I got an e-mail last night from an old Army buddy. My roommate, in fact. His name is Benny Brown. I mention his name because he made it BIG in broadcasting, in Europe. I hadn't heard from Benny in over 30 years, so the e-mail was kinda haunting. We were both working (and living) at the American Forces Radio Network in Frankfurt. Benny was a lot more serious about his work than the rest of us. Don't get me wrong, all of us who were on the air at AFN in the 70's tried our best and I think we did a pretty good job. Benny was a bit more of a "radio rat" than the rest of us. It paid off for him. He's been recognized by Billboard Magazine as "International Radio Air Personality Of The Year" on a number of occasions. More importantly he's hosted syndicated shows in Italy & the UK. Awesome! I knew that one of us at AFN, during that era, had a shot at making it in the radio business. I'm really not surprised that it's Benny. He's on the air - 7 days a week - on Radio Luxembourg. The adjacent picture is an old one of Benny on the air at Radio Luxembourg, circa 1982. At that time doing a two man show with Rob Jones, sponsored by Cuticura Soap.
All of this makes me wonder if I should have stayed in radio. Maybe I should have stayed in Europe? Ah, but that was such a long, long time ago! Think of all the rednecks I never would have met. A popular radio air personality from Detroit once told me that it doesn't matter where you live and it doesn't matter what you're doing. What matters is if you are happy or not. I should add "healthy", too. After all, some people my age are dead!
Congratulations Benny. You worked for it. I knew it would happen for you! BTW, that's me, in in Terre Haute, listening to the "Classic Rock" and Benny Brown on Radio Luxembourg on the internet at http://www.radioluxembourg.co.uk.
