What's up? It's us on the side. Oh oh, I think this might be episode thirty.
Wow at us.
Actually, I'm not one hundred percent sure on that. I should probably check that information before I just say it. It feels right to me, Like I feel like I remember logging episode twenty nine and writing twenty nine, but it could have been for this night.
I actually like the fact that can you keep this in just in case?
Like you if I'm gonna go check right now, but I'm gonna leave it in anyway. Tell me something that's on your mind, Diamond, Well, I go.
Look, well, I'm doing an overnight shift tonight, and I value my sleep way too much to stay up all night, even though I have to like do the overnight right, so I usually go to bed around four pm. I don't play that's file a Roson, Do not disturb okay, boom okay by five at least I'm knocked out.
How many people hit the notify anyway?
No one, Because i'mlike you, you everybody else in my life is normal. I don't do that to you, right, but you would. I would.
I do it to other people. I should do it to you more often so that you are included in the circle. Oh fun fact, this is not episode thirty.
Please tell me it's twenty eight, twenty nine.
I'm not that stupid.
Oh it's it's my birthday episode? Then why this will probably be No, won't be the last one before.
Dropping on Wednesday, August twenty first.
Yeah, okay, so hard. No, I'm all the way off, but yolo, so real quick.
A couple of things. I always say this, and I'll say it again, and this is proof you are, I think, the hardest working person.
Thank you.
So you are always.
Putting in time here. I don't know why, No, I do know why. You're doing the right thing. It's a good thing. But two, when you celebrate your birthday for a month because you have a birthday month right all of September or is it August twelfth to September twelfth.
And then October twelfth, I don't play. It's literally probably all a fall because I don't stop. Follow is my favorite.
You know I'm not gonna celebrate that, right you can there, No, absolutely not.
You're gonna be forced. Okay, So while we're on our trip, I'm probably gonna tell people it's my birthday.
Okay, Oh that's right, because this is a big birthday for you.
We celebrate all year long. I don't think you understand the trips I listen. I don't know. Chase is probably very upset with me because I've just been putting everything on the card. Well, oh yeah, I hated myself. You know whatever. You're borrowing the money from them, whatever, I live in life. Whatever, Man, where's the trip? So I'm going to Arizona for my actual birthday. I'm doing a wellness retreat.
So much fun.
I'm so excited.
We're gonna have so much fun.
Yeah, are you coming?
If I'm invited?
I think you want to be most definitely invited. And I need to get a head count because I'm making souvenirs. But I'll tell you I'm so excited. Okay, uh yeah. So I'm going there and then or we're going there and then. Uh. For the next few months, I'm just gonna be doing little things, like I'm thinking about planning a trip to Chicago. I've been saying that I wanted
to go for a really long time. And then I'm going to like Rowan Oak, Virginia, which wouldn't necessarily be on my list, but we're going to celebrate my cousin's husband's birthday. He doesn't know, but it's my birthday too.
So say you're gonna let someone else to celebrate.
No, but we're going to a Virginia Tech game, huge tailgate, blah blah blah. So you know you have a lot of celebrations. Yeah, I'm excited.
It's great.
Okay.
Also, I'm thinking and I would like to know your thoughts on this, and probably get Andrew and Josh too. I feel like the next episode, episode thirty, actually is episode thirty. I feel like we should do a little quick like, hey, we're heading out on the road recap, or do we just ignore while we're on vacation and not do a podcast at all?
If we did an Instagram live instead that Wednesday.
Let me tell you what your little friend Andrew is trying to do. Oh, this man wants to bring the roadcaster and record an episode on the road. Okay, hold on, hold on, I'm gonna get him, Andrew.
It's like what, Okay, he's coming, he's coming. Hi, he's actually running. Oh, you guys are matching today.
We've been matching a lot lately.
Loser burd Ernie over here with the strike.
Oh wow, Andrew, Andrew came in sausages, sassy, I love it.
Okay.
So I just told Diamond that for the road trip, you were thinking about maybe bringing the roadcaster and doing a podcast on the road.
Yes, okay.
She immediately shut it down.
Okay, Well, then guess what it saw us on the side with Gandhi and special guest Andrew.
And Josh and Josh unless Josh doesn't want to do it.
This is an ab situation and you can see yourself.
Out of it.
Against me.
Haha.
Wait, that's not your stuff. That was from like nineteen seventy two.
Yeah, but I use it on him.
Sorry.
Wait, okay, So Diamond, why do you not want to do it?
First of all, you almost hit me with the microphone. Anyway, I just think that it's going to be a mess, and it'll be fun because everything we do is a mess. But I could just see tempers flaring, you know.
I think it'll be fun to do one or two, maybe three little podcasts on the road, keeping listeners updated about our trip in a way that not only helps Gandhi's podcast, but it helps our listeners get content while we're on vacation. Sorry, I'm looking up for the show and also for the better interest of Gandhi's podcast.
Okay, well, here's as producer.
You might want to start doing the way.
Here's my question, who is editing it? You're putting all that on Gandhi.
There's no editing. It's literally just guess what. This is a sauce on the side on the road edition. We're not editing it, and guess what. Whatever we say flies, So good luck.
Okay, I like that.
Actually a lot of Russian Roulette we're playing over here.
It's going to be that crazy.
I think it would be fun.
I've done a lot.
I've done this before with podcasts on the road. It's very simple. We don't Gandhi doesn't require much, so it'll be great.
Sure, I don't know if I appreciate that Gandhi doesn't require much thing. I'm gonna have to think about how you meant that.
