Al Gross is an American broadcaster and host of ''National Countdown Show''. He is president of Signature Media Group, Inc, which syndicates the show. He is also a voice actor and radio broadcast consultant.
Gross was born in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...
and grew up in
Ventura, California
Ventura, officially named San Buenaventura (Spanish for "Saint Bonaventure"), is a city on the Southern Coast of California and the county seat of Ventura County. The population was 110,763 at the 2020 census. Ventura is a popular tourist des ...
. He studied pastoral theology at
Liberty University
Liberty University (LU) is a private Baptist university in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (Southern Baptist Convention). Founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr. and Elmer L. Towns, Liberty i ...
(then Lynchburg Baptist College) in 1973–74. As a broadcaster, he worked mostly in Southern California in radio including
KWIZ AM & FM in
Santa Ana and
KEZY in
Anaheim
Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...
, and was the first radio station manager for
Calvary Chapel
Calvary Chapel is an association of evangelical churches, maintains a number of radio stations around the world and operates many local Calvary Chapel Bible College programs.
Beginning in 1965 in Southern California, this fellowship of churc ...
's
KWVE-FM
KWVE-FM (107.9 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to San Clemente, California, broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area and northern San Diego County. KWVE-FM airs Christian radio programming with an emphasis on Bible teaching and Chr ...
San Clemente. In 1987, he went to
Focus on the Family
Focus on the Family (FOTF or FotF) is a fundamentalist Protestant organization founded in 1977 in Southern California by James Dobson, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The group is one of a number of evangelical parachurch organizations ...
where he was one of the original writers and contributors for Family News in Focus. At
KBRT-AM 740 (
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
) he was co-host of ''Mornings with Tim and Al'' with Tim Berends. Gross and Berends were voted Los Angeles' "Top Jocks" by readers of the ''
Los Angeles Herald-Examiner
The ''Los Angeles Herald Examiner'' was a major Los Angeles daily newspaper, published in the afternoon from Monday to Friday and in the morning on Saturdays and Sundays. It was part of the Hearst syndicate. It was formed when the afternoon ' ...
'' (Hearst Newspapers) in 1986. Later that year, Los Angeles Mayor
Tom Bradley proclaimed "Tim and Al day in Los Angeles" with an official proclamation. In 1994, Gross moved to
Saint Louis where he co-hosted the morning show on
KJSL AM 630 for 14 years.
In 2007, he formed Signature Media Group, Inc. and created ''National Countdown Show''. It is the only top 40 oldies countdown show covering the golden age of top 40 radio (1955 to 1970). Every week, Gross counts down the top 40 songs using data primarily from ''
Cashbox'' magazine. Each show uses the original songs, jingles, newscasts and even vintage commercials. He owns one of the largest private pop music record collection in the United States.
He is still active in commercial voiceovers, radio drama and broadcast consulting.
References
External links
*
National Countdown Show'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gross, Al
American radio personalities
Living people
Radio personalities from Milwaukee
Liberty University alumni
Year of birth missing (living people)