Late Radio Legend Ron Chapman Changed The Way Dallas Sounded

Most of us grow up recognizing the voices of just a few people: close family, friends and maybe a teacher or two.

Today, Dallasites are mourning the news that local broadcasting legend Ron Chapman, 85, has died of natural causes. For many, his passing is rippling through the city like a death in the family.

Chapman was a titan among radio personalities around the Metroplex, and in 2012, he was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. For many, his voice was as recognizable as those of the records he spun into popularity during the 1960s, including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys.

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Chapman began his career on AM radio at KLIF under the pseudonym "Irving Harrington." Throughout the tumultuous '60s — including racial tensions, assassinations and the Vietnam War, Chapman and his partner "Charlie Brown" (Jack Woods, in real life) — kept anyone interested in the burgeoning pop music scene entertained with a steady stream of rock and roll and high-energy banter.

If that wasn't enough to endear him to kids a dozen years his junior, Chapman also appeared on TV as the host of WFAA Channel 8's Sump’n Else, a show modeled on sock hop dance programs like American Bandstand. Like most of its contemporaries, Sump’n Else was broadcast live, his from NorthPark Center.

Following the show's cancellation, Chapman made the leap from AM to FM radio, just as it was catching on with longer songs (Iron Butterfly's "Inna Gadda Da Vida" clocked in at over 17 minutes) and a more mature behind-the-mic approach. Eventually going by his own name and serving as music director, program director and morning deejay, Chapman's particular brand of radio didn't just propel KVIL to a successful 30-year rise: it raised the profile of FM radio in the process.

Along the way, Chapman ruffled more than a few feathers behind closed doors. He was said to be a harsh taskmaster who suffered no fools, and tales of his wrath circulated widely. Yet, as hard as he worked his staff, it was plain to see that he was perhaps the hardest worker among them.

Chapman jumped ship again in 2000, when he joined Dallas' oldies station Chapman KLUV. He retired in 2005, although he returned two years later to occasionally sit in for Paul Harvey. The year after his induction into the Radio Hall of Fame, he had a stroke.

No services are currently being planned, although the Hall of Fame has reportedly announced that “a public gathering of friends and colleagues is being planned.”

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