William Edward Compton

William Edward "Bill" Compton III (December 29, 1945 – June 21, 1977) was an American radio personality best known for creating Phoenix's first free-form radio station, KCAC-AM, and helping to "invent" notable AOR station, KDKB-FM.[1] Compton Terrace, an amphitheater in Phoenix was named in his honor and he was inducted into the Arizona Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame in 2005.[2]

William Edward Compton
Born(1945-12-29)December 29, 1945
Henderson, Texas, US
DiedJune 21, 1977(1977-06-21) (aged 31)
Phoenix, Arizona
NationalityAmerican
OccupationRadio personality

Early life

Compton was born in Henderson, Texas, but his family soon moved to Tyler, Texas where he attended John Tyler High School[3] and got his first disk jockey job in 1964.

Radio career

Compton first began to influence Phoenix radio in 1969 when top-40 radio station KRUX-AM hired him to host a Sunday night free-form show. Using the on-air name of "Little Willie Sunshine," Compton played a diverse collection of music—folk, blues, jazz, and, of course, tracks on albums other than their hit singles.

The opportunity arose for Compton to become the station manager of a failing Spanish-language station, KCAC-AM.[4]

Compton helped bring KDKB to the airwaves on August 23, 1971.[5]

gollark: Top 10 in your year group would be... probably top 10%, but it's not like you can measure intelligence with much precision anywya.
gollark: ++tel unlink discord 348702212110680064
gollark: Anyway, bye!
gollark: Besides, it says that a link is established on the other end.
gollark: Well, as supreme gollark, I can do all things.

References
  1. Tindle, C. Dwight (2011). "Birth Pangs". Retrieved September 26, 2013.
  2. "Inductee Biography for WILLIAM EDWARD COMPTON". Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  3. "In Memory". Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  4. Fleming, Mariah. "Guru of Goodness and Good Music - Bill Compton". Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  5. Randazzo, Ryan (October 6, 2011). "KDKB Rocked Ariz. Cultural Values". AZ Central.com. Retrieved 4 November 2013.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.