TALES OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS ...
(before they were stars)
(before they were stars)
After 30 years in the entertainment industry, Quenn Echols could drop names like an snitch about to do a life sentence. But he doesn’t.
In all the time I’ve known him, it took other people telling me stories about his close encounters with the famous kind, to know just how many celebrities he’s been (and still is) in contact with.
In this last part of our interview, I coaxed him into sharing some of his stories with me. Some I’d already heard and some were brand new ... but they’re all worth sharing:
ME: Who are some of your favorite artists?
QE: Babyface -- He’s one of the best R&B vocalists of all time. R. Kelly -- Despite his problems he’s a musical genius. Michael Jackson – despite his problems, there has never been another performer like him.
Tina Turner and Beyonce are favorites too. I, along with some other radio executives, got to help pick singles for her first solo album. Some compare B to Tina and they are both stars in their own right, but Tina is the queen.
Alicia Keys is another one. And Whitney – in her day, no one could beat her singing.
Anita Baker is one of the classiest ladies on stage. And Mary J. Blige is the most soulful singer since Aretha Franklin.
ME: Who has been your favorite artist/person to meet?
QE: I can’t pick just one, there have been a lot. Marvin Gaye, Richard Pryor, Muhammed Ali, Lou Rawls ... I met Prince in a gift shop and got his autograph. I have so many celebrity stories. I should write a book.
ME: Give us a preview ... tell me about some of the stories:
QE: I hung out with Anita Baker (before she became famous).
ME: That’s all you got?
QE: Ok, I was emceeing a show for Rick James and they shut the elevators down. Inside the elevator with me were the Mary Jane Girls and we were stuck together for five minutes. That night I also saw Rick James fall out on stage.
I went to an introduction party, a talent showcase that the media were invited to attend. This was back when I had the video show. I went to see this new white girl singer and heard her and said “She’s not bad.” – The white girl ... was Madonna.
I became friends with this guy that was in an up and coming group. Every time he came to Dallas he’d call me and we’d hang out ... It was L. A. Reid.
Michael Jackson called me on the radio in Dallas to let fans there know that he was okay after the Pepsi accident. He picked radio stations at random in select cities to call and he ended up calling mine. At first I didn’t believe it was him. He said “This really is Michael!”
ME: Wow, any more?
QE: This white guy who was a stripper used to come dance at this club I owned. He ended up becoming a rapper. A promoter friend called me up to tell me he was pushing this white rapper who had a song based on the Alpha Phi Alpha chant “Ice, Ice Baby.” Of course, that was Vanilla Ice.
They brought him to Shreveport and he did an autograph party and then took him to Louisiana Tech for a show that only pulled in 200 people. They offered me a piece of his career, but I turned it down thinking it was going nowhere. But we all know what happened.
ME: You turned down Vanilla Ice!??? OMG! How much would you have made if you took the deal?
QE: Somewhere around $1.6 million. (shakes his head along with me)
ME: I hear you went out with Whitney Houston ... tell me that story.
QE: Well she wasn’t the Whitney we know now. She came to my station in Dallas with Teddy Pendergrass and they presented her as this background vocalist they’d just signed. She was a model too, and of course had famous family. Her mom is Cissy Houston and her aunt is Dionne Warwick.
Well, we hit it off and clicked and we were around the same age, so we ended up going to dinner. But nothing ever came of it. I wasn’t really into her.
Later down the line I became a national representative for Pro-Line (I was on the box and everything) and my ad ran during the Soul Train Music Awards. Whitney won that night. (Laughs)
ME: Ok, you turn down Vanilla Ice and then you diss Whitney Houston?!!
QE: Yeah, I know. Stupid. Who knows what would’ve happened had I taken those chances.
ME: So you’ve done radio for nearly 30 years now, have been at KDKS for a little over 10 now. Have rubbed elbows (and even dated) the stars, what was your most memorable experience of it all?
QE: There are way too many to recall! But I’ll tell you my proudest moment (besides becoming R&R Program Director of the Year back in 2002).
In 2004, during the election, I got an exclusive interview with Bill Clinton. It was the year John Kerry ran. He talked for about 4 or 5 minutes about the importance of voting and especially the young vote.
I was so proud, I called my mom and other family and played it back for them. Not a lot of people get the chance to interview a President, former or otherwise.
ME: Where do you want to be 10 years from now?
QE: Retired! But I may consider consulting stations. I’d like to venture into that. There aren’t many with the longevity I have in this market. So maybe I’d like to consult stations in the region.
I aspire to own my own station. A small station here in the region, hopefully.
If I still had the goods to be on the radio, I’d stay, but I’m thinking I’d just hang up my headphones and be thankful people allowed me to be part of the market for so long. It’s a privilege to be in radio, especially for so long.
***
Since our interview, Quenn has added another award to his already overflowing portfolio of accomplishments.
KDKS was named Station of the Year in 2008 (for same-sized markets) by R&R (a distinguished industry company/market publication).
It's the same organization that named him Program Director years ago.
The honor is a big deal for any station/Program Director, but you wouldn't know it from talking to Quenn.
So there it is .... The condensed version of The Quenn Echols Story. My 30-minute talk with him resulted in this lenghty feature ... but I had to publish EVERYTHING in order for readers to get the full picture of who he is.
This man, who some see as just another well-off music personality, is truly much more than that. He's a man who started with small moves to achieve big gains in his career; and doing his best to stay humble along the way.
Maybe that's why his career has lasted so long.
[You can catch Quenn Echols on KDKS 102.1 from 3-6 pm. Along with his "radio boo" Ferrari Fox!]
*** See PART ONE of this interview HERE ... Read PART TWO HERE ***
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