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Kidd Kraddick in Memoriam: Please Post Thoughts and Condolences Here

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RadioDiscussions.com offers this thread as a place to post your condolences, thoughts and memories of veteran morning radio host Kidd Kraddick.
 
He was an incredible talent. To use a sports analogy, if radio was baseball then Kidd was the ultimate five-tool player. The guy was smart/witty, charismatic, a great interviewer/facilitator, entertainer, and he knew his music. And then you include his charitable work and business acumen, he was certainly one of a kind.

I know there are/were other guys bigger than him across the country but I'd put Kidd up against any of them when just talking pure talent.
 
Great obit for a great man.

We can all learn from Kidd, and I think that's the best legacy he can have. With that in mind, I post this quote from the obit:

"He had a business sense about him to go with his talent and that’s why millions are mourning this man today. He not only knew how to make great radio, he knew how to bring it to a lot of people."

That quote really says it well. Radio needs people who aren't just on-air talent, but have the business and marketing skills to bring that talent to the masses. That means doing things that some in radio don't like. But that's what it takes to become a legend.
 
I was in high school in the DFW area when he started doing the evenings at KEGL. His show quickly became the tie that bound all teens in the area together. I recall reading a newspaper story that said he had a 50+ share among teens. Bits like battle of the bands and his easy conversation with teens about all manner of things made him incredibly popular. He was just fun to listen to, but never ever let himself overshadow what people tuned in for: the music. He was in his mid-20s at the time. He related well to that audience. When the Eagle retooled his former teen audience followed him to mornings - and a lot of them followed him to Kiss when he moved there. I never really got to listen to him much on Kiss, but I'm sure he was the same Kidd he was when he started. I heard more about him in recent years for his charity work. The fact so many are talking about him today proves radio is still relevant. Kidd will be sorely missed.
 
Loving the radio world come together across all spectrums to pay their respects/reactions.

Jack Diamond ‏@JackDiamond 8h
Life is short. Our careers are shorter. Make a difference, give a damn. It won't always work out, but you did your best. Like Kidd Kraddick

Ryan Seacrest ‏@RyanSeacrest 13h
So sad hearing about my radio brother Kid Kraddick. One of a kind and one of the best at what he did every morning. U will be missed Kidd

Charlamagne Tha God ‏@cthagod 22h
Damn R.I.P radio great Kidd Kraddick

Bert Weiss ‏@BertShowBert 16h
Absolutely shocked that my mentor and "older brother" @KiddKraddick passed away last night. No words to express the sadness really.

Blair Garner ‏@blairgarner 12h
@Lsmack0417 Can't even tell you how sad I am about it. Great guy. #prayers

The Ace & TJ Show ‏@TheAceTJShow 21h
We are shocked and indescribably saddened about the sudden death of our long time friend, Kidd Kraddick. He was... http://fb.me/2oXZorECj

Bobby Bones ‏@mrBobbyBones 24h
RIP Kidd Kraddick. I ran your board/show as a kid on an affiliate . Then competed against you as an adult. Sympathies from our show. -BB

Jim Norton ‏@JimNorton 5h
Kidd Kraddick died while hosting a charity event for terminally ill children. God can be a real **** sometimes.

opie radio ‏@OpieRadio 11h
RT @Saxgod - Opie what's ur opinion on Kidd Krattick dying? People down in Dallas are really upset and shocked. ME: Solid dude...really sad

Sybil Wilkes ‏@SybilWilkes 21h
How many times do they have to tell us that tomorrow is not promised? Ladies and Gentlemen: Live your lives! R.I.P. Kidd Kraddick....
 
God Bless those whose lives were touched by Kidd Kraddick....We have lost a Giant.

RIP

Jon-David Wells
The Wells Report
Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX
 
"I recall reading a newspaper story that said he had a 50+ share among teens."

I can believe it. He was one of the very best, especially in his early days on KEGL at night. Wow... What a loss of a great talent. So sad it was this early....

It's sad that he died at his charity event for dying children, but at least he was doing something he loved... Giving back... as one of his last deeds on the earth. That speaks volumes about the guy.

R.I.P. Kidd...
 
No radio affiliate here in SW Ohio (Cincinnati/Dayton) but I had watched him on Dish Nation for sometime. I feel bad for his show crew. Hopefully they will be able to regroup and continue on. No, it won't be the same, but there is a core group of solid talent there. Deepest sympathy to his friend and family in this time of great sorrow.
 