It means that you are easy to work with and you would understand the on the fly method that we would be using because it's for the best interest of your show that it just needs to go up in a timely manner, not that oh oh my god, should be worried about taking this part out or editing this. No, it's going to be twenty quick minutes of the four of us talking, Oh my god, what do we do today? Here's what we did? Upload boom done?
Who's bringing the mics? Me?
I have everything?
So that was the only thing that I said. I was like, I just feel badly that you are going to have to bring all this stuff with you, because I'm pretty sure Andrew's like a carry on type too, Like he just brings one bag and flies with it. But then if you have to bring that stuff.
Too, what you do, I'll be fine. I could bring two you're allowed to.
I have my roller backpack which i'll put my roller luggage that I could just throw the road caster in. Two.
I have the mics, and then we'll be good to go.
All right. I'm not appollosed to it, but I just said I don't want to make everybody else have to do this if that's not something that they want to do.
I think we just need to get the details hammered out one, two, maybe three.
If we're feeling sassy, go for it.
And I think that would be really fun to give people like an inside look to our trip while we're on the road.
What do you think, producer Diamond?
Yeah, sure, amazing, great cheers.
No one can hear your eye roll on the microphone.
Yeah, I just think that Andrew is such a loser. But it's okay.
Sorry, I care about my job.
I'm sorry. Sorry, here we go, and so sorry. I can't wait to never mind, I almost incriminated myself. Never mind, we're gonna back up. What Yeah, I just can't wait to put a pillow over his face while he's sleeping. Yeah, scare them a little bit. I wouldn't kill you.
Well, guess what, you might not find the details out about it because Diamond doesn't want to record while we're on the trip. So sorry, guys, you'll just have to hear about it after not in the moment.
If she tries to sulifocate you, I will go Instagram live. That is my promise to everybody.
Okay, Oh, no, do we have the equipment, Diamond, do we have the equipment to do that? Oh, she probably doesn't want.
To Instagram live. Oh come on, babe, let's get it together.
I'm super excited to be on the road with this. This is exciting. And Josh doesn't even hear yet. And we know Josh is the most trouble of everybody.
I think it.
Josh.
Oh God, noise canceling headphones. So happy to have them, so happy.
You don't want noise canceling headphones on a trail. You want to hear the crackling of the branches when the bear's coming.
Oh god, terrified, I'm terrified.
Thank you, Andrew, I appreciate it.
Get out, get out as you were.
What were you doing out there? I don't know what were you doing out there? Son of the co party?
Oh?
I was just working.
Oh sorry, everywhere I go is the party.
Get out?
Bye bye, see you later.
Do you know it?
Okay?
Shall we talk about that? You want to talk about that? Sure?
Okay?
Pause.
First, let's bring in Jim Carr, who we all love, because at the end of this episode there's something that you have got to hear that Diamond believes.
Okay to Jim Kerr.
Okay, So I'm sitting with one of my favorite people in this building. I don't know if you know that. Did you know that, Jim?
No, I didn't know that.
You are.
I've said that to multiple people.
Thank you. I haven't heard that actually in a while.
Really yes, I don't believe that. We just celebrated. Everybody celebrated you being on the air for fifty years in New York City in March.
Right in the mornings, in New York mornings.
That's insane. Do you stop and pinch yourself, like, wow, I've been I.
Went on the radio the first time when I was fourteen. When I was nineteen, I was working in Chicago when I was nineteen twenty, and then they transferred me to New York to do the morning show on their radio station that ABC owned at the time, WPLJ, which was, you know, a rock station, current rock station. Classic rock hadn't been invented yet because not enough time had gone by.
It was rock.
And my goal was to last a year and then I could hold my head up high, go back to Michigan, where I'm from, and spend the rest of my life bragging to my friends that I worked in New York once. So that was the goal. It didn't work out the way I planned.
No, you failed, Yeah, you failed it.
Failing fifty years later and still on the radio in the morning in New York.
Did you have that voice when you were fourteen?
No?
Okay, no, Well I loved the radio. Okay, when I was in the second grade, my teacher, Missus Douglas, took our class in a field trip and we went to WWJ AMFM and TV in downtown Detroit and it was just really exciting, and I thought, Wow, grown ups can have a job like this. This is where I want to be. I mean, I didn't know what I wanted to be. I just knew that that was what I loved.
I couldn't wait until adulthood. I just couldn't wait. And when I was fourteen, I went around to several radio stations in Detroit, you know, talk to people who worked there. Some of the people there were very nice, let me, you know, watch them work on the air, and talk to some management people who gave me advice on what courses to take and what I should learn. But that
was a long way off. I couldn't wait that long. Yeah, So finally I picked up on my little transistor radio a station in a town called Ipsilanti, Michigan, and it was, you know, way at the end of the dial at fifteen twenty. It was only on during the day, and I thought to myself, maybe those little, tiny radio stations
can use someone like me. So I took the Greyhound bus to Ipsilanti, and I met with their general manager, and I guess he wanted to let the young kid down gently, because he said, Oh, you can be on the radio. We could probably find a place for you, but we'll let you be on the radio for one hour if you can sell sixty.
Dollars worth of commercials.
Okay, if you sell one hundred and twenty dollars worth of commercials, we'll let you be on for two hours, and so on and so forth, and then I would get a fifteen percent commission. Yeah, okay, I would get a fifteen percent commission. And I expect that he thought that would be the last that he would see me.
