The Stever

I am thirty-six years old. I started listening to Steve Dahl when I was ten sometime in 1979, which means I’ve been listening to him for twenty-six years. I’ve grown up with him. Having listened to him I’ve always kind of felt like part of his family. I remember each time his kids were born and can’t believe that of two of them have already graduated college. It just shows how long it truly has been.

In 1979 Steve Dahl was a young DJ who was doing things on the radio that no one had ever heard. He was funny and highly entertaining. It was in 79 that he organized Disco Demolition night, which has to go down as the greatest baseball promotion in history. However shortly after that WLUP fired him.

So, I moved with him as he went from the Loop, to WLS-FM, than to WLS-AM, than back to the Loop, than moving to AM-1000 and finally to his current home at WCKG. Through the years I have not been that loyal to anyone else. I’ve always found the guy to highly entertaining. He’s a smart-ass, and has alienated a lot of people throughout his career but in the end I still laugh at his show and that is all that matters. His song parodies always cracked me up. Or his lampooning of Les Grobstein (his sports guy) always kept me listening and hoping for more. I remember coming home from school, heading straight to the radio and flipping it on to catch Steve and Garry.

The only time I wavered in my support of Mr. Dahl was in the early 90’s when he split from his longtime partner Garry Meier. This upset me as I loved the duo and was not sure who was to fault for it. So, as both guys got their own shows it became apparent to me that Meier was the cause of the breakup. Dahl carried his ass and in fact if not for Steve, Gary would have never gotten above reading the news.

So, after the breakup I stood behind Dahl and continued to listen to him. At some point, (I think around 96, but I can’t be sure) he quit MVP and was without a job. I remember thinking how I missed his show and how I always took it for granted. Soon he landed on his feet at CKG, and I’ve been listening ever since. Even now as you listen to him I think back to how his show has changed over the years. From the young smart-ass who relied on imitations and song parodies to the older wiser skilled veteran who has, to me only gotten better with age. Often times I’ve been called a smart-ass and besides my Uncle Dan (who I owe most of my sense of humor to) listening to Steve Dahl has molded that side of my personality.

While I always loved his show, I never called in. As a matter of fact I’ve really never called into any radio show as I guess I felt that I wanted to listen rather than participate. However, I did get to meet him once. I was at Oakbrook mall waiting to go into the theater to go see Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion. (Before I get nuked my girlfriend at the time really wanted to see it.) So there I am and I look over and see Steve Dahl with his wife. I was not sure if I should say anything so, I just went over and told him I was a big fan. The guy could not have been nicer to me.

Him and his wife chatted my girlfriend and I up the whole time before the film. As much as I had listened to him and Janet over the years, having met them I was in shock at just how cool his wife was. I walked away from the experience, with the feeling that this guy is the real deal and I’m sure he could have had the attitude of, “Oh great another fan who wants to chat with me.” As I am sure he gets that a lot. However, he had no airs about him and while I sat there and told him about how I had listened to him over the years he simply thanked me and told me he appreciated the loyalty.

So, as I read on his blog the other day that he is close to signing a five-year extension, it warms my heart. That means I get to have five more years of going home from work and putting him on the radio. He is a Chicago institution and I am not sure what I would do if I didn’t get my Steve fix on a daily basis.