Knoxville radio icon an inspiration for local talent
Ask random Knoxvillians if they know a William Winningham, and the majority of the time you’ll be answered with a puzzled look.
Ask them if they know Billy Kidd, however, and their eyes light up.
Everybody knows Billy Kidd. Or, rather, knew him. “Billy Kidd” was the radio moniker Winningham used for almost three decades at WIMZ-FM, East Tennessee’s home for classic rock ‘n’ roll. In between bangers by bands from AC/DC to ZZ Top, Kidd’s unmistakable voice helped make evening commutes a little more bearable for those who tuned in to the station on weekdays between 2 and 6 p.m.
Winningham was 61 years old when his body was discovered at his home on Wednesday, Nov. 11. His death silenced a voce rivaled by few others regionally: Phil Williams, perhaps; Hallerin Hilton Hill; Gunner. None of them, however, could cut the mic, drop the needle onto a 3-minute shot of adrenaline like “I Can’t Drive 55” and leave listeners feeling like a cool older brother had let them dig through his record collection.
That he managed to carve out a niche for himself as radio’s role diminished with the infiltration of digital media says as much about what he did with his voice as what he used it to say.
“You’ve got to remember, when Billy was on the air and first starting, there weren’t all the other intrusions in the media world that we have today,” says Aaron Snukals, director of events for the Knoxville company BigWheel and himself a radio veteran who worked with Kidd years ago as a sales manager for the station.
“We were still rolling tape, still using big eight-track tape players in the studio, and people listened to us for traffic and weather,” Snukals adds. “Radio was the only alternative you had back then. I think there’s an art to radio because anybody can sit behind a microphone and play some records and tell you who’s next.
“But there’s an art to grabbing listeners, to getting them to stay with you and follow you, and Billy had that gift mastered. And on top of that, he would put his hands on a stack of Bibles and tell you that the reason God put him on this earth was to do things for other people through the 1,000-watt megaphone of WIMZ.”
Charity events like ones Snukals put together when he worked for Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee were some of Billy’s favorites. Charity rides? Count him in. Fundraiser concerts? Billy was likely there, posting pictures to social media. That his unexpected passing leaves such a large hole – in radio and in local philanthropy – speaks of a life well-lived and of a man who left East Tennessee a better place than he found it. Below are a few testimonials and stories from people that Billy affected in a positive way.
– Steve Wildsmith
Towers and transmitters are just machines fed by music and microphones. It takes someone special to really bring them to life. My friend of more than 30 years, Billy Kidd (William Winningham), did that in the most natural way. The radio studio was his funhouse. It was his playroom. It was his mancave. It’s where he belonged.
It didn’t matter to him if the studio had an audio control board sitting on plywood supported by columns of concrete blocks with exposed wiring (which is the radio station where we first worked together in 1988) or if it was a studio on top of Sharp’s Ridge looking out across the beauty of East Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains where we continued to be friends for another 30 years. As long as the mic worked and he could be heard, it was all good.
Imagine opening the mic on a 100,000-watt radio station that would allow you to reach people in seven states. Yes, seven states at one time! Take a moment and think about what you would actually say that could move people to do good in their community, to be better and help others to be better. Words alone can’t do that; it’s love, compassion and the willingness to give of oneself. That’s what BK did: He shared the music he was so passionate about, and he used the microphone to not only entertain us, but also to inspire us when needed. William Winningham gave everything he had to live up to being Billy Kidd. I will forever love and miss you, BK. Thank you for everything!
– Shane Cox, brand manager at B97.5 WJXB
Although radio station staffs are very competitive, especially when it comes to trying to secure a certain portion of the listening audience, a market the size of Knoxville still lends itself to being more like a smaller market than a larger one. Stations compete with each other here, but it is still one big radio family, and Bill Kidd exemplified that as much as anyone on the dial.
