John Mack Flanagan

John Mack Flanagan was born on November 15, 1946 in Concordia, Kansas and named after Johnny “Mack” Brown, who was in cowboy movies. Flanagan’s dad was a prosperous car dealer who died young, and Flanagan’s mother moved him to Roswell, N.M. At South Junior High, he met Joann Shields in the hallway, and by the time they reached Roswell High School they were a couple for life. In summer 1964, after his junior year, Flanagan was hired as an on-air host by KRSY, a local country-western station. That was the end of his interest in school, and by graduation he was working full time. Always in a hurry, he and Shields eloped.

While working at KRSY he was drafted into the Army during the Vietnam War. He carried a tape recorder and interviewed his fellow foot soldiers on dangerous search-and-destroy missions, for later broadcast back home.

On the air, his full name was rhythmic and a better handle than most made-up radio names. But Flanagan could never stand being called Johnnie, so he shortened it by one syllable. From the start it was John Mack Flanagan.

On March 31, 1968, as President Lyndon Johnson was telling the nation that he would not seek re-election to concentrate on ending the war, Flanagan was flying to Vietnam to begin his tour in-country. His radio interviews were sent to hometown stations, and Flanagan did enough of them to earn the Army Commendation Medal.

After his discharge, he moved to Tucson to work in Top 40. He was working at a Phoenix station when KFRC recruited him. Flanagan was on the air at KFRC from 1973 to 1979. His show followed the famed Dr. Don Rose, who did the morning drive. Rose was hyper with gags and wake-up calls. The voice that followed him was deep and smooth while still energetic enough for AM.

Flanagan makes a special guest appearance on Boss Radio KHJ in Los Angeles on August 16, 1975. [ LISTEN ] (31:25)

John Mack is the featured DJ on these two airchecks at KFRC in San Francisco, first on January 17, 1977 [ LISTEN ] (57:14) and again on February 1, 1978. [ LISTEN ] (11:19)

But KFRC was going to reward only one hero, and that was Rose. Flanagan was never paid more than the union minimum of around $30,000. When he heard that Rose was paid $300,000, Flanagan protested loudly. He was offered a raise, but it was too little and too late, so he quit KFRC.

John (front) with the bunkhouse boys at the Banta Inn.

He built a studio in his Daly City home and did commercials and voice-overs before returning to the airwaves, where he bounced around through the 1980s and ’90s.

His last big break came when KABL-FM became “K-BIG 98.1” playing classic hits from the ’70s. Flanagan was hired as one of the first and most prominent DJs. At one point, his ratings nearly topped the market leader, KGO, in the time slot. That job lasted until the format was switched.

After one final short stint at a station in Santa Rosa, he retired from radio in 2000. He got a job in security, wearing a suit and working the front desk at the Embarcadero Center. He lasted there 14 years, longer than he was at any radio station.

After retiring in 2014, Flanagan self-published a memoir entitled “Tight & Bright: A Diskjockey Vietnam Memoir.” He also became interested in B Western movies, like the cowboy actor he was named for. He started a newsletter and built a film collection of 1,000 Westerns.

In 2016, he was inducted into the National Disc Jockey Hall of Fame. He chose to give his induction speech at a senior center in Daly City. There, in a room used for sewing classes, Flanagan described his induction as “the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me. I’ve never had any recognition in my 36-year-and-two-month career. Nobody’s ever said, ‘Hey, it’s you.’”

One year later he was inducted into the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame. By then he’d been suffering for years from a heart condition, and his doctor had given him only weeks to live.

Flanagan died in his sleep at home in Daly City on March 31, 2018, with his wife of 53 years, Joann Flanagan, by his side. He was 71.

Some materials found on this page were originally published by the following: Bay Area Radio Museum