But every day after school I would either take the bus or hitchhike to Ipsilanti, and I went to every drug store and dry cleaner and real estate office and diner and carpet store to try to sell these radio commercials. And the commercials weren't very expensive, and I was going to write them all so they didn't have to do anything. So a couple of weeks went by, Oh, and a
lot of people did purchase the advertising for me. I guess they wanted to help the little fourteen year old kid walking around with a briefcase wearing a suit, not a briefcase. So I went back to see mister Hadley at the station and I said, okay, I've sold eight hundred dollars worth of commercials.
Eight hundred yes, okay.
So can I be on now?
And he said yes, and so on February eleventh, nineteen sixty seven, I went on the air, and I've been on the air ever since.
So two questions about what you just said. One, did you ever go back and tell missus Douglas? Is that what her name was?
I don't think I did.
No, you never told her no, okay? And do you remember the first spots that you sold? What they were for?
The first spot I sold was four or the Gift Gallery, which was in the basement concourse of the Westland shopping Center. You know, they had different different gifts like frames for your photographs, you.
Know, just yeah sort of stuff like tochkey type of stuff.
Yeah, stuff like that.
And eventually they took over my advertising accounts, took them away from me, and they started paying me. So I was getting fifty bucks a week nineteen sixty seven, dollars. I was in the eighth grade and junior high was.
Pretty good ball.
Were you really popular at school because of this?
No?
Did people know?
Yes?
Wow, But it wasn't It wasn't a radio station that my schoolmates would be interested in listening to.
What kind of music was it?
My show when I first started was on Saturdays, and I played you know, top forty, pop, rock, R and B. But you know, it was kind of a mix and match. It was a small town radio station. It wasn't a Detroit market station. And then I'd come back into my go to school world live in the suburbs of Detroit, and it was like two different existences.
What did your parents think of all of this?
I can't say that they were real encouraging because I just don't think they understood it.
Were the Indian that sounds familiar?
Why did you have a problem?
Of course?
Were they upset when you decided you were going.
To Absolutely they weren't. So they weren't outwardly upset because they wanted to be supportive. But my dad, I was so excited when I got the job, and my dad said, oh, this is amazing. I hope it doesn't detract you from pursuing your real aspirations and finding a real career.
And I was like, and what did your dad what did what did he think your career should be?
Well, of course they would have loved me to be a doctor of some sort a position or a surgeon. But everybody else in the family did that.
Okay, so you should talk to Carol Miller sometimes. Yeah, and her younger sister became a physician.
My older sister became her practitioner, so you know what that was like, Yes, thank god for the other sibling. But your parents were not super excited about it.
No, because it seemed like just you know, a kid, you know, doing something weird, and how long will it last?
Was there ever a point that they said, Okay, we see what you're doing.
Well, not really, because well my mom died when I was still a teenager, and then my dad we were estranged, and you know.
So so there's never been a circle back with any of this. Let me tell you something, Jim, I tried to research you online. You are elusive, like Bigfoot, even our own companies. I went to your radio station's website.
There's no bio.
There's a picture of you and your co host there's no bio. The only place I found even a little blurb was from the Broadcasters Hall of Fame announcement. I believe the Radio Hall of Fame, Radio Hall of Fame, Radio Hall of Fame. Yes, I saw that there, and it was two sentences that I already knew. I'm like this guy, Jim, he must have a book. You don't have a book. Are you going to write a book?
No, I'm not going to write.
Why you have so many stories? I promise people would want to hear. Why no book?
Well, if people want to hear stories that I tell, they can turn on the radio.
Where would they find you?
Jim at one oh four point three on the FM Island New York or on the free iHeartRadio app. iHeartRadio even provides me with my wardrobe. I see that I'm wearing company issued clothing today.
Fun fact, Jim is on at the same time we're on, so at the moment, I'm promoting competition, you know.
But the great thing, one of the great things about working here is that you know we're all together, We're all playing in the same band. We had a little problem with my show this morning because of a technical difficulty that caused Shelley Sunstein to be unable to be on our show after the first hour. There was a technical failure. She was working from home. I had on my show this morning, DJ ANDV from Power and one
oh five point one. Okay, we ran down the hall to the twenty four to seven newsroom and grabbed Jacqueline Carl to come in and do the news. But the fact is, you know, we're often participating in one another's shows.
Here.
It's cool and it's fun, and it's a nice group of people.
One of the things that I was very surprised by when I came here and you are part of this, was how welcoming and kind everybody was, because places that I had been previous to this that was not the same. So I thought, when I get to New York City, Oh, it's going to be the worst. They're going to be so full of themselves because it's the top of the mountain. And this was the smoothest transition. And you were one of the people who was nice to me first and
made me feel very comfortable. I think I've told you this before. You remind me of somebody who I used to work with, who I love very much. He was the host of the first show that I was part of in Columbus, Ohio. I still talk to him all the time, but every time I see you, I just want to squeeze you because you remind me of Dave and you are kind to me like Dave.
What did you like Columbus, Ohio?
I did?
Okay?
I just want you to know and this, you know, this hopefully will not shatter our relationship. But I worked in ann Arbor.
Yeah I knew it. Yeah, that's fine, that's fine. It will not shatter our relationship because you can't change the best.
Well, you must have been so excited when when you came to New York and joined Elvis Duran and the Morning Show. Most of your predecessors in the role that you assumed moved on to shows of their own. Is that a goal for you someday if I have to, I'm talking about a goal for the future. Or do you like being part of the ensemble? Well, of course you love being part of the ensemble because you know you're an important part of it and it's lots of fun.
But you know, in your own aspirational mode, would you like the Gandhi show?