He was driven to do the countless good deeds he did for so many, most of these being unannounced, and not for ratings, but because he knew the power of radio and of being a local radio celebrity. He often used that well-earned status to make our part of this big old world a better place – which is the main reason I fell in love with radio at such an early age. I went for the music, but I stayed after seeing the positive impact a station and its employees could have on a community. I learned that when I started working at WGRV-AM and at WIKQ-FM at 16 years old.
It saddens me to see radio used now to divide people, to pit people against each other or to conduct drastic staff or programming changes not because the listeners want it, but because of a perceived need to insulate money-maker station(s) and to bring in more profit. Bill Kidd was not like that. He was one of those old-school DJs who loved the music he played, knew his profession and served his listeners both on and off the air. He formed a strong bond between his listeners and his community, something that today has become a disappearing art – particularly on commercial radio.
It was sadly ironic that he seemed to have passed on Veterans Day, as he helped so many veteran causes through the years. His passing was also very close to the kickoff for his annual Camping for Cans fundraising drive. When we lost Bill, Knoxville radio lost an important – vital, really – member of our family and, frankly, a part of our heart and soul.
Of course, Bill was also a hilarious person, and a notorious prankster. I first met him not long after he started at WIMZ, and I had the opportunity to work with him several times through concert promotions and other radio-related events. He was always a pro at what he did and seemed to always be able to approach any task with the attitude that he and we were all going to have fun doing it.
When WUTK was in dire need of funding for transmitter tower repair, Bill was one of the folks at South Central Broadcasting, now Midwest Communications, who stepped up to help in a major way. Bill’s station WIMZ, along with Shane Cox and the gang at B97.5, invited our students to be guest DJs for most of the broadcasting day, which also happened to be Worldwide College Radio Day, on those two stations. And not only that, they allowed our students to ask for donations to WUTK on the air on their stations, as well. It was an amazing act of kindness and was very helpful in reaching our monetary goal.
Needless to say, it was a stressful, action-packed day for me, and I stayed very busy throughout its course. At one point during it, my desk phone rang, and I did not recognize the displayed name. I answered, and the voice on the other end said, “Good afternoon, my name is [I cannot remember the name he made up], and I am field agent for the Federal Communications Commission, and I regret to inform you that your light on your transmitter tower is not working, and we are going to have to fine the station.”
I almost dropped the phone, and I was trying to figure out what to reply so that every penny we pulled in that day was not used to pay an FCC fine. I asked him how he knew it was not working, as it was daylight. He said he knew things like that because he worked for the FCC, and “we know everything.” After a period of awkward silence, the guy on the phone started laughing, and I recognized the voice was Bill Kidd’s!
He finally confessed it was him and said that he knew I would need a little comic relief during what he knew would be a stressful day. He was always thinking of others, but if there were a way to get a laugh or two out of it along the way, he was all in. We went on to raise the money we needed, thanks in large part to the exposure that WIMZ and B97.5 provided that day.
This memorable story once again goes to show how we’re all one big radio family in Knoxville, and I hope that more stations get back to serving the listeners with a purpose of making the community a much better place. Sadly, we lost one of those who lived this on the dial every single day but who rarely talked about it. Bill did his fair share of talking, for sure, whether it was front-selling a double shot of AC/DC or telling his listeners about other heroes in our community so that they could get the credit they deserved. But I will never forget what my friend was all about and why he did the work that I am also blessed to be a part of doing.
I will continue to honor his memory by training future announcers to approach their job with the same goals and spirit that Bill Kidd took to the air every time he cracked a microphone. He will be missed by thousands of people on the airwaves, but by even more who never met the man who helped put food on their tables or helped to arrange a motorcycle run for much-needed funds for someone in need. My hope is that more people who work in radio will remember how Bill Kidd used his talents and craft on the radio dial to help make our community a better place to live and to bring people together, not separate them into tribes.
