In this week’s episode of Thinkin’ and Drinkin’ Bart talks with Blair Garner about being discovered by a local radio station while detailing cars. Blair took the money from his first radio job to buy two new cars and ended up falling in love with radio work. Blair had a long journey that brought him to many cities across the United States that helped grow his career to what it is today.
Meet Blair Garner: Discovered by a local radio executive in his hometown of Canyon, Texas, Blair Garner has been on the radio waves since age 17. Working on local radio stations all through college, Garner quickly climbed the ranks as his voice caught the ear of program directors from many major markets. He quickly found himself working for legendary stations in Washington, D.C., New York City, Houston and Los Angeles.
It was in the early 1990’s, though, that Garner found his niche – late-night radio. He found that the demand for third-shift disc jockeys was high across the country and set out to fix that problem. Garner planned for two long years before After MidNite ever hit the airwaves. It quickly became a fast-growing syndicated country radio show with over 100 affiliates picking it up in the first year.
After waking up America as part of America’s Morning Show for three years, Blair is back to his niche – late-night radio with the Blair Garner Show.
Garner credits his drive and success to the unwavering support from his parents growing up. “Every day they would tell me to ‘work hard and be kind,’” says Garner. “and even today, when I tuck my kids in at night, I say the same to them. That’s how important I think it is.” With over 30 years in the business Blair has definitely done those two things. As proof, he has been hailed three times from the Academy of Country Music as their “National Radio Personality of the Year.” He’s also been nominated for the prestigious Marconi Award in broadcasting and not to mention the invaluable adoration of country music’s biggest stars. In 2013, he was inducted to the National Radio Hall of Fame.
What Bart has to say: I was so thankful to reconnect with Blair. It had been a long time since we worked together and he’s got an amazing new venue, The Mulehouse, in Columbia, Tennessee.
In this episode, you’ll hear
How Blair was on the radio as a host and moved from coast to coast to coast to coast.
Bart & Blair discussed the birth of Blair’s show “After Midnight” which was a live radio show that was featured on over 300 affiliate stations. His show was one of the biggest ads to get as a record promoter.
Links to Connect:
Connect with Blair Garner
Connect with Bart Allmand