Guy Phillips, morning radio host at Y98FM in St. Louis, is a legend.  His bio on Y98.com doesn’t do him justice, and why there’s not a lengthy Wikipedia article on him is beyond me.  Maybe I should create one.  After 30 years at the same seat on the same show on the same station…it’s obvious his chair was quite comfy. St. Louis loved every minute of his show, and he loved them back on and off the air with thousands of appearances to charitable events and functions.

Guy started March 1979 alongside Mike Wall as Phillips & Wall.  After Wall’s departure, Michelle Dibble came on board in 1990.  I started his show at the end of 1994 as a production intern, then was hired on part time as a production guru, creating bits and parodies for the show, then many months later, I stepped up to produce the morning show.  It was my first full-time gig in the media business, so I was very green in the industry, but I understood his creative mind and was able to transform his ideas into sound concepts unique to his show.  I left in the summer of 1998 to work at SmithLee Productions, eventually landing in television.

I have so many memories working for the Phillips and Company morning show.  There are so many favorite moments in my short career with Guy and Michelle.  Amazing how these roll off my head so easily 15 years later.

My favorite moments with Guy (on-the-air):

1. My attempt to beat the 400-meter Olympic relay.
2. Trying to capture a stray dog backing up I-44 traffic all morning by covering me with bacon-flavored dog treats
3. Cracking up about putting up a pole barn over the weekend.
4. Sending 20 couples to Las Vegas for the Mega Wedding…twice!
5. Interviewing singer Wesley Willis of “Slow Cars, Fast Cars” fame.
6. The time Guy said f*** on the air during an Elton John intro, not knowing the mic was on.
7. Losing 35 pounds on-the-air with Fen-Phen <–whoops.
8. The one (and only) time I slept in and had to listen to him turn my embarrasment into a call-in topic.
9. The morning Guy tried Viagra for the first time. I am forever scarred by the image of his twirling gyrations 30 minutes later.
10. Listening to the requests over and over for my favorite creation of all time: “Rod Stewart Unplugged” starring Guy in the crowd.

Moments with Guy (off-the-air):

1. Helping create and distribute the “Phillips and Company Joke-Off” CD-ROM.
2. Winning a broadcasting award for our interview with Titanic Survivor Millvina Dean.
3. Watching Howard Stern’s “Private Parts” with Guy in a hotel room in New Orleans while we were at a radio convention.
4. Traveling to Universal Studios for a week to broadcast live (and getting VIP treatment on all rides).
5. Showing Guy how to search the Internet for the first time (NOT TELLING YOU WHAT HE TYPED IN… NO WAY).

Here are some audio segments from my career on the morning show:

“I built a pole barn over the weekend”

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…and the follow up phone call to my mother about the pole barn:

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One of my favorite daily promos I produced:

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Comedian singing song about morning show:

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Guy responds to a newspaper ad selling Jackie Robinson commemorative baseballs:

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Parody about the news of the President Casino-Admiral riverboat being struck by tugboat:

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Produced this interview with only survivor of the RSS Titanic, Millvina Dean:

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I’m very proud to have kept in close contact with Guy (and Michelle) all these years, sharing emails and funny tidbits.  I moved to Washington, DC last summer, and I miss hearing the show I am proud to have built.  Thanks to technology, I’m able to hear it online from time to time, and listening to his 30th anniversary week puts a huge smile on my face.  My foundation began with you Guy, and many years later it has become very clear that I’m totally screwed up and there’s no point of return.

Much love