The man who helped introduce
Elvis Presley to worldwide audiences through the Louisiana Hayride - the
state's version of the heralded Grand Ole Opry country radio show - has died.
He was 87.
Veteran radio broadcaster Frank
Page died late Wednesday after suffering a severe respiratory infection while
hospitalized at WK Pierremont Health Center in Shreveport.
Page retired from KWKH in 2005
after 65 years of service. He was best known for introducing Presley on the
show in 1954, but he was also credited with launching several other country
music stars' careers.
They include singer-songwriter
Nathan "Nat" Stuckey whose hits included "Sweet Thang" and
"Waitin' in Your Welfare Line," and James "Gentleman Jim"
Reeves, whose songs included "I Love You Because" and "Welcome
to My World." Both men worked as announcers at KWKH with Page.
"He had a great sense of
humor and was extremely kind and courteous," said longtime friend and
colleague Tom Pace, who worked with Page at KWKH for nearly 25 years. "I
don't think he ever uttered a harsh word to me or anyone and he always took
time to mentor anyone wanting to make broadcasting a career."
Pace, now the producer and host
of "The Talk of the Town" daily show on 90.7 FM, said he often
thought of Page as a father figure.
Tim Brando, radio host and CBS
Sports studio host and play-by-play announcer, said he grew up knowing Page as
a longtime friend of his family.
"He was unlike anyone you
would meet in the media," Brando said. "He was somewhat shy. My
father, Hub Brando, was a peer and worked at the competing station, KCIJ, and
he often joked about how humble Mr. Page was. But he had a glorious set of
pipes, a strong 'voice of God' type of voice, a memorable voice."
Page's radio career began at KGHI
in Little Rock, Ark., while in high school and he soon began
working at KLRA there. He served in World War II and at the end of the war was
on Armed Forces Radio, Berlin.
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