People constantly ask me how Davis Deejays got started. So I thought I would put the early years in writing.

Future founder of Davis Deejays Bill Davis playing records-1949

Ever since I was a little kid, I wanted to be a deejay. Growing up, I used to pretend I was Dick Clark hosting “American Bandstand.” When other kids were playing “Cowboys and Indians” I was playing “television show.” As I got older, I read books about announcing and radio and taught myself how to deejay. When I was fourteen, I asked a local radio station in my hometown, Allentown, Pennsylvania, if they would like a teenage radio show to round out their program schedule. WHOL told me if I could get sponsors, they would put me on the air. So I hit the pavement (I truly hit the pavement walking because I was too young to drive and lined up sponsors) The show had hit music, sports scores, movie reviews and interviews with rock stars that came into the area. I had fun meeting and interviewing people such as Fats Domino, Chubby Checker, Bobby Rydell and many others.

In my junior year of high school, I persuaded the radio station at Muhlenberg College to let me do an afternoon top 40 show on their closed circuit station that was broadcast throughout the dorms. I did this for free every day from 3:30 pm to 5 pm to hone my disc jockey skills.

At the same time, I started offering my services to local high schools for record hops. This was 1963, and disc jockey dances were becoming the rage. I charged about $ 35 a show and thought that was great money for a high school kid. (No, I won’t do a party for $ 35 for old times sake.)

In my senior year, I started to hang out at the local top 40 station WAEB. The top area radio deejay, Gene Kaye, become my friend and mentor. He eventually put me to work spinning the records at his hops. I’d operate the equipment while he would dance around on stage and do the vocal introductions of the songs. Gene also promoted many shows. I became the guy who would drive the acts from show to show to do their lip syncs. I got to meet and work with many of the sixties acts: Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, the Beach Boys, the Toys, Brian Hyland, the Orlons, Freddie Cannon, the Crests, the Searchers, the Beau Brummels, Herman’s Hermits and dozens more.

A young Bill Davis at the top, Herman smiling in center with cup in hand.

A Gene Kaye High School Hop with Herman's Hermits and 2000 fans.

At the same time I was still doing my college radio show for free. Eventually I made an audition tape that WAEB thought was good enough. So in 1964, while still in high school, I became one of the WAEB “Good Guys.” How cool was that?! In school and on the air. I was working two shifts on Saturday and two shifts on Sunday.

After I graduated in the spring of 1964, I wanted to get into radio full time and WAEB had no full time openings. So I sent audtion tapes all over the country and wound up in Hazleton, Pennsylvania at a tiny little radio station WHZN. I was making the glorious salary of $ 45 per week. (Even back then that was lousy money as a full time salary, so you can see why $ 35 for a dance seemed like good money.)

In December of 1964, WHZN went bankrupt. I was out of a job. So again I sent audition tapes all over the country. In early 1965, I began a radio journey that took me all over the country.

Remember the “WKRP in Cincinatti” theme song: Up and Down the Dial? Yup, that was me. WHSL in Wilimington, North Carolina, then WRMT in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, then WEYE in Sanford North Carolina. I even spent some time in Covington Kentucky which was across the river from Cincinatti.

Lonnie Anderson TV show WKRP in Cincinatti

I had general managers who were dumber than Art Carlson, sales people sleezier than Herb Tarlack and news guys more self involved than Les Nessman. Unfortunately, I never met a secretary as sexy as Lonnie Anderson’s character.

A slew of stations followed including WYNS in Lehighton, Pennsylvania, WKBR in Manchester, New Hampshire and WERX in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Although I usually worked the current music format: over the years I also did a big band show, a jazz show, a soft music show, a soul show and a country music show. I played and learned to appreciate every genre of music. Something that would definitely help me in years to come with Davis Deejays.

In 1967, I spent a year programming a station (picking all the music and hiring and training all the deejays) at KYSN in Coloradio Springs, Colorado. Here I learned what to look for when finding deejay talent and how to keep them motivated, loyal and happy.

Then I spent a couple of years in St. Louis. I worked as a top 40 deejay at KIRL in St. Louis. My show reached 600,000 listeners a week. I was number one with teens and 18-24 year olds and # 2 with 18-34 year olds. I also programmed a country station in the St. Louis market: WGNU.

I spent 1971 in Trenton, New Jersey at WBUD as afternoon deejay and program director - again selecting music and hiring disc jockeys.

In 1972, I did the morning show and was music director for WFEA in Manchester, New Hampshire.

