several years, so I was able to reach out to him. Jon was the perfect artist because he broke in 1983 and launched an amazing career. I worked with Clive Davis and Nile Rodgers, so they were naturals for me as well.
         I also reached out to all of the Z100 talent and personnel at the time. It was pure pleasure reconnecting with people like Jon Bell, Anita Bonita, Cathy Donavan, Hollywood Hamilton, Claire Stevens, and Gary Fisher, among others.
         Because I was the Promotions Director, I have one of everything original. I have the original Z100 tee shirt, jacket, bumper sticker, and a general collection of station swag. I also saved many of the photos, so some of the photos in the documentary were from my personal collection.

Can you take us through the logistics and timeline of events through the pre-production process?
Once Scott and Trish pushed “Go,” we needed a studio to film the interviews. My good friend Troy Germano, owner of Germano Studios, has the ultimate studio in NYC, which served our needs well. When Jon Bon Jovi did his portions, it was at Germano Studios where he had also recorded in the past which made it very comfortable for him.
         I worked closely with Mitchell and Scott in setting up several of the interviews. We decided to select a day when everybody could meet at the studio and took over two rooms and knocked all the interviews out in one day.

When did you start filming and when did it end?
The initial taping began on February 9, 2019 at Germano’s. It was pre-Covid conditions, and little did we know what we’d be up against in about a month. We had three more interview sessions on 02/18, 02/26, and 03/02, before the pandemic hit nationwide.
         All the Covid restrictions were in place on March 13, and we had to place everything on hold. After several months of Covid restrictions, Mitchell and an associate were able to get back into the studio and do some editing. We still couldn’t tape anyone at that point.
         On October 4, 2020, we resumed filming live at the studio complying to all the strict Covid protocols. On October 14, Mitchell went to Elvis Duran‘s house in New Jersey and filmed Elvis, along with Steve and Patty Kingston.
         Once the interviews were completed, it was left in Mitchell and his crew’s hands to finish the editing process and take the production process to fruition.
         We teamed up with Gunpowder and Sky for distribution and marketing, and fielded several streaming opportunities.
         Scott, Elvis Duran, and Mitchell did a ton of press to get the word out and after the initial weekend of availability the film placed #2 (behind Summer of Soul) on the iTunes documentary chart.

How exciting was it to serve this integral role in recounting a historical perspective of Z100, a period of your professional life that was so memorable?
The experience was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity and I made the most out of it every day. I remember all too well our sign on date and time…August 2, 1983, at 6:08 am!
         When asked by Scott in December of 2019 to work with him on the documentary I jumped at the chance. Sentimentally it opened the door to my past as I reconnected many relationships with co-workers I hadn’t seen or spoken with in years.
         I felt very privileged early in my career to have worked with so many of these people at Z100. The relationships I formed back then have endured over the years and remain with me to this day. That’s why it was easy for me to reach out to these people for their involvement in the documentary. We all have the common bond of helping to build the foundation of one of the most successful Pop stations in the history of our business.
         In the end this is Scott’s legacy, and I hope it puts a smile on everyone’s face who watches it and understands all the hard work it took to take a radio station from its infancy to the top in the world’s largest media market in just seventy-four days.