You simply cannot replace someone like Bill, but you can strive to make this world a better place for all, especially for those in need of things many of us take for granted. Bill honored many requests when on the air at WIMZ, and my hope is that we now honor his request to use our skills and passion to make our community an even better place for everyone, maybe with a “Skynyrd Weekend” playing in the background. I will miss you, my friend.
– Benny Smith, station director at 90.3 WUTK
You’ll hear stories about Billy when it comes to what he did for our community: Camping for Cans for Second Harvest Food Bank; the Toy Run for the Shiloh Riders, riding in the Veterans Day Parade to raise awareness for veterans in need and soldiers who are/were missing in action; his support of first responders and medical professionals; and gifting this area his generous spirit and fantastic sense of humor.
I had the honor of working with Billy for these past 10 years, mostly as a promotional tech but later on as a DJ. And what I loved most about him was that he was such a great storyteller. I spent many a Saturday afternoon with Billy at remotes or appearances, from the fair to a concert to a car dealership. He knew the ins and outs of radio: all the players, all the experiences and all the stories, all over the last 40 years.
One Saturday afternoon, we were promoting a car dealership (one we haven’t done business with in years), and no one was showing up; even the employees were nowhere to be found. It was a dreary fall day, and he started telling me about the days of “Phil and Billy in the Morning.” After I asked various specific questions about the show, he said, “It’s a long story. You wanna hear it?” I looked around the dealership and said, “We’re stuck here for two hours. What else are we gonna talk about?” And so he told me all about WIMZ back in the ‘90s. All from his point of view, of course, but a wonderful oral history of Knoxville radio.
There are so many other stories he related to me that I wish I could tell. Ones about the old days at “Fort Hill,” crazy live radio on The Strip. So many good ones … but I have to protect the (not so) innocent. Ha!
Later on, as I started doing more on air, Billy would incorporate me into his breaks at remotes. Making jokes, having fun, involving the business or product we were promoting. (To be fair, most of my on-air colleagues started bringing me in because they’re great people.) And we always had fun talking about rock news or current events if I were filling in after he went off the air.
The last time he and I were on air together was when Eddie Van Halen died. We talked for a good 6-8 minutes (a LONG time in radio) about his legacy, music, influence and being one of the GOATs of guitar. We both were equally bummed about the news and devastated that such an icon was gone. Little did I know that, one month later, I’d be sitting down to go on air right after the announcement of Billy’s death. Again, another icon was gone. Definitely for East Tennessee radio and certainly for our community.
I’ll bet I’ve taken close to 1,000 pictures of Billy at giveaways, remotes, concert introductions, fundraisers, food drives or campaigns of some sort, and I don’t think he and I ever got a picture together. That really breaks my heart, knowing that. R.I.P., brother. That studio is forever changed.
– Mike Stanley, “Promo Mike” at 103.5 WIMZ
I started at South Central Media (prior to them being bought out as Midwest Communications) as an intern when I was in college. I primarily worked with B97.5, but WIMZ was right next door. Everyone in the building looked up to Billy. He was the guy everyone aspired to be like. He had the best personality, the best listeners and he was the most giving guy in the company.
Years later, while I was running events at The Shed, Billy Kidd was the most involved local personality in our operations. Not only did he actively promote our events (whether we bought advertising or not), he attended them frequently. He rode in all the big charity rides, came out to all the big shows and really showed his support with his actions, not just his words. And his words would have been more than enough considering they went through a microphone to the perfect audience for The Shed, but he went the extra mile.
Billy genuinely cared about his community. His actions somehow spoke louder than his words, a feat unheard of for someone in the radio business. My time onstage with him, talking over the air with him and talking about rock ‘n’ roll over a beer with him will be things I will never forget. He will be dearly missed, and I personally still haven’t accepted the fact that he’s gone. Billy Kidd isn’t just irreplaceable at WIMZ – he is WIMZ. This loss to the community is unspeakable, and the void he leaves behind in East Tennessee’s radio landscape will be unfillable. Knoxville will mourn this loss for years to come.
