WISH JODY CONGRATULATIONS HERE!
For 40 years, WKAR music host Jody Knol has been sharing his voice and love of all things classical with Mid-Michigan and beyond.
To mark the occasion, Jody will air a special broadcast Jan. 13 featuring music from his first official day as a WKAR classical music host.
Although Knol’s career as a classical music host officially started 40 years ago on January 13, 1986, he got his first start on the air as a student announcer with WKAR in 1982.
He said a chance encounter at a summer job waiting tables in Grand Rapids led him to the station.
“I waited on a local television personality by the name of Jay Johnson, who worked for WOOD-TV…he was an MSU alumnus, and he said, do you like classical music?” To which Knol responded, yes.
At the time Knol said he was studying music at Calvin College, now known as Calvin University, and was planning on transferring to MSU that fall.
Knol said Johnson suggested he work at a public radio station at MSU because “they’re always looking for students who talk about classical music on the air.”
Before leaving the restaurant, Johnson left Knol his business card. Written on it were instructions for WKAR’s then program director Hal Prentice.
“It said, ‘Hal Prentice, give this guy a job, he knows music, Jay,’” Knol recalled.
Four decades later, Knol said it’s his relationship with listeners and the music that has kept him behind the mic all these years.
“The real reward for me is to be out in the community, talking to listeners, many of whom tell me things like, what you do makes a difference in in my everyday life," he said.
Knol estimates he’s hosted 9,000 shows over the span of his career, and he doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon.
“I think because listeners have told me they don't want me to retire, and because Judy is not planning on, my wife, is not planning on retiring anytime soon, that I will continue to work as long as I'm healthy and I’m happy in my work, and I have great colleagues like Linda and Jamie.”
Interview Highlights
On how a chance encounter with an MSU alum led him to WKAR:
"He left his card with the hostess, and I was back in the kitchen somewhere, and she came by and she said, ‘did you wait on a Jay Johnson?’ I said, ‘yes.’ [She said], ‘well, he left his card,’ and on the back it said, ‘Hal Prentice, give this guy a job, he knows music, Jay.’ And I presented it to Hal Prentice, who was the program director at the time."
On why he's stayed with WKAR for four decades:
"I think it's the unique nature of my position. Not only do I enjoy the classical music, but the real reward for me is to be out in the community, talking to listeners. Many of whom tell me things like, what you do makes a difference in in my everyday life."
On the possibility of retirement:
"I think because listeners have told me they don't want me to retire, and because Judy is not planning on, my wife, is not planning on retiring anytime soon, that I will continue to work as long as I'm healthy and I’m happy in my work, and I have great colleagues like Linda and Jamie and [Melorie] to work with, and we'll just take it one day at a time."
Interview Transcript:
Melorie Begay: Whether you're a longtime listener or a newcomer to WKAR, you've probably heard our music host Jody Knol on the air. We're celebrating his 40th anniversary with WKAR, and he's here to talk about this momentous occasion. Thanks for being here, Jody.
Jody Knol: Oh, it's great, and it's great to talk to you every day.
Begay: Thanks for making the trip down here. So, first question, how does it feel to be celebrating such a big milestone?
Knol: Well, you know, I never imagined that I would make it to 40 years, especially 40 years in one job, in one place.
I remember when I transferred down to Michigan State University in the summer of 1981. There was a man who did some kind of a welcome speech to the transfer students, and he said, 'look around you in this room, most of you will be having six or eight different career paths during your lifetime, six or eight different jobs. The old style of working 30 years and out is gone.' So, I guess I'm the exception to that.
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Begay: I'm glad you didn't listen to that, and I'm glad you beat the odds. So, what got you interested in wanting to be a classical music host? Because that's kind of a very niche type of job.
Knol: It first started when I was a student at Calvin. Before I transferred to MSU, I was involved in theater and music, and a lot of my friends listened to classical music and classical music radio. And I actually had several friends who said, we think you'd be good at that.
But I was working as a waiter in Grand Rapids the summer before I came to MSU, and I waited on a local television personality by the name of Jay Johnson, who worked for WOOD TV. We got to talking. He was an MSU alumnus, and he said, do you like classical music? And I said, yes, I was a music major at Calvin. I told him I was coming down to Michigan State in the fall, and he said, ‘well, I worked at the public radio station at Michigan State University. You ought to apply there because they're always looking for students who can talk about classical music on the air.’
After he left that evening, he left his card with the hostess, and I was back in the kitchen somewhere, and she came by and she said, ‘did you wait on a Jay Johnson?’ I said, ‘yes.’ [She said], ‘well, he left his card,’ and on the back it said, ‘Hal Prentice, give this guy a job, he knows music, Jay.’ And I presented it to Hal Prentice, who was the program director at the time, when I came down for orientation. I auditioned and started in, I think it was January of 1982 as a student announcer.
Begay: Yeah, and what do you think has kept you wanting to stay here for four decades?
Knol: Well, I think it's the unique nature of my position. Not only do I enjoy the classical music, but the real reward for me is to be out in the community, talking to listeners. Many of whom tell me things like, what you do makes a difference in in my everyday life. There are some people who say that my being there while they were recuperating from an illness, was an encouragement to them.
During COVID, when we had the lockdown, I was alone at the time, living at home alone because my wife had died just a few years earlier, and that made the [loneliness] even more where everybody was locked down at home. But I had a special dispensation that I could come into the studios and do my program live, because everybody else was working from home. And I made connection with a lot of listeners, particularly a lot of single people who were living all by themselves, who said, thank you for being there. You bring a sense of normalcy and companionship, but I realize that I'm in a unique position to do something that matters to people, and that they tell me that it matters in their life, and that's a real privilege.
Begay: So, Jody, what's next for you? Can we expect to hear you for a few more years here, no pressure.
Knol: Well, I think because listeners have told me they don't want me to retire, and because Judy is not planning on, my wife, is not planning on retiring anytime soon, that I will continue to work as long as I'm healthy and I’m happy in my work, and I have great colleagues like Linda and Jamie and you to work with, and we'll just take it one day at a time. You know I've had a daily on air program for 40 years now. I've counted that is roughly somewhere around 9,000 shows that I've done in the past 40 years. So, to do another one doesn't seem particularly hard to do.
Begay: Jody Knol is WKAR classical music host. We're celebrating his 40th work anniversary with the station. Thanks for being here, Jody.
Knol: It's a pleasure.
