TEAMING UP WITH HIS RADIO IDOL THE REAL DON STEELE
M.G. REFLECTS ON HOW IT CAME TOGETHER
"I'll never
forget that 'sweaty palm day' in 1986 when Steele and his soul mate Shaune
joined me for lunch to discuss a business venture. I told them I had this
idea about a syndicated radio show for Don to host. Steele leaned forward,
put both elbows on the table, then began staring a hole through me. I
continued with my pitch, 'Don, I want to create a vehicle for you that
gives a national audience a chance to really know what 1960's radio was all
about. You know, a show that sounds like it's hitting the air 'live.'
He stopped me right there and said, 'what makes you think you can make me sound
like 'The Real Don Steele' on a show that you write? I replied, 'If
I can't, nobody can!' He turned to Shaune and said, 'This kid's ego is
bigger than mine.' Steele looked back at me and whispered, 'I'm not easy
to work with.' I replied, 'So, what's your point? Let's put together
a show.' He cocked his head, lowered his sunglasses, tried to hold back a
smile and asked, 'What's the name of this damn thing?' I shouted,
'Live From The '60s with The Real Don Steele!' I can still see the look
on his face when he heard that title. He was like a five year old boy who
just got handed a balloon with his name on it.
The very next day, I grabbed a
hand full of records and started recording intros on cassette in my home
studio. I gave the tape to Shaune and she turned it into a script for Don.
The voice tracking session with Steele was magical. I think it surprised
both of us that we could work well together. I spent the next two weeks
locked in the studio creating the demo. When Steele came over to hear the
finished product I was sweatin' bullets! As Don listened, he kept pacing
around the room, shaking his head and saying 'Yeah Baby.' He knew it, The
Real Don Steele was officially live, via time warp, from the sixties.
From 1987 to 1993 "Live From The
'60s with The Real Don Steele" was heard each week on over two hundred radio
stations.
As of 2015 M.G. Kelly and Shaune Steele have relauanched the original series on radio stations around the world.
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