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Spider Harrison is an American national radio DJ and entertainer who first rose to prominence after replacing John R. on WLAC/Randy's, a 50-thousand-watt Class A clear channel station in Nashville, Tennessee. He is the syndicated creator and host of urban-rock radio features "Spider Harrison's Rock n Soul America" [1] and What Ever Happened To ..? [2] and owner of independent record label Spido Records Ltd. [3]
Harrison was born in Hempstead, New York. As a running back on the Hempstead High School football team, he became known as "Spider Harrison" because of his size and speed. [4] 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 as well as with many recording artists and record industry executives. Taking classes at C.W. Post College, Harrison worked several "fill in" air shifts on WCWP 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, [4] 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 in Rancho Cucamonga, CA.
Spider Harrison has appeared in national television commercials with Colonel Sanders for KFC, with Johnny Cash for STP Motor Oil, and with Billy Carter for Billy Beer . 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 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 ; 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 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.[ citation needed ]
The story of Tennessee's contribution to American music is essentially the story of three cities: Nashville, Memphis, and Bristol. While Nashville is most famous for its status as the long-time capital of country music, Bristol is recognized as the "Birthplace of Country Music". Memphis musicians have had an enormous influence on blues, early rock and roll, R&B, and soul music, as well as an increasing presence in rap.
Superdrag was an American alternative rock band from Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. They are best known for their 1996 single, "Sucked Out", off their album Regretfully Yours, for which a video was played on MTV. The original lineup reunited in 2007, releasing a full-length album in 2009: Industry Giants.
Starday Records was an American record label producing traditional country music during the 1950s and 1960s.
WLAC – branded Talkradio 98.3 & 1510 – is a commercial talk radio radio station licensed to serve Nashville, Tennessee. Owned by iHeartMedia, the station covers the Nashville metropolitan area. The WLAC studios are located in Nashville's Music Row district, while the station transmitter resides in the city's Northside neighborhood. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WLAC broadcasts an HD Radio signal utilizing the in-band on-channel standard, is simulcast over a digital subchannel of WSIX-FM, WRVW, and on FM translator W252CM, and is available online via iHeartRadio.
Maurice White was an American singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He was best known as the founder, leader, main songwriter, and producer of the band Earth, Wind & Fire, and served as the band's co-lead singer with Philip Bailey.
Tracy Nelson is an American country and blues singer. She has been involved in the recording of over 20 albums in her recording career, which started in 1965.
Tebey Solomon Ottoh, known mononymously as Tebey, is a Canadian-American country music singer and multi-genre songwriter. His debut single, "We Shook Hands ", hit No. 47 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts and remains his only American chart hit. He has composed several singles for other artists, in addition to releasing music of his own. Tebey has landed seven songs in the top ten of the Canada Country airplay chart, including the number one hit "Who's Gonna Love You" in 2018.
WGFX is a radio station broadcasting on the FM band at 104.5 MHz licensed to the city of Gallatin, Tennessee, but serving the Nashville market as a whole. It is currently branded as 104.5 The Zone, broadcasting a sports format. It is owned by Cumulus Media and operates out of studios in Nashville's Music Row district. Its transmitter is located just north of downtown Nashville.
WMDB is a Regional Mexican-format AM radio station broadcasting on a frequency of 880 kHz in Nashville, Tennessee. The station formerly broadcast at 1240 kHz as WSNG; current power is 2,500 Watts. The station is currently owned by Mahan Janbakhsh, through licensee TBLC Media #2, LLC. Nighttime power is reduced to 2 watts to protect the signal of WCBS in New York, New York. WCBS is the dominant Class A signal on 880 AM.
WENO is an AM radio station operating in the Nashville, Tennessee market on the frequency of 760 kHz. It is currently programmed with a Gospel music and Ministry format and has a power of 1,000 watts; operation is limited to daytime hours to prevent interference to WJR, Detroit, Michigan.
The Pink Spiders are an American rock band, formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2003. The band consists of Matt Friction, JoCo (bass), Joey B-Side (drums), and Young James (guitar).
Wide-Eyed Wonder is the fifth studio release, and fourth full-length studio album, from Christian alternative rock band the Choir, released in 1989. This would be the first studio album with new bass guitarist Robin Spurs, and would mark the band's first attempt to cross over to the mainstream market.
John R. 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 producer and artist manager.
Bill Allen was an American radio disc jockey who attained fame from the 1950s through the 1990s for playing rhythm and blues and black gospel music on Nashville radio station WLAC.
Gene Nobles was an American radio disc jockey who attained fame on Nashville radio station WLAC from the 1940s through the 1970s by playing rhythm and blues music.
Herman Grizzard was an American radio disc jockey who attained fame from the 1940s through the 1970s for playing rhythm and blues and other music on Nashville radio station WLAC. Grizzard was one host of a nightly series of four programs on the station. He shared the block of programs with "John R." Richbourg, Bill "Hoss" Allen, and Gene Nobles. Together they were known as the "50,000 Watt Quartet".
The Fairfield Four is an American gospel group that has existed for over 90 years, starting as a trio in the Fairfield Baptist Church, Nashville, Tennessee, in 1921. They were designated as National Heritage Fellows in 1989 by the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. The group won the 1998 Grammy for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album. As a quintet, they featured briefly in the 2000 movie O Brother, Where Art Thou?.
Christopher Alvin Stapleton is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and grew up in Staffordsville, Kentucky. In 2001, Stapleton moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue an engineering degree from Vanderbilt University but dropped out to pursue his career in music. Subsequently, Stapleton signed a contract with Sea Gayle Music to write and publish his music.
Richard Gilbert Griffey was an American record producer and music promoter who founded SOLAR Records, a RAS acronym for "Sound of Los Angeles Records". The label played a major role in developing a funk-oriented blend of disco, R&B and soul music during the 1970s and 1980s. As a concert promoter, Griffey arranged bookings for artists such as James Brown, The Sylvers, Aretha Franklin, Jon Gibson, Stevie Wonder, and the Jacksons.
Jackie Shane was an American soul and rhythm and blues singer, who was most prominent in the local music scene of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in the 1960s. Considered to be a pioneer transgender performer, she was a contributor to the Toronto Sound and is best known for the single "Any Other Way", which was a regional Top 10 hit in Toronto in 1962 and a modest national chart hit across Canada in 1967.