Ah? I see what you're doing here, by the way, flipping the interview on me, You're good at that gym. But I really enjoy being part of a group with other people. I like playing off of other people. Some of my favorite podcast episodes that I do because this is technically me branching out and doing my own thing. I love when I can include Diamond and Andrew and we can have conversations together. Of course, I love interviewing guests and talking to them, but the dynamic of being
with other people, I really enjoy that. So what I like the money that comes from it. Just being myself, sure, but no, I really like this. I enjoy it.
But you know, you know Diamond, speaking of Diamond, Yes, Diamond is a gem here on this floor because all of us get up really early. I probably get up a little earlier than you because my show starts at five, So I get up at three and I come in here to work. And every morning, no matter what, Diamond has the biggest, warmest smile. You know, it just makes you feel good when she says good morning to you all.
You know.
For the record, Diamond is sitting here being very quiet. Would you like to say anything about that?
Ms?
Cooper, there she is.
Thanks Jim, But you know what I'm talking about. You know, you could end up. I've worked at places where you walk in and people are grumpy. Oh yeah, you know. I come in here and she's one of the first people I see, because she arrives here, you know, before the show goes on the air.
Oftentimes she does overnights.
Yes, yeah, yes, But I love the radio, and I've been so fortunate and so lucky to be able to, you know, actually make a living doing what I love so much. Because I now this may sound a little strange, you know, maybe I should be talking to a therapist about this instead of talking to you about it.
Gandhi, I mean it.
But I really honestly believe that I have about a million friends. I really do. I love the people who listen, and I care about them. I want to be a good companion. I want to help wake them up in a good mood. I am so appreciative if they're listening in the morning, while they're getting dressed, or while they're driving to the train station, overnight, workers coming home, whatever it is, the fact that they've allowed me to be a part of their life just makes me feel fantastic.
Every once in a while, you know, because there's a certain anonymity to.
Radio until you open your mouth and people are like, I know that.
Every once in a while, something weird happens that makes you feel really good inside. And I was on an elevator earlier this week. I was wearing a T shirt that I bought that says raised on radio. Okay, So that was what the T shirt said, It said raised on radio, And there was like a little drawing of a radio okay. And there were two women and two
men and a little boy and a stroller. So I got on the elevator and the little boy looked at me and went and I said, why, thank you so much, and how are you doing today?
And he said wow.
And then I said that's about the most enthusiastic greeting that I've received in a long long time. And then one of the women said, looking at my shirt, you sound like a radio.
Did you tell it?
And I said I do, and she said yes, and I said, well, I work on the radio. And then one of the men said what's your name? And I told them my name, and then the other woman said, I'm sixty five years old. I've been listening to you every day since I was fifteen years old. She said, you have been a part of my life that long, and well, I'm getting teary eyed.
It's so true. You think you have a million friends. All those million people probably think you're their friend too. Imagine fifty years of somebody's life, what that woman has been through. You've been the constant through that.
That's a great thing and it just makes me feel really good. And you know, it's one of the motivating factors, you know, to live a life where you get up at three o'clock in the morning.
So let's talk about that. You get it at three o'clock in the morning. You're here, your show ends at nine, which, by the way, I appreciate you staying so much later to do the show with me today. Thank you for that.
Well, Gandhi, I would be here if it was five in the afternoon.
As you say, then I'll take you up on the offer one day. And by the way, I'm going to start greeting you with a whack every time I see you. Since you liked it, but well I liked.
It from the little kid in the stroller. It would be weird for me if it was if it was if it was an adult woman looking at me and doing that, that would be maybe a little a little crazy.
We'll find out, Jim, We'll find out. But you get it at three. You're done here at nine. What is the rest of your day like, because again you are elusive.
Well, I do a lot of other things.
I do volunteer. I do some volunteer work.
Do it.
What do you do well? I've been on the board of directors of Heartshire Human Services of New York for I don't know, almost forty years. It's one of New York's largest social service agencies, and it has a subsidiary agency, HeartShare Wellness, which it provides medical services to people with developmental disabilities who find it difficult to be served properly in a normal physician's office. And some patients are nonverbal, for instance, so they need specialized medical care. I'm chairman
of the board of that organization. I'm also active in our union. I'm vice president of the New York local of Sagafterra. I'm on the national board of Sagafterra. I'm actually overextended to tell you the truth.
But I believe it.
I just want to know what it is because but.
I try to do things. Oh and I'm on the board of directors of the Sagafter Foundation, which is separate from the union, and we provide catastrophic medical care for our stag after members. I could think of some more stuff.
I bet you could. I want to hear all of it, though, because when I think about what is cool, things have changed so much, and I think so many people try all day to prove to you that I'm real cool. Especially with social media, people post all day what they're doing, what they're eating, where they're going.
Well, I've never been cool, not from you.
To me, you're the definition of cool.
No, not from one single day of my life.
If I was going to think of somebody who is cool, I'd be like Jim Carl, He's a cool guy.
Absolutely, you've been Well, there's a difference.
You can say, oh, somebody's a cool guy. No, I mean that doesn't mean someone's cool.
I mean like the emoji with the sunglasses.
No no, no, no no no no no.
It can't make me change my mind. That is what I think. Back to this book that you're never going to write. I'm not going to try and force it on you. However, now I'm going to harass you a lot more because I know that you are just a vault of cool stories. The guests that you have to have interviewed over fifty years in New York City radio, the things you have to have done and been part of the parties. I want to know all of that.
Well, there used to be a lot more parties.
I heard. I heard the cocaine used to arrive in envelopes.
I know nothing about that. And I you know, that's another thing. I you know, when the cool kids were getting into the whole that whole thing, I never did. I mean, I'm really rather conservative kind of guy. Yeah, not even one time ever put in a legal drug into my system.
