Murphy Huston Interview

Jeremy Levy back with you to talk about another person in Colorado radio.I would consider Murphy Huston a legend in Denver radio. I first started listening to Murphy in 1996 when he was teamed with Hal Moore. Hal Moore is another radio legend in Colorado radio. Hal and Murphy did the morning show on KHOW together for a long time. Their show was very fun to listen to and they had a lot of fun on the air together. The show was more of an entertaining show. They didn’t have many political guests AS they were just there to have a great time. This is what I think Morning talk radio should be.After KHOW, Murphy moved to KEZW and did mid days there by himself. Hal Moore ULTIMATELY joined him there as well to do afternoons. After that Murphy moved to Kosi 101. I found him there a couple of years later. He was doing the morning show with Jo Myers. They had a great time together. They would have Warren Byrne on with a restaurant tip on Friday mornings. Jo would always ask great questions and have great comments. Murphy was a wonderful host as well. I can still remember Murphy and Joe teaming up to do the Rocky Mountain PBS auction every April for years. A couple of years later Jo left the show to persue other hobbies/goals that she had and Denise Plante joined the show. One of my horse-back riding instructors is Murphy’s in-laws and she set me up to meet Murphy and Denise on a December morning. I have heard their show and I was thrilled and very excited to meet them.When I got into the studio with them they were very pleasant and they treated me like I was their guest. They encouraged me to ask questions of them. This was a very festive time at Kosi 101 because it was near Christmas time. They were playing Christmas music. I got to meet John Oates from Hall and Oates. They had him on as a guest. It was fun visiting Kosi 101 and meeting Murphy and Denise.A couple of years later Murphy semi-retired from the show. He is still on Kosi 101 doing weekend shifts. He also fills in on occasion on Kosi during the week.I really miss Murphy’s daily show.Here is my interview with Murphy.Jeremy Levy: How did you get your start in Colorado radio?Murphy Huston: I started on KHOW back in 1986. Hal and Charlie were doing mornings and Tom Kelley was doing mid-days and I was on in the afternoons.I was on KHOW from 1986 to 1996. KHOW was playing music when I first got there. Then a couple of years later they switched to talk and then I teamed up with Hal Moore and Charlie. Towards the end Charlie got fired. Then it was me and Hal. After 1996 I moved to KEZW. Then I was there for 3 months. Then I moved to Kosi 101. Kosi was owned by the same company as KEZW which it isn’t any more. The program director of Kosi 101 asked me if I would like to do mornings on KOSI and I said sure and I have been there ever since. My 20 year reunion is coming up in November.JL: Then I remember you were working with Jo Meyers for a couple of years. Is that right?”MH: When I started doing mornings on KOSI 101, my first partner was Melissa Moore. Melissa Moore is now working on KYGO radio. She got married and moved to Florida, so that’s why we broke up. Then I worked with Jo Meyers. She and I worked together for 7 or 8 years. Then she retired. Then I started working with Denise. We worked together for 10 years.JL: Now back to Hal Moore for just one second. What was it like working with such a legend in Hal Moore?MH: It was great! I heard about Hal and Charlie before I came out here. To got to work with Hal Moore one on one it was great! We had such a great time working together. He and I got along extremely well. I still see him a lot. He is still in town here in Colorado. He is doing well. It was just great working with him.JL: What would be your advice for someone wanting to get into Colorado radio?MH: It’s difficult getting into radio now compared to when I got into radio 20 years ago. I always advise people to go to college and learn from a college radio station. Because then you get a college degree. It’s very competitive.JL: What are 1 or 2 strengths and what are 1 or 2 weaknesses of Colorado radio today?MH: One weakness is that radio now isn’t DJ oriented anymore. It is more digitally oriented now. That’s because of the new rating systems. A strength is that Colorado has a really good radio market to get into. I have listened to stations over the country and Colorado is one of the best.JL: Do you have any favorite memories of some remotes that you have been a part of or any special broadcasts that you have been a part of?MH: Sure- sometimes we would broadcast from Disney World before the holidays. That was a lot of fun. Jo Meyers and I were on the air when 9-11 happened and that was a memorable time. That really changed radio because our show was more music driven and we started talking about 9-11. It is a great radio station and it is still doing well.I really appreciate Murphy doing this interview with me. He is a wonderful weekend DJ on Kosi 101. I would really encourage followers of my blog to give it a listen.Thanks for tuning in.Jeremy Levy