In 1974, WBUD offered me the opportunity to come back for much more money. So I went back to Trenton until that station switched to all news. I just couldn’t see myself as the next Walter Cronkite. At WBUD one of the deejays who worked with me was Joe Piscopo, the guy later did "Saturday Night Live," movies and fitness commercials. I guess he didn't want to be Walter Cronkite either.

Bill Davis (upper left) and Joe Piscopo (middle left) - WBUD Newspaper Ad from 1974.

Once again I sent out the tapes and wound up at WMHI in Frederick, Maryland. That station was quickly sold, the whole staff was quickly fired.

Once again I loaded the U-Haul in late 1975 and landed at WNAV in Annapolis. I did the morning show and was the production director (supervising the commercials) and assisted the program director in changing WNAV from a sleepy middle of the road station to a hot contemporary station. WNAV became the # 1 station in Anne Arundel County. I was there from 1975 through 1982.

To hear what Bill Davis sounded like at WNAV in 1979, click here.

On Sundays in 1980, I also did an oldies radio show in Washington at top rated oldies station WDON.

To hear what Bill Davis sounded like at WDON in 1980, click here.

Davis Deejays first brochure from Late 70s

In 1975, Disco was sweeping the nation and becoming quite popular. WNAV was getting call from listeners asking if any of the deejays would do dances. At that time, the only one of us interested in doing this was me. I loved getting out and meeting people. I enjoyed the immediate feedback of a live crowd verses being confined to a studio.

Early Bill Davis party from 1975

1st news ad-1976

By doing a good job, and friends telling friends about me, I kept getting more and more calls to do parties. So eventually in 1976, I bit the bullet and bought my first sound system. A year later, I started advertising in the local paper to see if there was an even bigger market for mobile deejay services.

Eventually, I had more parties than I could personally handle. So I recruited some of my WNAV co-workers to do shows.

In 1978, I decided to advertise beyond Annapolis. I started putting ads in the Washington Post weekend section. By hiring good people and pricing the service fairly, our reputation grew.

Bill Davis and his wife, Jeanne Wedding Show in early 80s

By 1980, I started doing wedding shows marketing to brides. I also started advertising in the Baltimore Sun to reach the Baltimore market.

In 1982, I personally was doing about five parties a week (bars on weekdays, school dances on Fridays, Weddings and Bar Mitzvahs on Saturdays.) I was still working a forty hour week at WNAV. I realized that to really grow the business, I had to do Davis Deejays full time and not “burn the candle at both ends.” Even though I loved radio, I retired that year.

In 1983, we started advertising on the radio. First in Washington, then in Baltimore. I became my own spokesmen in the ads.

Davis Deejays staff photo from the early eighties

In 1984, we introduced Mobile Music Video to the area. We were the first in Baltimore/Washington and one of the first in the nation to do it. Davis Deejay is only one of a handful of area companies that still do it.

In 1987, we had grown to about 55 deejays. I thought it was time to advertise on television. I wrote, produced and directed our first tv commercial. It was shot at the studios of Channel 20 in Washington. That year it aired on channels 9, 7, 5, and 20 in Washington and Channels 11 and 13 in Baltimore.

To see some early Davis Deejays tv commercials, click here

In the late 80s, we made many improvements to the service. Because weddings became about 70% of our business: we were the very first company in the Baltimore/Washington area to offer a music list for clients to pick from.

Front of First Davis Music List

We were among the very first deejay companies to dress their deejays in tuxedos for formal events. Back then, we had the red bow tie and cummerbund, which became our trademark look in the 90s.

Pictures of Davis Deejays in Tuxes from 1990

In the 70s and 80s we were using vinyl records (45 rpm singles and 33 1/3 rpm lps.) After a very brief experiment with tapes, we started converting to CDs in the early 90s. The sound quality of CDs was a big step forward and the speed of getting songs ready to play, compared to tapes and records, was lighting fast.

We were one of the first companies to offer a wedding planner to help coordinate the event. It wasn’t as detailed as the one we currently use, but it was a great first step.

Front of First Davis Questionnaire

We were the first company to pay deejays to be back up every weekend. We were the first company to offer in writing on a contract a money back guarantee (which later became a triple your money back guarantee.)

We were the first deejay company (and still one of the only deejay companies) to provide each deejay with a complete duplicate back up system that he carries with him to the venue. This gave our clients (and us for that matter) tremendous peace of mind.

In the early 90s we began to provide all of our deejays with cordless mics. This freed them up from being behind a table, and gave them the flexibility to move around the room to where the action was.