Now once you've never even smoked weed, Well now it's legal.
No, now it's legal enough.
It's legal.
And I hate the smell. I smoke cigarettes. I drink way too much coffee. Cabinet is delicious. I don't need to put anything else into my body that I might potentially enjoy too much. So it's best just to all not try it. Right, I have fun all the time. I mean there are things I don't.
Understand, though, What don't you understand?
Okay, the radio station I work at Q one oh four point three. We're a classic rock station. Looking at the latest Nielsen ratings for the number two station in the New York market. Congratulations, well, thank you, But we're number three eighteen to thirty four year olds. We're number one eighteen to thirty four year old men, and we're number one eighteen to forty nine year old men, and we're number one twenty five to fifty four year old men.
We play sixty year old songs. Our regular playlist at the station begins in nineteen sixty four, and the popularity of that music among people who are so young fascinates me because in nineteen sixty four, when I was eleven and saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show on a Sunday night and went to school the next day, and the whole world had changed. We weren't listening to songs that were hits in nineteen o four.
Were there recordings of those songs that were being played on the radio. No, okay, so we'll start there. It was different. Things are different now. I think everything old is new again. But anymore, I don't want to say we've reached the end of creativity because that obviously is never going to happen, but it does seem like so many people are going back to the well and sampling things.
People like some of the stuff their parents listen to, and their parents might be listening to what their parents listen to. So you hear these things and it feels nice and nostalgic, and it's cool to have that stuff that was the.
Original, right, except that we don't say we're in nostalgic radio station. No, of course we don't say, because we don't say nineteen sixty seven Solid Gold, here's Van Morris. They No, we don't do that. We just play the music because it's good. And you know, when I play House of the Rising Sun by the Animals, that's sixty years ago.
When you're naming these songs, I'm immediately thinking of movies. Where have I have heard those songs? And I wonder if that's a part of it too.
It could be.
About as many people listen to the radio now as listen decades ago. It's just that, because there are so many other things going on, they listen for shorter periods of time. Okay, but they're still there and they're still with us, and we do have something very very special. Gandhi, you and me, we have something very special that competitors for people's time don't necessarily have. You know, Spotify has its place in the world, and Pandora has its place
in the world. But Pandora can't be your friend. No, I can be your friend.
I think that as a part the personalities. You don't get those when.
You stream, and that's a fundamental difference. If you're just streaming something that's coming just to you, it's you're alone with the radio on. Not only do you have the human that's on the radio who's a companion, but there are thousands of other people who you don't even know, who are experiencing the same thing at the same time. So it's not a solitary experience. It's kind of a
group experience in an unusual kind of way. It gives you kind of a psychic connection to a whole community of people who like the same things that you do. And I think that's part of the beautiful magic of radio. If it were invented today, people would be freaking out over it, going this is amazing. I think your rus is fantastic. It's free, it's portable, it's really cool. Who came up with this great idea and it's consistent.
You sell radio short when you don't realize that every day you're getting new content, original content from people who are there every day and show up consistently. You also don't get that in a lot of other places. Even TV shows, there's a season and then they take a really long time off and a ton of people put a lot of effort into that to curate something very pacific, and you kind of know what you're going to get. With radio. You don't know what you're going to get.
You didn't know that Shelley Sunstein wasn't going to be able to show up today.
No, I had no idea.
But on the fly you made it work.
But we're here in real time. That's another thing. I look out, you know, I may I may have a piece of paper in front of me. I know, maybe you use a computer screen, but I like paper. I may have a piece of paper in front of me that says sunshine today, high eighty two. And I may look out the window and see that it's raining, so yes, so I can fix it right then and there. You know,
the immediacy of the immediacy of it is. I think one of its great advantages, and if something really important happens that will impact people in a significant way, we can inform them of that immediately.
So to that point, moments for you that stand out in your mind as far as I was on the radio when this happened, tell me.
About John Lennon's assassination. That was December eighth, nineteen eighty the Monday night football was on with Howard Cosell. I had the radio on to my station, WPLJ. I was just getting ready to go to bed and ABC News but Looking came on saying that he had been shot taken to Roosevelt Hospital, and the newscaster used this term
where he expired. So I put my clothes back on and I went back to the radio station and we spent all night calling people up and calling people who knew John Lennon, and putting together a special show for the next morning, which was my birthday.
So that was the year I had no birthday.
And we were able to mourn together as a community that day.
That's a very big deal, and I'm sure that that brings comfort to not only you, all the other people that get to do it with you. Because to your point, you're all doing this one thing at the same time, and now we talk about this on the Big Show all the time. Loneliness is an epidemic. People are so lonely. The more access you have to so much wh content, so many different people, the more isolating somehow things have become. And it's great to be able to share that with people.
So pieces of advice to the young baby DJs who want to follow in your footsteps and do things like you, Well, what do you tell them? We have interns here right now. I know what do you tell them?
I tell them not to be discouraged. Believing in yourself is probably the most important thing of all, because if you believe in yourself, that will give you the confidence to go forward and to try to experience the realization of your dreams. And if you fail on that journey, you learn some things along the way, and you had some fun along the way.
So for you, do you feel like you've lived your dream?
I'm living it every day. I lived it this morning, I lived at a couple of hours ago.
It's amazing.
I live it.
When I walk by your window of your studio here and wave at you in the morning.
Don't hype us up man, You're the cool one in the building, I'm telling you. So, as far as guests go, do you have a favorite or favorites? Do you have people that came in and blew your mind?