– Josh Formont, marketing manager at Earthadelic, former entertainment director at The Shed
All these memories of working with Billy at 103.5 WIMZ are running through my head nonstop. Here are a couple of quick ones.
The first is from the New Year’s Eve Big Orange Drop Old City Bash at Hoorays. Billy was in the crane basket with “Hooray” himself above the Old City with the lit-up orange on the basket. I was at the station doing the music show and going to him for live breaks from the crane.
Another time, he caught me, in person, when I was on the third shift airing a song that wasn’t on the program log. I played Van Halen’s “Unchained” (off my own vinyl album that I let the station borrow) instead of the listed song from Sammy Hagar (“Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy”). He never told on me and just kept it between us. That was a really cool thing to do.
– Tony Farina, promotional representative/product demonstrator at Crossmark, former underwriting/digital media sales director and advertising sales manager at 90.3 WUTK
I had the pleasure of being Billy Kidd’s friend, promotions coordinator and sometimes partner-in-crime for six years at WIMZ. No one better encompassed the spirit of that radio station. He walked the walk and talked the talk of being the representative for the thousands of classic rock listeners in Knoxville. Younger readers will not remember a time when rock radio DJs were gods and goddesses, but indeed they were, and no one was bigger than Billy. People would line up everywhere we went just to get a pic, say hi, or get their “Phil & Billy” calendar autographed. Billy could hardly enjoy a concert because so many people would just want to give him a hug, a high-five, or maybe just a point and a “hell yeah!” He took the time to talk to every listener and promote every charity.
I once was the “pace car” for Billy as he rode a riding lawn mower the entire distance from Knoxville to Bristol Motor Speedway. I once engineered a broadcast of Billy doing a play-by-play of hooking up his producer, Danger Boy Doug, to a crane and dipping him into the river by Calhoun’s, while Doug was encrusted with catfish food. The bit kind of failed, but Billy made radio listeners think there were indeed ravenous carp feasting upon his co-worker to the hilarity of anyone within earshot of a radio. He was just that good. He had a loud voice and a huge heart. Classic BK greetings such as “Hi! How’re you??” “Naw, youuu?” “Pretty good, yooou?” and “Hellooo, Slappy” play on over and over in my head in his signature Livingston, TN accent. I would give anything to enter the studio and hear one of those again. R.I.P., my friend. You were one of the good ones.
– “AA” Andy Anderton
I grew up listening to Phil and Billy in the morning. At some point, Phil left the radio station, but my stereo stayed tuned to WIMZ. Any time I wasn’t listening to a record, a tape or a CD, I was listening to WIMZ. Billy Kidd was basically a daily part of my life. In high school my first vehicle only had an AM/FM radio, so I was stuck to radio. I bounced around a little, but I listened to A LOT of WIMZ.
I’m deeply saddened to hear of William’s passing. I met him once at a live remote, I think it was Camping for Cans, and he was so very kind to me. Knoxville lost a real treasure today. Keep his family, friends and co-workers in your hearts.
Our prayers go out to everyone he touched.
– Colby Byram, Knoxville musician
Who was Billy Kidd to me? Well, he was unforgettable!
Every weekday at 5:45 p.m. for 12 years on WIMZ, we – Billy Kidd and Jay Mac – would have our crossover break. This was a chance to connect the two-day segments and also just to have some fun. What I loved the most about this part of my day was it was also when we would have our daily catch-up before and after the mic was on. Having this time together is probably why we became such good friends.
Over our 15-year friendship on and off the air, he was always there for me for anything I needed. I moved here from Kansas and didn’t know anyone, and Billy was one of my first friends. He really took me under his wing. My first few months on air, I went by the name Jay McDaniel, but that quickly changed after Billy constantly called me Jay Mac, and that nickname from him became my on-air name. By the end of my first year at WIMZ, Jay Mac was a household name.
