GTM...
By Gerrie Burke posted on Monday, August 3, 2009 @ 7:49 PM - (General)
...normally, this space is used for a sports blog. Considering the business Ol' Towny Ballgame, and the rest of his merry pranksters from The Chris Townsend Show are in, it makes sense. However, in this blog, I need to get something of a serious note off my chest.
George Taylor Morris passed away over the weekend. That name may not mean a whole lot to most of you, and if it doesn't, that's okay. But to alot of people in my industry, including myself, it means an AWFUL lot.
You see, GTM, as he was affectionately referred to, was one of the truly great men in the radio industry. He hosted a nationally syndicated show called "Reelin' in the Years" since the 1980's. When I met him, I had just moved to Boston from Skyscraper National Park, (New York City) and we immediately hit it off.
I was working for CBS/Boston, and GTM was the Assistant Program Director at WZLX in Boston. One of the TRULY great classic rock stations in America. I called him one day out of the blue to introduce myself, and surprisingly, he knew who I was. (I worked in classic rock radio prior to my working for CBS) He offered me a part time gig at WZLX the next day (over some Kettle One martinis at a bar in Boston's Back Bay, and pretty much let me do whatever I wanted. Here was a guy who openly admitted that I was one of most constitutionally anti-authoritative people he had ever met, and he basically let me do and say whatever I wanted to on the air. THAT took guts. When he left 'ZLX to take the Program Director position at WBOS in Boston, he took my favouite left hander along with him. (Probably because he knew whomever was taking over for him would have fired me on the spot once GTM had left the building.)
When he left 'BOS to go to XM Radio in Washington, DC, the last thing he said to me was, "I'll be seein' ya sometime soon, 'Little Space'." ("Little Space" is what he called me) Sure as hell, 4 years later, (In the radio industry, under 5 years is "Sometime soon.") I got a call from XM Radio, asking if I'd be interested in joining them. I found out after being there about a year that it was GTM who suggested they called me.
I normally don't get all that emotional over someone's death. Least of all, my own. But this one got to me. Every time I see a Hawaiian Shirt, a Kettle One martini, (two olives) or a Newport cigarette, each of which I proudly display as I type this, I will think of GTM.
I wish each and every person reading this had met him.
George Taylor Morris passed away over the weekend. That name may not mean a whole lot to most of you, and if it doesn't, that's okay. But to alot of people in my industry, including myself, it means an AWFUL lot.
You see, GTM, as he was affectionately referred to, was one of the truly great men in the radio industry. He hosted a nationally syndicated show called "Reelin' in the Years" since the 1980's. When I met him, I had just moved to Boston from Skyscraper National Park, (New York City) and we immediately hit it off.
I was working for CBS/Boston, and GTM was the Assistant Program Director at WZLX in Boston. One of the TRULY great classic rock stations in America. I called him one day out of the blue to introduce myself, and surprisingly, he knew who I was. (I worked in classic rock radio prior to my working for CBS) He offered me a part time gig at WZLX the next day (over some Kettle One martinis at a bar in Boston's Back Bay, and pretty much let me do whatever I wanted. Here was a guy who openly admitted that I was one of most constitutionally anti-authoritative people he had ever met, and he basically let me do and say whatever I wanted to on the air. THAT took guts. When he left 'ZLX to take the Program Director position at WBOS in Boston, he took my favouite left hander along with him. (Probably because he knew whomever was taking over for him would have fired me on the spot once GTM had left the building.)
When he left 'BOS to go to XM Radio in Washington, DC, the last thing he said to me was, "I'll be seein' ya sometime soon, 'Little Space'." ("Little Space" is what he called me) Sure as hell, 4 years later, (In the radio industry, under 5 years is "Sometime soon.") I got a call from XM Radio, asking if I'd be interested in joining them. I found out after being there about a year that it was GTM who suggested they called me.
I normally don't get all that emotional over someone's death. Least of all, my own. But this one got to me. Every time I see a Hawaiian Shirt, a Kettle One martini, (two olives) or a Newport cigarette, each of which I proudly display as I type this, I will think of GTM.
I wish each and every person reading this had met him.
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