Well? Yes, and I've had all different types of guests, rock stars, and I've had country stars, and I've had R and B stars and FOP stars and TV stars and movies, TV stars and movie stars.
I need names, any names that have blown your mind in good ways, and maybe somebody who came in that you were like, please leave the studio.
I've met John Paul and George.
Wow.
Okay, okay, but I've actually met four Beatles because I met John, Paul, George, and Pete.
He was the original that got kicked out and replaced with Ringo.
Right, okay, right.
I never met Ringo.
I was in a room with Ringo once, but I on purpose didn't meet him because I wanted to still have one that I hadn't met. Okay, if you understand, if you understand what I mean, Smokey Robinson was over at our sister station, Power one of five point one one day.
I heard that he was on the floor.
I went running down there like a maniac. I didn't have him on my show, but I just wanted to meet him. You know, one of the greatest I mean, besides a great performer, one of the greatest songwriters of all time. I'm still trying to figure out how a guy like Smokey Robinson can write a song like My Girl and give it away to somebody else. He wrote My Girl and gave it to the Temptations. I mean, whoa talk about selfless? Yeah, I mean that is really
really amazing. I've met for presidents of the United States.
Wow.
I mean, this job allows you access to people.
From all different walks of life, really does.
I can't say to you that I have a ton of celebrity friends. I do have some celebrity friendly acquaintances. You know, it's fun to see somebody on TV that you know, or you know, go to a movie and see.
Somebody you know.
Speaking of that, I've said this to you before. The Sopranos is one of my favorite shows of all time. It might be my favorite show of all time.
It certainly it certainly was during it. Well, actually it kind of ignited a certain golden age of television.
Well I watched it after it had been out.
That's because you're so young, or I was just really.
Out of it with TV and paying attention to other things. But I loved it, and I rewatch it all the time. It is like the background noise in my apartment when I'm there. Diamond recently just watched it, and I think, did you like it?
Just it?
She loved it, But in the last episode. I didn't realize it until I was rewatching it. Here you opened the last episode of that show.
Yes, I'm a trivia question. Who spoke the first words on the very last episode of The Sopranos.
That would be me?
I know that guy.
That would be me.
Oh my god. When I heard Jim Kerr the voice of New York, Oh my gosh, it was so cool. I just thought, how how did that even happen?
I didn't what was I didn't know that it was going to be used that way. I recorded that for them. They didn't record that off the air. Oh wow, you know they had me record that for them. My assumption was, well, first of all, anything can end up not being in an episode, and I didn't know that it would be in the finale, And I assumed that maybe people would be driving somewhere, and maybe two people would be talking to one another in the car and in the background
you might hear that coming through the radio. I mean that's what I thought. So I watched it alone. Had I known, you know, I would.
Have had a party.
I think we should have the party.
I've watched it alone. I was sitting on the couch in my apartment turning on the last episode of The Sopranos, and I see the opening scene of Tony and his hat on the pillow. It's shot from above as he's in bed, and the alarm clock radio clicks on, and there's my poet, just so cool.
I freaked out, did you what does a Jim car freak out?
Well, there was nobody there to witness me freaking. I'm just it's like, what, you know, not saying it out loud, but saying it internally. It was just why didn't anybody tell me it was going to be so prominently featured, because literally I would have had some people over to watch TV with me.
Because what a moment. I mean, I did the same thing when I realized it was you. I was like, what, Oh my god, I see him every day. This is so cool. And then I said something to you the next day.
And you know, during the run of the and during the run of The Sopranos, a lot of the cast members were very regular guests on my show, and I knew a whole bunch of them through the charity work that I do. Because for an ensemble group of actors, so many of them were involved in so many charitable events. I mean, it was pretty incredible. I would see them all over the place. I mean, the show, what they're talking, I mean, it's just you know, they were the hottest show on TV.
Some people say they are still one of the hottest shows ever to have existed. I'm one of those people. It's still very significant. I think it is one of the shows that has actually aged well. And what a great episode to be part of. Debatively one of the craziest season finales series finales of all time. Were you surprised by the ending?
Yes?
Yeah, and so was Steve Perry.
Oh well yeah, because that song then had a resurgence right.
Well, well, once again, he knew that they were going to use the song on the show, but he didn't know how it was going to be used. And the fact that it like.
Abrupt please it's been twenty five years.
No, just the the abrupt, and he didn't know it was going to be the ending. He didn't know it was going to be abrupt like that, just cut off and the screen goes dark and leaves the whole world hanging wondering what happened. And it was fun. It was fun when I when I last time I had him on the show, we were talking about how I was the first voice on the last episode and he was the last voice on the last episode.
So Diamond, when she rewatched it, will you come over here to microphone for a second. Thank you? She watched it, and I was telling her, this is my favorite show. You have to watch it. And then I had her face time me as it was ending, because I wanted to watch her reaction to how it ended, and I recorded it. What are your thoughts, No, all these months, actually years at this point later, how do you feel about the end?
I'm still heartbroken because it lets my like they left way too much room from my mind to wander as to what happened, like why couldn't I see the gory stuff?
Well? At this point, again spoiler alert on the way. At this point, David Chase has said how it ended.
Well, he's implied, but I want to see him like slumped over in the you know, I want to see it. I want to see Willow's face. Is her name Willow Meadow, Meadow. I want to see Meto's face when she like runs over there, like I want to see that.
They did a really good job of building that anticipation. But Diamond's face at the end of it, she said, wait it cut off.
Wait it just no.
Yeah, have you been part of other TV shows, movies? I would imagine what that voice. You've been in some stuff.
