When Radio Hall of Fame inductee Johnny Morris became mesmerized by radio waves at age 10, he had no idea that his passion would evolve into a historic broadcast career spanning half a century.
Morris, 70, known in the industry as “Godfather of Soul Radio in California” during stints at Bay Area radio stations KDIA and KSOL, died Aug. 31 after a bout with prostate cancer.
A Fresno native, born Andrew Morris, he attended Edison High there and Polytechnic High in San Francisco. He later studied broadcasting at City College of San Francisco. However, he didn’t have to wait for college to begin his broadcast career. He was already studying technical manuals by age 11 and built his first transmitter with junk parts at 12.
Click on the TV to watch a tribute to Johnny Morris.
“I wasn’t able to really get taught formally at that particular time in Fresno,” Morris said in a 2010 interview with The Los Angeles Sentinel, a weekly newspaper serving the Los Angeles area African American community since 1933. “I did a lot of reading. That’s how I was able to build my first transmitter from out of a book.”
In Fresno, Morris, then 13, built a radio station in his grandmother’s garage transmitting James Brown and other soul stars to be heard within a few blocks. He later expanded the pirate station’s range to several miles.
Morris, at 14, landed his first radio gig at KLIP, a station just outside of Fresno. At 16, he obtained his FCC broadcasting and engineering licenses.
Shortly after, according to The Sentinel, Morris landed his big break at KSOL, a popular soul music station in the San Francisco Bay Area. He became known as Ronnie Dark, a name given to him by fellow disc jockey and musician Sly Stone. In addition to his on-air duties, Ronnie soon became the station’s chief engineer and constructed additional on-air studios on the property.
He left KSOL in 1969, leaving behind his DJ moniker and joining the staff of KDIA under the name Johnny Morris, taking on multiple positions as an on-air jock, program director and assistant chief engineer.
“All aspects of it had been good,” Morris said of the additional responsibility. “Taking on more than one position keeps you working when there are no on-air shifts available.”
A Johnny Morris birthday party in 1974, sponsored by KDIA.
He became one of the Bay Area’s most popular DJs throughout the 1970s and introduced to his listeners the music of such R&B greats as The Whispers, Bobby Womack, Parliament-Funkadelic, and The Ohio Players.
After serving the San Francisco and Oakland community for nearly 20 years, Morris packed up and headed south to Los Angeles to join R&B stations KGFJ-AM/KUTE-FM, where he became the first African American chief engineer in Southern California radio and an award-winning radio broadcaster/program director.
When the stations parted ways in 1985, he went with KGFJ and again took on multiple duties as an on-air jock, program director and chief engineer. In the 1990s, Morris’ voice continued to grace the airwaves. He entertained his late night listeners on KACE with his extensive musical knowledge and playlist of classic soul and gospel music.
A “techie” since childhood, Morris was always excited about the future of radio. “I think where it’s going now is Internet and satellite radio because they offer more of a variety of niche programming instead of one format on a station that is owned by a group that runs the same format in many cities,” he told The Sentinel.
Morris had also worked as a broadcast engineer at KTYM in Inglewood and operations manager at Soulbeat Television Network.
Morris, who celebrated 50-plus years in broadcasting, maintained his passion for the industry and continued to use his knowledge and experience to mentor young people who aspired to a broadcasting career and, like himself, considered it an art and not just a job in the entertainment business.
He founded Morris & Associates in 2000. His company offered the best in broadcast engineering and consulting services. His client list included The Tavis Smiley Group, KJLH and KTYM in Los Angeles.
Morris, in 2011, started Morris Broadcast Media with his fellow radio-vet daughter, Felicia. Originally slated for a public grand opening in 2018, the occasion was postponed so she could concentrate on his care.
A GoFundMe campaign has been launched in Johnny Morris’ honor to lay the foundation for the Morris Broadcast Academy, a place for teens and young adults to learn the ins and outs of hosting, producing, and engineering radio shows and podcasts. For more information visit https://www.gofundme.com/morris-broadcast-academy.