Inductee

KELO in Sioux Falls was looking for a DJ and hired a buy from Minnesota called "Big Doug".   They started to Promote him but at the last minute he decided not to accept the job.  The station hired Phil Heuer, a youngster who was working in North Dakota.  Since they were already running a jingle about "Big Doug", Phil had to change his name, thus Lord Douglas.  At the time KELO was not playing rock music but Lord Douglas circulated a petition among teenagers to get rock and roll on the air, which he did, but only at night.  Prior to Lord Douglas's "Nite Rock", KOMA, WLS, and KAAY were the only options, and they were all out of town stations.

Debuting on December 28, 1964, "Nite Rock" was a huge success, in part because it highlighted local musicians.  One of the first local artist to be featured was Myron Lee with his ABC-Paramount release "Everybody's Going to the Party".  Dale Gregory and the Shouters "Did Ya Need to Know" reached #1 locally.  Sioux Falls own Bleach Boys became the house band, recording a number of songs and jingles for the show.  Lord Douglas had unlimited creative freedom and his rating included 65% of evening listeners tuning into his show.  The Lord even had his own fan club and was featured in "Teen Life" magazine.  He also had a Saturday afternoon dance party, "L.D. Rocks".

After thirty-three months of local fame Lord Douglas was hired by KDWB radio in the Twin Cities in 1967.  But after KDWB and a tour of Vietnam, he returned to Sioux Falls in 1975 with a new name, Harley Worthit.  Some of his on air partners included Neil Shurts, Warren West, and Chad McKenzie.  Harley was not a stranger to controversy and on more than one occasion made comments that got him suspended.  But Harley was embraced with open arms and listeners couldn't wait to hear what he would say next. 

In 1990 KELO purchased KDWB and Harley returned to the Twin Cities, doing early mornings and later working at WCCO.  Harley is now retired and still residing in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul area with his wife Patti.  Phil Heuer is truly one of the most interesting and popular DJs to work in S.S.



Awards

2010DJ's