Mark McDermott
283 Fir St., Park Forest, IL 60466
Markm    @    MarkMcDermott    .    com

Dahl, Steve (1954- ), is cited, possibly unfairly, as an early example of
radio's "shock jocks." Throughout the 1980s, Dahl and his partner Garry Meier
ran afoul of everyone from the Federal Communications Commission to the
Archdiocese of Chicago, and fans loved it.

     A Los Angeles area native, Dahl started his radio career at age 15 at tiny
underground KAFY in Bakersfield, getting his break when a DJ passed out on the
air. He had over two dozen radio jobs, 20 of which he was fired from. Dahl
evolved his free-form style at WWWW in Detroit, where station management was
negotiating a sale, and didn't keep an eye on him until he pulled in a 7.2
rating. When Dahl left for Chicago, he was replaced by young Howard Stern.

     After less than a year at progressive rocker WDAI, Dahl objected to a
format change to disco. WLUP-FM ("Chicago's Loop") hired him in 1979, where he
shortly teamed with overnight announcer and Chicago native Garry Meier (1949- ),
forming "Steve & Garry's Breakfast Club."

     The pair played off their contrasting styles--funster Dahl rambled about
anything that interested or annoyed him, until Meier's dry quip got them back to
earth for a commercial. Steve Dahl recorded parody songs and held "Disco
Demolitions" in which disco songs were "blown up" on the air. This culminated in
the Chicago White Sox 1979 Disco Demolition promotion, in which a pile of
records was blown up during a double-header, and rambunctious fans forced a
forfeit of the second game. WLUP fired the pair in 1981, but they were quickly
hired by WLS, and continued their antics until 1986, when they returned to WLUP.
In 1993, however, Meier quit the show, and Dahl ended up with an all-sports
format morning show, which suffered in competition with other sports stations.
Later, Dahl found his feet again when he moved to WCKG.


Bibliography:
Dahl, Steve, and Garry Meier. A Decade of Service (2 audio cassettes). Shock
     Radio Inc. No. 101-102, 1989.

Feder, Robert. "Why Meier Got Fed Up." Chicago Sun-Times 1 Nov. 1993: 35.

Johnson, Steve. "Shocked Jock: Will Steve Dahl Survive?" Chicago Tribune (Sunday
     Magazine) 6 Nov. 1994: 15-20, 32.

Koning, Dan. "Thrown for a Loop." Chicago Tribune 9 Dec. 1993: 1.

Terry, Clifford. "Dahl-Meier, WLS Just Don't Match." Chicago Tribune 20 Feb.
     1986: 13.

Widder, Pat. "Steve and Garry Part Ways--for Now--after 15 Years." Chicago
     Tribune 14 Sept. 1993: 22.

                                                                  Mark McDermott



from: The Guide to United States Popular Culture, Ray B. Brown & Pat Browne,
editors. Copyright 2001 © Bowling Green State University Popular Press