Well, I've been on you know, television, You've been on television. Really, I was on As the World Turns, I was on The Guiding Lights Go On.
And what was your character? What were your characters?
Well, in As the World Turns, I was a flower vendor selling flowers to somebody just before they got.
Killed, like the Merchant of Death.
Well, somebody asked me just to do that as a favor, Okay, so I did that. But then the Guiding Light thing was a tie in with my radio station that I worked at at the time, and they created a character for me.
It was very easy.
You know, actors are extraordinarily talented people. How they do what they do is kind of beyond my comprehension. How they really embody a character that's different from their own and do it so convincingly. It takes a great deal of talent to do that that I don't have. The writer was for writers were kind enough to me to create a character named Jim who was going into the bar to talk to some of his friends, sit down to have a drink, chat up a very beautiful young
woman and get the brush off. So I didn't have to do any acting. It was just like the most normal thing in the world. And everybody thought that it was so convincing, but it was just you know, life, just.
You and you pull it off me. So we should add soap opera star to your resume. No, yes, I'm going to it's happening. You know what I'm going to do because there's another Jim Kerr. I'm sure you know this, a singer. Oh yeah, yeah, And I'm steal in all of the bios everywhere.
We ruined each other. We ruin each other's Google searches. He ruined it for me, and we've joked about that together. The two of us he's a really nice guy. He's the guy who sang don't you forget about me? Simple minds? Oh, and that was in the Breakfast Club. It was the theme actually, the big song from that movie. And Trevor, producer of my show, gave chat Gpt the instructions to generate a bio for me, and it had my birthday right, and it had that I was born in Detroit, Michigan.
And the bio mentioned that I hosted a morning radio show in New York City. And then the bio went on to say a Scottish rock and roll band that tours the world.
I believe, honestly, if I saw that about you, I'd be like, I think you probably did that.
But that's what I mean, that's what AI created from my biograph.
I'm going to create one for you because now I've gotten a little bit of information. He's never going to write a book. He's a soap opera star. You're going to put all of these things together. Do you have a I'm sure you have many, But before I let you go, because I know that you need to go, do you have a highlight one thing when you think about your radio career or your life, something that has been able to put a smile on your face every time you think about it.
You know, so many things go through my head. I would I would say being at my son's wedding, that was good. You know, raised him and there he was getting married, and that that.
Was a good That was a real good feeling.
And you can't conjure those kind of feelings up. They just happen, and this is then they become great memories.
Whenever people describe you, because I've asked people about you, it is always using the most glowing terms. The one I hear the most is he is a gentleman, he is a gem, he is a national treasure. He has all of these things. And when you say you've had a fifty year career in radio with all these amazing highlights, Howard Stern interviewed you. We listened to it and here while that was happening, it was amazing, by the way, and the highlight of your life is watching your son
get married. That says everything you need to know about Jim Carr the coolest. Well, thank you, thank you, thanks for sitting with me. Jim. I appreciate it. And guess what now I'm gonna come down there and Bucky way.
More anytime you want.
Why, Okay, don't we love him?
Oh he's the best person ever. I just I could hug him. But I've never hugged him.
You've never hugged him. No, you know I did hug him. I hugged him at the end of the podcast. I made him hugg me. Yeah, I made him.
Love him.
I already excited. But I feel like he's just cool and.
He doesn't brag at all. He's very humble. You would never know all of the things that he does outside of here. I love that.
Oh I forgot. I want to have Scotty inim because when we were doing this, Scotty's little lass was standing outside like waving at us, which he knows you don't wave at people when they're recording. And I didn't really know what he was talking. I didn't know what he was doing, what he was talking about. He texted Diamond that he wanted to come into the interview because Jim Carr is the only reason that he's in radio, and I feel really bad that I miss out on that.
And I told him he could jump in at the beginning or the end of this. But I really don't know where he is right now.
Yeah, well so that's Scottie not to come in.
You did I know? You were like I told him not to come in so I can come in.
Don't come in.
And then also Jim is super encouraging and like very supportive. He is the person who makes it the top and sticks out his hand and tries to pull other people up with him. And I say that because I mean, we have a million examples. But when I won my first Grazie, I want to I did that in the vein of Andrew, the one I won the first one. I was just kind of like, oh, cool, like this is awesome whatever, I love it. I wanted grazy. I
didn't realize what a big deal it was. And Jim was the person who pulled me aside and he said congratulations. I really appreciated it. But then he was like, no, no, no, you're really blowing this off. You need to take a minute, stop and breathe in that. People have said you are doing the best at what you do. You're doing the best at it. Do you understand that? And I was like no, And from there I became a monster.
Well, okay, see how you take it too? Far.
I'm just kidding. I loved him curse so much. Anyway, to the conversation that Diamond really wanted to have. What were you asking people the other day?
Okay, I'm very nervous about having this conversation or being record or it being recorded.
But you don't have to name any names. Okay, you can just say your own what you think and then will identify anonymous people.
Okay, Well, I think that all white people I have said the in word before. I don't think that it is with malicious intent. Some of them will, let's be clear, but.
You're not getting everyone with that brush.
