Rick Vaughn, KENZ: Listening to The Greaseman on California Aircheck had a big impact on me. The way he told a story in a room by himself riding a music bed and his ability to create suspense and imagery, the guy was a master!

Jonathan Shuford, WRVW: When I was starting out as a night guy I listened to a lot of JJ Kincaid and Kaden (in Phoenix). I also listened to a lot of PK’s shows in Portland. Their shows were interactive, engaging and different. PK was using social media for the first time which really made an impression. They were all very creative and aspired to be more than just an average night show.

Jana Sutter, WXXL: Bob & Showgram from my G105 days in the late ‘90’s. It was my first foray into being part of a live and local morning show. The way they just grabbed the audience and made the show very personable has always stuck with me.

Jon Zellner, iHeartMedia: It was the whole on-air team at 99X New York where they all made everything sound larger than life.

Frankie V, KSSX / KHTS: So many have influenced me through the years. One memory that stands out was back when I started in radio! I was not on the air but behind the desk doing sales. Some of my sales calls took me to Worcester where I would hear Joey Brooks doing a live night show on 104.5 WXLO! He was young, funny, and sounded like he owned the city. I wanted to do a night show just like him. I reached out to him on email, connected, and he taught me a lot early on.

Buster Satterfield, WIOQ: So many from my Detroit days. Arthur P (WRIF), Mancow, Parker and the Man, Mojo, and Deminski & Doyle.

Guy Zapoleon, Zapoleon Consulting: Cousin Brucie! Living in Stamford Connecticut on 77/WABC at 13 he was my gateway to Pop music. At 16, now living in Los Angeles, it was the entire KHJ airstaff of Robert W Morgan, The Real Don Steele, and especially Humble Harve all of whom executed a creative and progressive Top 40 music mix under Ron Jacobs and Betty Breneman within the Bill Drake tight and exciting format strategy. Later as my interest in storytellers developed it was Jim Ladd at KMET/KLOS and the highly underrated but brilliant Johnny Hayes at KRLA.

Mike O’Donnell, WKRZ: I go back to the KISS 108/Boston days with Matty In The Mornings and Dale Dorman who was kind of like my mentor. What I loved about Dale was that he was just this crazy guy on the air having fun and had a way to draft you right in. Matty was an “anything goes” personality and was always connecting with me because he was everything Boston and very relatable. That’s why I’ve been and still am so big on local radio.

Adam Rivers, WKCI: Dale Dorman on Kiss 108, honestly, that dude was a senior citizen on a top 40 station relating to the audience. I wish I had his style or flow.

Lee Abrams, mediavisions: I was more influenced by staffs rather than individuals. Stations that generated magic through their “completeness” 360-degree experiences that were part of the cities’ DNA. Some examples include WLS (1962); KHJ (1965); WQAM (1967) and KCBQ (1971).

R Dub!, Z90 / Magic 92.5: Too many to name, but shout out to Bartell Bartell (RIP) of 102 Jamz Orlando who was fun, quick witted and a likeable smart-ass. On the Slow Jams tip: Mike Hudson from WGCI’s Chicago (The Quiet Storm) and Theo from 92.3 The Beat Los Angeles – both smooth like butter. Art Laboe and his system of connecting city-to-city and state-to-state callers for their dedications.

Java Joel, WHBC: Walt Speck at 95 Triple X in Burlington VT had a real impact on me. First DJ I ever heard who would acknowledge messing up on the air or stumbling over words. He had a Letterman-esque, self-deprecating quality. The imperfections made him likeable and fun to listen to.

Chris Michaels, FM100: I loved Scotty Davis when he was at KDWB. His energy and entertainment value was unmatched. I loved Billy Goat, who did nights at WAPE, and JoJo On The Radio at KIIS were just a few of the many personalities that played an influence on me. Eric Tyler at WNKS was highly entertaining with his night show back in the early 2000’s.