tom reeder - Inducted 1990

Tom "Cat" Reeder was the most popular country disc jockey of his time in the Washington, DC area . In 1956, he worked in Abbyville for no pay on his first job as an air talent/gofer at WARL Arlington, VA and got his first paying job at WABB Mobile, Alabama. He joined the Air Force and was stationed at Andrews Air Force Base, outside Washington, DC. When discharged, he went to work at WARL in Arlington, Virginia and became very good friends with Don Owens who was known as "Mr. Country Music" in the Washington, Virginia, Maryland area until Owens was killed in a car accident. The crown was then passed to Tom Reeder, who moved to WDON to take over the early morning drive time Tom Reeder Show. He closed his show with the song Tom Cattin recorded especially for him by Buck Owens and by saying: "May the good Lord take a liking to you; May you live as long as you want and never want as long as you live. Bye-bye darlin'. Tom had his own record (Kash) and publishing company (Tom-Kat Music) and managed several country music artists in Nashville. Tom owned WYAL Scotland Neck, NC and WARI Abbeville, AL and later became station manager at WKCW in Warrington, Virginia. Tom Reeder was inducted into the Country Music DJ Hall of Fame in 1990. He recently hosted one of the bluegrass overnight shows on WAMU, Washington DC.