Ron Britain

Ron was only 14 years old when he hosted a teen show called "High Varieties" in Louisville. This was during a different era in radio. It was one of those old time radio shows performed in a huge studio with a script and full orchestra, and he went by his real name Ron Magel.

Ron got his first big break in Cincinnati. Right after he was hired, someone suggested he change his name. A meeting with the Program Director Jim Lightfoot ensued. At that time Ron drove a Jaguar, and dressed like an Englishman. Lightfoot suggested let's go with "Britain." From that point on the name took off.

WCFL March 11, 1970

In Cincinnati, Britain leased a supper club that seated a huge crowd. He had a big banner with the Union Jack British flag, and did record hops, that were a huge hit. At one point Ron had 72% of the Cincinnati listening audience.

On this aircheck, you'll hear WIND's oldies format branded as "#1 Music" which began in the summer of 1971 and lasted until 1974. Britain was at WIND from 1970 to 1974.

He was doing mornings when he left in March 1974. As for WIND, the station evolved into a mostly news-talk format by the end of the decade. September 1, 1971 featuring Ron Britain and Bob DelGiorno on WIND. [ LISTEN ] (59:00)

Ron was affectionately known as King Bee, a nickname that originated in Cincinnati. Ron had numerous teen clubs, and he couldn't stand it when the kids called him Mr. Britain and they didn't feel comfortable calling him Ron, so they started calling him King Bee. He liked it, and started using it himself.

Ron was a big fish in a small pond in Cincinnati, but he really wanted to go to New York. He had a few interviews in New York, and he told them how hot he was in Cincinnati. He had a great audience, and a hit record, "Are We Going to Wail Tulu", and they said "That's great. You should stay in Cincinnati."

Ron had a brother in law who worked in radio in Cleveland, and he called him up, because he figured that if he made it in Cleveland, they'd take him in New York. He did make it there, but New York didn't call. Chicago did.

January 28, 1967

Ron and the WCFL crew

Britain flew up to Chicago and met with the folks at WCFL. He knew Chicago was a great radio town, and maybe this is where he should go. Ken Draper, the guy who hired Britain, and Jim Runyan drove him into the city. All these lights were lit along Michigan Avenue, and was told that they decorated the city just for him. Britain took the job, but he was scared.

He was intimidated by a place that had so much talent, like Jim Runyan and Joel Sebastian. He was so scared when he went on the air the first time, he didn't know what to do. He was using squeaky toys, when he got a note from Ken Draper. The note said "We hired Ron Britain not Pinky Lee." And of course, he was right.

Britain had a long chat with Joel Sebastian about it, and Joel wanted him to play a tape of what he used to do. Joel listened to the tape, and asked why he didn't continue to do that sort of thing. Getting advice from someone like Joel Sebastian gave Britain the confidence he needed. So, he started out with a few sound effects, fanfare, and crowd noise. After that, Britain was off and running.

Britain created a show called Ron Britain's Subterranean Circus, which was really cutting edge at the time. It all began when he went over to Mercury Records in London in 1966, to produce a follow up to the hit song Winchester Cathedral. While there, he was told about this guy who was the next great thing. His name was Jimi Hendrix. Britain met him and they hung out. He was selling records, but even though he was an American, he wasn't getting played on the radio in the U.S.

Returning to the States, Britain asked CFL permission to play a few songs that were selling but weren't getting airplay, like Hendrix. Britain thought they only let him do it because they figured if they gave him the Subterranean Circus, they wouldn't have to give him a raise. And they were right.

Pip and Britain

It's the Fall of 1967 and Ron is on the air on WCFL. Airmate Barney Pip follows. [ LISTEN ] (31:49)

It aired on Sunday's, and it was recorded in a little production studio. The first week Britain did it, it didn't sound right. It sounded like he was making fun of the music by playing all of his sound effects, and he didn't want to do that because he loved the music so much. The next week Britain used a Ravi Shankar music bed as the backdrop, and that sounded much better. It fit the tone of the show. He just talked about the music, and why he loved it.

Britain had Frank Zappa on the show once, and he was scared to death of him. But he turned out to be the nicest guy in the world. Most of the people Ron had on were really nice, with a few exceptions. Van Morrison was one. Britain confessed he didn't know what planet Morrison was from. Another was Doug Engle from Iron Butterfly. Ron said he didn't know if he was stupid, or if he was just pretending to be, but they didn't click at all.

Many of the others were great. Blood Sweat and Tears was fabulous. Janis Joplin was great. The guys in the band Chicago used to listen to him when they were practicing on Rush Street. It was a wild time.

Britain also did a few shows with the Beatles, and hung out with them a few times. He introduced them on stage. After the show, he was looking for something of theirs to sell. Remember they were selling everything they touched in those days, even the sheets they slept on. So Ron went on stage and thanked the audience for coming out, when he saw that Ringo had left his drumsticks on the stage. He put them in his pocket and gave them away on the air the next night.

Britain stated many times that he was heavily influenced by the Marx Brothers. They were always his favorite.

He jocked at leading stations such as WSAI and WKRC Cincinnati, WHK Cleveland, KCMO Kansas City, WCFL, WIND, WJMK, WTMX, WLUP and WLS-FM Chicago. His last radio stop was WRLL "Real Oldies", a short-lived nostalgia station that also featured Chicago legends Tommy Edwards, Larry Lujack, Scotty Brink, and Jerry G. Bishop.

Ron Britain took his own life on October 25, 2020. He was 86. Friends said Britain was inconsolable after losing his wife and constant companion of 62 years. Helen Louise 'Peach' Magel, 83, died October 19th after falling ill at home.

WHERE DID RON WORK? Here is the list: WHAS, WINN, WKAY, WIEL, WLBS, WSAI, WHK, WCFL, WIND, KCMO, WLS-FM, WKRC, WCFL, WJMK, WTMX, and WRLL.

Some materials appearing on this page were originally published at the following: Airchexx, Rock Radio Scrapbook, Chicago Radio Spotlight.