joe ladd - Inducted 2007

Joe Ladd was one of Houston's most visible and longest tenured air personalities. He began in 1963 as a radio salesperson and on air personality for KANI Wharton, Texas-- a station that programmed pop, rock and Country . He then worked as Program Director, Music Director and Chief Engineer at KWBA Baytown, Texas. In 1968, He found a permanent home at KIKK Houston, Texas, where he was an air personality and Music Director until 1994. He is credited with breaking Gene Watson, Johnny Lee and Mickey Gilley, who mentions him in the film "Urban Cowboy." He was an announcer at Gilleys nightclub in Pasadena, TXexas He was named CMA Music Director of the Year in 1987 and 1988. In 2001. He was inducted into the Texas Music Hall of Fame. His civic involvements include the Houston Rodeo, the Harris County Fair, the Fort Bend County Fair and the Pasadena Texas Rodeo. He organized shows to benefit the Texas Children's Hospital and Texas Gulf Coast Hurricane Relief. He went on to manage Mark Chesnutt.