About DK
Dennis King
In addition to radio, I have done a lot of mobile DJ work over the years. I have played at countless parties,weddings and bars. My favorite (and by far the most memorable) place to play was a bar called Mr.Peabody's Pub on Pearl Rd. in Old Brooklyn,Ohio. This little place changed my life! I "spun the tunes" at Peabody's almost every weekend from 1983 until '96. I met my wife Karen there and many other folks who remain great friends to this day! It was a real life "Cheers". The people are what made it special. Of course,I like to think the tunes were pretty good too!! Karaoke had not come around just yet, and so much of the music on the radio at that time was upbeat and positive. Folks came to the bar every weekend ready to hang out with friends, dance, party, and simply have a great time. It was truly a great era to play dance music for the crowd.
-DK
The story behind Island Time
I have been doing some kind of work on and off for WBWC since 1994. I did several format shows in the first couple of years.
Since then,I have had a couple specialty shows,and the Beach Boys Marathons.
My first was a dance show called "Dancing in the Dark" in 1995. I followed that up in '96 with a tribute show to the pop songs I grew up with.That was the "70's singles" show. Maybe it was ahead of its time?
The Beach Boys marathons were part of the "marathon series" that WBWC puts on the air every summer. In short, we play 18 hours of one artist all day long every Thursday in the summer! I did seven Beach Boys themed marathons from 1995 to 2002. Several BB fan friends helped me host the shows along the way. Those included Rich Breest, Greg McCort, Drew Severs, Dan Bacone, and Chris Owens. Special phone guests on those shows included Beach Boy Al Jardine, famed studio drummer Hal Blaine, famed studio bass player Carol Kaye, Billy Hinsche (from Dino, Desi, and Billy), and Fred Vail (former BB manager/ concert promoter).
The Island Time Radio show went on the air for the first time in January of 2000.
I have long been a fan of the Beach Boys and in more recent years, Jimmy Buffett. Both are well known for there links to summer fun and the islands. The thought of a radio format totally dedicated to surf or island music actually occurred to me for the first time back in my high school years. I had discovered the Beach Boys music and began collecting as much surf music that I could get my hands on. I figured at the time that it would never really work. There certainly wasn't enough of that type of music around to do a whole show (or format) for. At that time (late 70's), I was probably right. It was just a fleeting thought , and I never really considered it again until many years later.
My wife Karen and I went on a "Beach Boys" cruise in 1995. Some of the Beach Boys and their band members were on the ship, and they played a special concert for us in Nassau. I met a guy on that cruise who seemed to have the same musical interests. His name was Rich Breest from Tampa, Florida. Some time after the cruise we both began to explore more & more of this tropical music theme. We exchanged music, and our collections grew. Things started to evolve from there. Radio Margaritaville went on the air in 1998. Though they still played many established classic rock/folk and country artists, much of the music was tropical. I realized then that my idea of a surf/ tropical music themed show may not be that crazy after all. More and more artists began to emerge doing mainly a "trop rock" theme in their music. Jimmy Buffett (and his popularity) of course played a major role in this.
I really have to thank Rich Breest and Radio Margaritaville both for giving me inspiration and birth to the idea of the Island Time Radio show.
At the end of 1999, I finally said to myself,"I could do a specialty show with all this music". Thus "Island Time" was born. After some time on the air, we started calling the music Trop Rock!
We have been on the air for 8 years now and still going strong! I would never have believed when I started this that I would meet so many great, and crazy folks. The musicians, fans, and friends involved with this music and lifestyle continue to amaze me.
I really hope you enjoy the show! It is truly a labor of love.
-DK
January 2008
THE MR. PEABODY'S PUB REUNION in 2001