Johnny Hayes (born March 10, 1939, or 1940) is an American radio personality and former DJ who worked at

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' ...

radio station

KRLA KRLA (870 kHz) "AM 870 The Answer" is a commercial AM radio station broadcasting a talk radio format. Licensed to Glendale, California, it serves Greater Los Angeles and Southern California. The station is owned by Salem Media Group, which also ...

. He began working as a disc jockey in 1961 with stints at major radio stations around the country including Atlanta, San Francisco, and San Diego.

Early years

A native of

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of Geo ...

, he served in the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

after graduating from high school. To forge a career in radio, he determined to lose his Southern accent and eventually succeeded in doing so.

Career

He has been a disc jockey at major radio stations around the country since 1961, when he joined WAKE in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. Later gigs in San Francisco and San Diego led to him being hired in 1965 to Los Angeles #1 Top-40 station, KRLA, where he shared the mic with Casey Kasem,

Dave Hull Dave Hull (January 20, 1934 – October 15, 2020), known as "The Hullabalooer", was an American radio personality voted one of the top ten Los Angeles radio personalities of all time. Career Hull began his radio career in Armed Forces Radio i ...

, Bob Eubanks, and Dick Biondi. He hosted the Big 11 Countdown Show, where he counted the top 11 songs from the Southern California charts, plus a few extras, and told stories behind the hits as well as the artists who performed the songs. He also shared the events that took place on that particular date. Towards the end of the show, he asked a trivia question for prizes, in which the first contestant, who called with the correct answer, would be guaranteed the prize. After a falling out with the KRLA Management in 1991, Hays left the station and became a disc jockey for KRTH101FM for several years. However, due to conflicts of interest policies, Hayes was not allowed to have a countdown show on that station. He retired in the 2000s. Hayes was awarded a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...

on May 18, 2000.

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Macon, Georgia American radio personalities American radio DJs {{US-DJ-stub