thumbnail, 180px, Spider Harrison Spider Harrison is an American national radio DJ and entertainer who first rose to prominence after replacing

John R. John R. (born John Richbourg, August 20, 1910 - February 15, 1986) was an American radio disc jockey who attained fame in the 1950s and 1960s for playing rhythm and blues music on Nashville radio station WLAC. He was also a notable record produce ...

on WLAC/Randy's, a 50-thousand-watt Class A clear channel station in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. He is the syndicated creator and host of urban-rock radio features "Spider Harrison's Rock n Soul America" and ''What Ever Happened To ..?'' and owner of independent record label Spido Records Ltd.

Biography

Early life and education

Harrison was born in

Hempstead, New York The Town of Hempstead (also known historically as South Hempstead) is the largest of the three Administrative divisions of New York#Town, towns in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County (alongside North Hempstead, New York, North Hempstead and Oys ...

. As a running back on the Hempstead High School football team, he became known as "Spider Harrison" because of his size and speed. He carried the handle into his radio, recording and acting careers. During his high school summers, he worked with a New York concert promoter, an arrangement that allowed him to meet with radio personalities from Top 40 powerhouse WABC and #1 Soul station

WWRL WWRL (1600 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to New York City. WWRL airs an all-news radio format as an affiliate of the Black Information Network (BIN). The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. By day, WWRL broadcasts at 25,000 wat ...

as well as with many recording artists and record industry executives. Taking classes at

C.W. Post College LIU Post (formally, the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, and often referred to as C.W. Post) is a private university in Brookville, New York. It is the largest campus of the private Long Island University system. The campus is nam ...

, Harrison worked several "fill in" air shifts on

WCWP WCWP (88.1 FM) is a college radio station licensed to Brookville, New York, owned and operated by Long Island University and broadcasting a variety radio format. The station serves the Nassau County, New York Nassau County ( ) is a co ...

and created a show called ''An Introduction To Soul''. He soon interned at WWRL in Woodside Queens where he honed his radio production skills and filled in on Sundays, setting up gospel "remotes" for churches throughout Brooklyn and Harlem (New York). Spider Harrison attended C.W. Post College, Tennessee State University, and Los Angeles Valley College (AA Degree in Liberal Arts). He a Business Administration Degree from The University of La Verne (La Verne, CA). In April 2020, the Los Angeles Valley College monthly alumni newsletter acknowledged that Spider Harrison was a 1990 graduate. In 2020 Spider Harrison continued taking classes of interest at

Chaffey College Chaffey College is a public community college in Rancho Cucamonga, California. The college serves students in Chino, Chino Hills, Fontana, Montclair, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga and Upland. It is the oldest community college in California. History ...

in Rancho Cucamonga, CA.

Career

Spider Harrison has appeared in national television commercials with Colonel Sanders for

KFC KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 2 ...

, with

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

for STP Motor Oil, and with Billy Carter for ''

Billy Beer Billy Beer is a brand of beer first made in the United States in July 1977, by the Falls City Brewing Company. It was promoted by Billy Carter, whose older brother Jimmy was then the President of the United States. In October 1978, Falls City an ...

''. Amusingly, he was featured as a look-a-like of Los Angeles lawyer Johnnie Cochran during the 90's. Harrison's independent music label SPIDO RECORDS released his remake of the

Jim Stafford James Wayne Stafford (born January 16, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and comedian. While prominent in the 1970s for his recordings " Spiders & Snakes", "Swamp Witch", "Under the Scotsman's Kilt", "My Girl Bill", and "Wildwoo ...

novelty song " Spiders and Snakes". During the seventies while on WLAC, Spider Harrison guested vocally on albums by R&B artists Millie Jackson, "Feelin Bitchy" and the late Joe Tex, with little success. While program director and music director at WTLC-FM he met many artists including the R&B-jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis and Maurice White, who later formed Earth, Wind and Fire. In 1976 while Harrison was at WLAC, Ramsey Lewis recorded a hit dance single about Spider Harrison titled, "What's The Name Of This Funk Spider-Man" (Spider-Man a nickname for Harrison). The song was played often on ''

Soul Train ''Soul Train'' is an American musical variety television show. It aired in syndication from October 2, 1971, to March 25, 2006. Across its 35-year history the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists. The series w ...

''; Harrison and Soul Train creator Don Cornelius were friends. While Harrison was at WLAC-AM in Nashville, radio consultant Kent Burkhardt changed the Top 40 format promotional call letters to 15LAC. After

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

bought 15LAC, Spider Harrison hosted the first Billboard Soul Countdown. At night the 50,000 watt 15LAC signal could be heard in some 20 states, parts of Canada and throughout the Caribbean. In 1981 Harrison headed for California. In 2015, Spider Harrison was inducted into the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame and WLAC, Nashville radio was honored with The Legendary Station Award. As of 2020 he is a member of the former Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters, now "Hollywood Media Professionals." Harrison became a board member in August 2019 for a three year term. Spider Harrison is an active member of the SAG-AFTRA Union. Spider Harrison is pursuing professional acting, television projects and capable of voice-tracking radio shows world-wide.

Singles

* Beautiful Day (1971) * When "Spider" Counts Down, Your Ratings Go Up (1978) * The Rhythm Machine (2006)

References

External links

Spider-Harrison.com

What Ever Happened To..?

Spido Records - Record label site

Stones Throw Records

Urban Insite
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Spider Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American radio personalities LIU Post alumni People from Hempstead (village), New York