George Klein is the first radio DJ whose name I remember knowing. He was a DJ on WHBQ, the most popular AM radio station in the part of the country where I grew up. This was at a time when people listened primarily to AM radios because that was about the only thing around. WHBQ was a pop music station playing top 40 hits. It seemed like Klein was on the radio any time I was listening. He played all the most popular music of the time, introduced the songs that would become hits and seemed to know a lot about the music business. He influenced my musical tastes more than anyone outside of my immediate family. Because he had a television program called Dance Party on WHBQ-TV, he was one of the few DJs that I knew what he looked like.
Over the years, radio would change and so would I. My musical tastes changed from pop to rock. I listened to FM stations more that AM. George Klein was still in the public eye, especially when Elvis died. I didn’t realize how close Klein was to Elvis until I saw Klein as a pallbearer at Elvis’ funeral. I would later learn that they were friends in high school. And Elvis was the best man at Klein’s wedding. WHBQ would change formats and Klein would move on to other things. His friendship with Elvis would become his business. But I remembered him most as the DJ that introduced me to all that music from my childhood that I still love. That’s why I would get more excited when I saw him on my trips to the candlelight vigil than any other celebrities. I will miss seeing him at Elvis Week and regret never having the opportunity to talk to him.