Billy’s big heart to help others was crazy to witness. He would generously give without thinking about it and expect nothing in return. There were a few times I can remember in particular when I was a single mother trying to take care of my family in the middle of an economic crisis. Our salaries were cut twice, some folks were let go and I was struggling to keep my head above water. Billy was always there, slipping money in my bag when I wasn’t looking and buying gifts for my kids for holidays and birthdays. If I needed help with anything, he was there in a flash.
And I do mean anything. Sometimes it was just the simple things he would do, like lending me his ear to just let me vent. We were there for each other over the years with relationships we were in, deaths of family members, motorcycle wrecks, sickness, all the different changes of life and everything else in between.
At work, Billy’s creative mind would often come up with fun adventures for us to do. With a recorder in one hand and a microphone in the other, off we would go looking for radio gold. My favorite out of studio adventure with Billy was our trip to a nudist campground in Crossville, Tennessee. He made a few calls and set everything up for us to go together and check this place out.
As we drove to Crossville, he told me that we both had to be nude to do the interview! I said, “NO WAY, BILLY!” To this day, I still believe he just made that part up, even though he promised he didn’t. We get there and go into the front office. As I walked in, the first person I see is a man sitting at the front desk, fully exposed with no clothing on whatsoever. My right hand quickly covers my mouth, keeping me from busting out in laughter, and I immediately turn around and walk out the front door, leaving Billy there to finish the check-in process. He returned a few minutes later with the good news that we can keep our clothes on for the tour. “Thank God,” I said.
Just then, I turn around to see our topless female tour guide, driving up in a beat-up golf cart, ready to take us all around the campsite. She was not fully nude like the large man in the front office, for she was wearing khaki shorts and brown combat boots. Reminded me of the Crocodile Hunter from TV. Over the next hour, I would get to witness Billy Kidd’s most hilarious interview ever.
With one hand holding the microphone and one hand with a death grip on the bar keeping him from falling out of the golf cart, Billy could not stop looking down at her breasts, no matter how hard he tried. The tour guide didn’t seem to mind. I laughed so hard that day that later on as I was doing my night show, my stomach was sore from all the earlier laughter. Radio will never be able to fully capture that moment in time; you just had to be there.
Getting outside the studio from time to time was great, but our in-studio adventures are very memorable, also. Once, we brought in a local tattoo artist for a day, and we both got tattoos on the air. Oh, and I will never forget when Billy got his back and chest completely waxed on air! There are so many memories of the fun we had working for WIMZ at live broadcasts, big prize giveaways, Camping for Cans, autism awareness events, motorcycle rides, drag and NASCAR races, Rock Babe contests and the many, many concerts we got to be at together. Every time I think about WIMZ, Billy Kidd will always be right there in my heart and mind.
The big-name concerts that have come to town have always been a blast, but it was the small shows that were the most fun. Billy supported the live local talent that we have right here in East Tennessee. We would frequent many bike nights and places that had live music, all over the place. Billy would never turn down an invitation to jump up onstage and sing “Mustang Sally” with his fellow rockers. Performing with my own band years ago, I would see Billy there in the front row showing his love and support, especially for the guitar soloist! He loved live music and the people who made it.
As I sit here remembering my friend and the life he lived, I am crying and smiling at the same time because he brought so much joy to my life and to so many others. Some of my absolute best moments of my radio career, Billy was standing by my side, and some of my most memorable moments of my life, the good and the bad, he was a true friend. I loved Billy very much, and I will miss his big heart and infectious laugh. And I will absolutely miss hearing his soothing voice on the radio airwaves of WIMZ. More than anything, though, I will miss his voice in person, whispering in my ear, “You got this, girl! Now go get ’em!”
Today I thank God for allowing me to have Billy in my life. I celebrate his life and rejoice because I know he has made it home. ‘Til we see each other again, my friend.
– Jay Mac, former on-air personality at 103.5 WIMZ
