The Real Don Steele Collection
In Memory of The Real Don Steele
Boss Radio Legend The Real Don Steele passed away in his sleep Tuesday morning, August 5th, 1997, at his home in the Hollywood Hills, after a short bout with lung cancer. Steele had given up smoking in 1979. He was 61.
Donald S. Revert was born April 1, 1936 in Hollywood. He graduated from Hollywood High School, served in the Air Force and then studied at a local radio school before working at stations around L.A. He worked in Kennewick, Yakima and Spokane, Washington; Omaha, Nebraska; Portland, Oregon, and San Francisco before returning to Los Angeles to work at the All-New KHJ in April of 1965. He is survived by his wife, Shaune. Steele did his last show on KRTH on May 16th of this year. He was one of the first to deliver the phrase "Boss Radio in Boss Angeles" on the air. "He had never been ill until this came along," Shaune Steele said. "I grew up as a fan, listening to him on the radio. We ran across each other at KRLA, where he was working. We knew each other about five years before we got married five years ago," she said. In the book Los Angeles Radio People, Mr. Steele recalled the beginnings of Boss Radio in May, 1965: "We were standing literally at ground zero, then (his radio format) became a huge giant. It was like a mushroom cloud that went up — heavy on the mushroom."
Mr. Steele was never one to analyze the evolution of rock radio. In a 1995 interview, he insisted, "Look, you take the Motown sound and the British Invasion and you throw in Elvis and Roy Orbison, and you have a music mix that's hard to beat at any time or any place." In 1990, several major record companies honored Mr. Steele, Robert W. Morgan and format creator Bill Drake at a Boss Radio Reunion Dinner. It was an immediate sellout. "Morgan was the first one hired for Boss Radio," Drake said. ''He recommended Steele. He flew down from San Francisco. I was a little leery because I had heard he was kind of a crazy man, but it turned out he was very dedicated to his work."
Mr. Steele stayed at KHJ until 1973, then moved on to KIQQ, KTNQ, KRLA, KODJ, KCBS and arrived at KRTH in July 1992. He made his acting debut in ABC-TV's Bewitched, had his own weekly TV dance-party show and appeared in such movies as Death Race 2000, Grand Theft Auto and Eating Raoul. He starred as "Screamin' Steve Stevens" in Rock 'n' Roll High School, "Rockin' Ricky Rialto" in Gremlins, and in 1996, he played a driver in Tales from the Crypt Presents: Bordello of Blood. He recorded commercials, and at one time had a successful, nationally syndicated radio show. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1995 — it's at Hollywood Boulevard and La Brea Avenue.
Who she was is a mystery he took with him. Not even his wife knew. "He never told me and I never asked," Shaune Steele said. "I felt if I had asked him that when we were dating, we never would have gotten married. He didn't like people to get too close. We had only a very small circle of intimate friends."
A poll seeking the top 10 disc jockeys in Los Angeles from 1957 to 1997 rated Steele second among the 232 personalities nominated. The ballot was printed by Barrett in his 1994 book, and results are published in the second volume of his book. Rick Dees said of Steele in Barrett's book, "Pure, raw energy and focus. And he still has it every day. That's amazing!.
In 1993, from KRTH, Steele told the Los Angeles Times:
|
||||||||
The Real Don Steele (inset) with the original KHJ Boss Jocks and their Boss elephant.
Boyd R. Britton, who worked with Steele in the late 1970's at KTNQ said, "He educated me in star quality, in energy and focus. He epitomized energy on the air." Reflecting on Steele's habit of using very high headphone levels, Britton said, "Very early on he was extremely hearing damaged. It was very difficult for him to hear in a group. That made his natural speaking voice almost as loud as his on-air voice."
 THE REAL DON STEELE MEMORIAL TRUST FUND has been established at Don's alma mater, Hollywood High School. A gift will be awarded annually to a deserving senior for college expenses. The student will be a member of the Hollywood High School Band.Contributions are tax deductible and donors will receive written acknowledgment. Checks should be made payable to Hollywood High School. The address for the fund is:
Thank you for your help in honoring Don's memory.-Shaune Steele |
The Real Don Steele is heard on Boss Radio KHJ in Los Angeles the day after his 33rd birthday (April 2, 1969). Real Don refers to his birthday party the night before, and he delivers a typically polished Boss performance.
KHJ Memory Bank is the current promotion. Classic commercials include a mid-year Chevrolet Camaro and Tanya Hawaiian Tanning Lotion. This is the entire 3-4 PM hour from that date. It’s also another sparkling clear recording direct from the KHJ air monitor, presented here at 44.1Kbps (with response to 20Khz for broadband listeners.)
The remarkable clarity of this recording makes it quite easy to slip back to the City of Angels, 1969, and spend a carefree hour with The Real Don Steele, enjoy!
Recorded at the KHJ studios, the excellent fidelity and classic Boss formatics demonstrated here are the perfect showcase for The One and Only Real Don Steele.
Here, the KIMA Ace-in-the-hole is Theme from Dixie by Duane Eddy, and Riot in Cell Block 9 is an Exciting Extra. There’s also a salute to a Swingin’ Mom. RDS does a bit over Apache by Jorgen Ingmann. There are lots of jingles that don’t fit the format, a missing cat report, a swap shop promo – but Steele takes these all in stride. In fact, he talks back to a PSA and questions a station promo for bowlers.
It’s the Emperor Real Don Steele The First on KISN, Portland, in July of 1964. Excerpts of this aircheck were featured in The Real Don Steele Remembered, but this is the original – unscoped – over an hour of The One and Only Real Don Steele.
This one came right off the console at KISN. You’ll be reminded just how gritty music from 45’s could sound in ’64, and just how many spot announcements it took to pay the bills. And imagine – saluting a community leader by announcing his home address! It was a different time and place, for sure. This is a remarkable recording, presented in 10Khz G2.
