Thanks for turning me on. Those were the words that Des Moines radio icon Dic Youngs used to close his radio program for over 45 years on KIOA.
Dic, or Youngsy as so many people called him passed away earlier this week. Today I attended the visitation service held in Des Moines. The feelings that I left with will be something that I struggle to completely figure out over the next few days.
Youngsy was a unique character. And I use that word because that is what he was. A character that was loved by so many that listened to him on the radio. First on AM 940 KIOA and then as music all but left the AM band on Oldies 93.3 KIOA.
Dic Youngs left a lasting mark on this community and every one that knew him. He was the embodiment of everything that is missing from radio these days. A person working for over 45 years on one radio station. I have been fortunate in my career that relatively, I have not had to move that much, but even with that my longest tenure has been six years.
But it was more than that. And I could write an entire book about the stories of this legendary man. The man who once went to a high school prom with a girl that did not have a date, that worked countless hours and devoted time to charity. That organized Rock and Roll Reunions and did it because he simply loved the entertainment business and loved being on the radio.
I don't know this for certain, but I don't think Dic Youngs died a wealthy man, at least from a money standpoint. He did what he did because that was what successful radio people did and people that just loved entertaining and making others happy.
A speaker at the service today summed it up better than I ever could when he said. "We grew up in the era where you used radio to effect good, not cause divisions."
I wish that there was the opportunity for radio to create the next Dic Youngs, but voice tracking and consolidation and greed have made that virtually impossible.
The second part of the equation for me was seeing some people today that I have not seen in over 10 years. In some cases much longer. People freeze in time and image in your mind. No one stops and thinks what John F. Kennedy would look like today. He is frozen in time the way he looked prior to November 22, 1963.
We are all getting older. I saw that in these long time friends and noticed how they had changed. Knowing full well that they were thinking the same about me.
It made me confront my own mortality.
I said earlier that I did not think Dic Youngs died a wealthy man. But if a measure of a man's wealth is the legacy he leaves behind, then he was indeed a very wealthy man. The people that turned out today to pay their respects were an amazingly diverse cross section of the population. Old and young, normal working folks and many dignitaries. They were all there. Plus his friends from the radio community. Many of whom will go back to competing fiercely tomorrow but today standing side by side to honor a legend.
So yes, Dic Youngs was a very wealthy man.
In the end the only way to bid farewell to someone like this, that brought such joy and friendship to so many, the majority of which didn't even know him personally, is to simply echo the words he used to close every broadcast.
Youngsy, thanks for turning us on.