No, I think that, Like, I know what it was like for me as a kid when I found out that I couldn't curse. I used to look in the mirror a fucktck bit shit, like like you literally whisper it in the mirror, just to see, like you know, my dad will let me curse, but like to everyone else, I couldn't curse, so I'd like I wanted to test the boundaries a little bit, right, Yeah, I think that that is the same thing as like a little white kid somewhere looking in the mirror knowing that they can't
say it. They're not letting their parents know that they say it. They're probably not letting anybody else know that they're saying it. They say it in the mirror once, just to see what it feels like. What are you gonna do? Hate a little kid for testing the boundaries the same way that I did for saying like these other curse words or whatever. So I went around asking people, you don't have to say that you've said it recently. I hope that you haven't, or that you I hope
that you wouldn't admit that to me. Let's just put it like that. But like as a kid, yeah, you said it before you knew what it meant, or like you knew the gravity of the words to certain people and why you shouldn't say it. There are some people who still say that they didn't they've never said it in their life, and I.
Don't really believe.
Oh really, we're talking about with the er or the see And that's another thing people wanted to get too deep.
I don't. Well, the er is a no go, all.
Right, But when you're saying like little kids, you think everybody has said it? Do you think everybody has said it? With a hard er?
I don't think that they know any better, Like I don't think they would know the difference at that point. Like I'm thinking of a little kid, okay for Max, Like these kids learn words and hey, listen, I don't know where they're hearing it.
Of course you know, but you're not gonna read it anymore. So actually you probably still are allowed to read that. That probably didn't get any books banned.
Well, there are some really good books with that word. It is what it is. We're gonna do block it out? You remember, never mind? God, remember like when you were reading things in class and they had like words blocked out. Oh yeah, if you're trying to figure out what the word was, hello, what are you gonna do? Block it out?
Ever?
What I have for sure South Florida where I came into to being a human basically, and that was you know, high school college.
We used to rap.
Along all the time, say it all the time in rap songs. And when I tell you, down there, everybody uses that word toward a man, toward a woman. What are your white, black, Hispanic, Chinese? It doesn't matter. That's just how everybody down there addresses each other in that context. Like, yes, absolutely I did and I didn't realize, to be completely honest, which is wild, how wild it was that everybody was doing that Until you leave that area and you say something and people are like, what.
Did you just say?
Yeah, it's like, oh okay, but if you go down there, nobody would think twice about it.
I'd be lying if I said that I didn't say words that I shouldn't have been saying. Didler a community of people which second lot of Okay, Okay, I don't this something of the past. Okay, we're talking in past. Yeah, a few different communities were. Yeah, but I've grown and that's the thing I mean. Okay, I think that we need to give people grace, right, which is why I'm like, you don't have to lie about the fact that you've said it before. You know better now, you know what
I mean. So I was a kid, Hell yeah, Like, what are you gonna do?
Well, I'll tell you this, and I will say this is a fact, I promise you. I have never in my life heard my mom, my dad, or my sister say either version of really, not one of them. Never.
Humhmm.
I can't even like I'm trying to picture it right now. I can't even picture what it would be like coming out of any of their mouths. WHOA, Yeah, my sister is married to a black man, so not that that matters. I was just that person that's like, I have a black friend. I would never please.
Please don't get me started on those. Okay, you don't get me started.
I'm trying to think I should also say quickly, yeah, he's mixed, so he has black and whites.
Oh, and that's another thing we were talking about that like who gets a pass? Okay. I don't really think that anyone should be saying the word just because it's like, what's the point, Just leave it alone. But it doesn't mean I don't slip up when I'm around certain people.
It is what it is, And I told you opposite. I think everybody should say the word all the time because I know you're never gonna agree. I think the more you say something, the more anything is in popular culture. Whatever that thing is, whether it's a word, it's a piece of clothing, it's a song, it gets devalued. I hate that there's a word out there that triggers people so badly that they will fight, Like people will absolutely throw down. They don't care if they go to jail.
It doesn't matter. There's a word out there that people let push them to that brink. I just wish it didn't have that value, and I feel like the only way to devalue it is just put it out there everywhere.
I don't think that's ever going to happen, though, move to South Florida. I think at one point I probably would have agree read with you, but I just feel like, yeah, no, I think now it. People do it and say these like this word just to irritate other people, and I get exactly what you're saying, but it's just like, well, why can't you, the person who uses it with malicious intent, just be a better person. Well, for sure, I don't like like like, I don't understand.
That absolutely and unreasonable expectations. There are just ship heads in the world who are going to be shitheads forever because they were born a shithead, they were raised by ship heads to be a shithead, and they're gonna die a shithead. I don't know. I say this all the time. The things that really bother me, you will see no reaction from me if it happens, because I don't ever want people to know that that thing bothers me enough that you can keep saying it.
Strength. I'm not there yet.
Maybe weakness. I don't know. To not let people know something that bothered me, I don't know.
I used to think that. No, I don't know how I feel about that. Actually, you know, people.
Call us the sand End mom all the time. Yeah.
Yeah, and you wouldn't let anybody know that that bothered you.
It doesn't bother me. I'm not gonna please. First of all, if you're saying that, what kind of person are you? I'm gonna let a person like that bother me?
Please? I mean, I get it, but yeah, no, we're throwing down, we're doing it.
You want Diamond to fight drop the ward?
Yeah, I'm sorry, but she.
Asked everybody around here. I think most people were pretty honest about it. I really want to hear off the air who said that they never said it, because I want to hear if I believe it or not.
You won't believe it, trust me? Oh don't believe it?
Girl or guy guy notorious liar? Yes, I have guesses and on that. If people want to find Diamond and debate this, where can they find you?
At?
Diamond sincere on Instagram.
And I am at baby Hot Sauce on Instagram. Oh, next time we need to talk about threads. Oh, threads is the same dumpster fire that Twitter was, if anybody was wondering. And uh yeah, we'll be back for episode thirty, apparently from the Road, with Diamond breaking down about it.
Oh God, no, please say bye bye.