Thank you for filling our airwaves with something positive to listen to.

-Rob
 
Gosh Blair Garner leaving After Midnight and now the passing of Kidd Kraddick this is a sad month in radio!
R I P Kidd :'(
 
I'm still in such a state of shock over this untimely passing. Kidd was such a class act. He was truly the hero of my adolescence, and I credit him for giving me so much hope and ambition to get out of my small city and explore the world around me. I probably never would have broken into the biz as a young teen had it not been for my serious inspiration from this man and his show. The media is usually infested with celebrity scandals and disheartening news, but Kraddick truly lived to give back and help other people. May he forever RIP. You touched my life in tremendous ways, and have done the same for millions of others.
 
The DISH Nation gang ( Ricky Smiley. Heidi & Frank, Movin' 92 crew) did a very funny and very moving tribute to Kidd and his humor last night / this morning. It's just hard to realize he won't be there anymore. RIP.
 
Trying to do a Kidd Kraddick program without Kidd Kraddick? Isn't that like trying to continue the Sanford & Son tv series without Sanford and the son? (The reworked series, The Sanford Arms, didn't last long.) On August 5, after a week of repeats of older broadcasts, the Kidd Kraddick show will again be broadcast live from KHKS and syndicated to 75 other stations. Jenna Owens, Kellie Rasberry, “Big Al” Mack and Jose “J-Si” Chavez will be there.....but---obviously---no Kidd Kraddick.
 
LARadioRewind said:
Trying to do a Kidd Kraddick program without Kidd Kraddick? Isn't that like trying to continue the Sanford & Son tv series without Sanford and the son? (The reworked series, The Sanford Arms, didn't last long.) On August 5, after a week of repeats of older broadcasts, the Kidd Kraddick show will again be broadcast live from KHKS and syndicated to 75 other stations. Jenna Owens, Kellie Rasberry, “Big Al” Mack and Jose “J-Si” Chavez will be there.....but---obviously---no Kidd Kraddick.
Click to expand...

I've been debating whether to post on this thread, because I couldn't find an angle. Now I think I've got one.

A Kidd Kraddick program without Kidd?

There are plenty of them out there. Maybe his crew can't pull it off without him - and I wouldn't fault any of them for hanging it up after such a loss - but the truth is that thanks to Kidd, there are a lot of people doing his style of show. Anybody who knew him or was in his orbit back in the 90s no doubt heard how he stumbled upon his formula for success. After being fired a few months into his contract with (I forget the station), Kidd wound up spending the remainder of the year unable to work in Dallas due to his non-compete, but was still getting paid. So he spent a whole lot of that time doing what a lot of his eventual target demo (women) were doing:

Watching Oprah.

Kidd dissected her show, figured out who she was talking to (and more importantly what she was saying to them) and set about planning a morning show that would actually target the female demographic everyone wants, but not everyone seems to understand. I admit that when I first heard tapes of his show, I didn't get it. It didn't speak to me.

Then I got it...it didn't speak to me! I wasn't the target audience. I wanted a morning show with comedy bits filled with dick jokes and sexist humor. I didn't want to hear soap opera updates or relationship advice from Cosmo, but the women listening to our show sure did. After spending time with Kidd at Morning Show Boot Camp, Bit Fest in Dallas, and on the old Bitboard, I found myself buying Cosmo and People magazines looking for show prep. Canned comedy bits and joke sheets? Not as useful as a great phoner on relationships.

Our show changed because of what we learned from Kidd. A lot of people learned from him. A lot of shows became successful emulating some elements of his show.

Is there someone out there who can fill his shoes? Maybe. Maybe not. But there are a lot of people who have been enriched by walking in his footsteps.

RIP, Kidd.
 
I liked his show a lot... it has always been an entertaining drive to work and I must say for him to have been in this industry so long says a lot.

I have heard mixed reviews about Kidd Kraddick however. Some whom worked for him over the years have mentioned he was kind of a deuche. Was very pushy, etc...

i'm not here to rag on the guy, and like I've said I heard mixed reviews about him. All in all, My condolences for family/friends and I know the listeners are deeply affected.

Hard shoes to fill, but i'm sure Yea! networks has a replacement in collaboration with ClearChannel and Cumulus.


just keepin' it real....
 
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