Rick Minerd - Life Is A Jukebox

One of Columbus' most beloved radio disc jockey's of the 1980's reminded me of an early 1960's  New York DJ named B. Mitchell Reed.  "BMR"  as he called himself could talk faster than a speeding bullet,  yet could somehow be understood.

Such was one of Suzy Waud's  many talents. Suzy could shout into a microphone with the best of them.  And she was revered by every kid who could operate a radio by themselves.

When I came to WCOL in the early  '80's I sat across the hall from our sister station, WXGT-92X  where Suzy did her nightly program. My show was classic rock and pop music,  Suzy played contemporary top-40. And working just down the hall from each other allowed us to visit during extended music tracks.

I got to know a side of her that she rarely expressed on her show.

If you only listened to Suzy you couldn't read from her on-air persona that she was more than the screaming rock & roller she personified. On the air she was focused. Off the air she demonstrated a softer side that seemed out of place for her very public harder edge.

It seemed everywhere I went people would want to know what Suzy Waud was like. I described her as something like caged lightning.  But that description could have been applied to most of the 92X staffers back then.

The morning team of  O'Malley and Olsen was Michael O'Malley, formerly of WNCI, and Mark Olsen, an out of control wirey little guy with a ton of energy, got the day started and Suzy brought it to an end late at night. 92X was the last of the traditional top-40 oriented radio stations in Columbus. It was WCOL-FM but most listeners didn't know it.

It was what WCOL AM morphed into after it abandoned it's contemporary hits format.

Those who grew up with  92X and went to bed listening to Suzy Waud may have sunk into a deep state of depression when the station returned to it's WCOL-FM  call letters.  And for those of us who became the new staff and played  "Oldies" we never stopped answering callers asking,  "Whatever happened to Suzy Waud?"

Moving over to  92.3 FM  from the 1230 AM  frequency  turned out to be my last work in radio. Even though it was only part-time work it was a way to stay connected to  my past. And for years after my radio life I was still asked, "Whatever happened to Suzy Waud?"

For awhile I could answer that question. But now, fourteen years removed from the business I wonder the same thing.   Rick 

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