Uncle Billy Dunbar

Born in Dallas, Texas of Arkansas and Oklahoma Hillbilly's. I cut my teeth on old time country and Bluegrass. Also descended from Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee scot/Irish stock. So, no wonder I've been playing this genre of music for over 30 years. Started in broadcasting while serving in the Air Force and Stationed in South East Asia in the sixties on American Forces Radio, where we could play lot's of Country, Pop and Classical music and I got a broad taste of various genre of music. Except that is Rock & Roll and R & B which I had thrived on in High School, but did get some of that too when I got to Clark AFB in the Philippines and took a part time shift doing a Rock Show(love that old time Rock & Roll) on a station in the town outside the Base. Returning to the States I worked in commercial radio around the country. Then brought Bluegrass music to the airway's to Nebraska and the central Midwest in 1974 at a small market station outside of Omaha, Neb. Then moved to Omaha with the show and played music there until 1990, on power house Country WOW Am/Fm which was part of the Great Empire Broadcasting group out of Wichita owned and run by the two best people in County Music Broadcasting Mike Oatman and Mike Lynch for ten years covering the central Midwest with the only Bluegrass in the area. In 1990 moved to Des Moines IA were I worked Part Time at an the Oldies Rock & Roll station KIOA. An old friend who I worked with in Omaha Billy Cole who also worked at Who and KGGO when they were country. Asked if I wanted to do my Bluegrass on the air at a station in Osceola,Ia. Of course I did and started doing a two hour Sunday show there in the mid nineties. . Did a short tour at an little AM'er which was also in Indianola, IA with Billy Cole, he did the Oldies Country and I did Bluegrass. Some one came in and turned it off one day and that was that. A couple of dry years of Bluegrass passed and I answered an Ad to sell radio Ads for a AM in Indianola on a station playing Classic pop music. Yep,you guessed it, the same station that had been turned off but with new Call letters & different location. It was sharing space with the Sport's station. They hired me, and I also did two hrs of Jazz, Blues and Big Band music. Am I versatile, LOL...after a few months they decided to change the format. I convinced owner to make it Classic Country..so back to Bluegrass, how nice. For some reason it was doing well but the Sports Jock manager wanted the AM station too, so they could air more sports. Well the plot thickens, in the mean time the owner had decided to buy a FM Frequency that was open for the Osceola,Ia area. He made it a Classic Country Station..we fired up the station and made it a success, five years latter with the help of some shady managers the owner was in Bankruptcy and so a few months later it was history, it to went dark, radio for dead. Thank goodness that when I retired I made a deal to produce a two hour Bluegrass show on a station in Stuart, Ia, that also airs from a station in Jefferson, Ia so I get two for one. If your ever in the Central Iowa area tune in at 107.9 KKRF or 98.9 KGRA on Sunday mornings 8 Am to 10 Am. And then there is the great innovation called computer music site's which you can hear your kind of music 24/7. Tune me in at www.Live365.com go to Bluegrass genre and "Country Unplugged". Haven't gotten many awards like some in the Broadcasting field to brag about, but am proud of my Texas Proud Hillbilly Heart Plaque as favorite Medium Market Country D. J. And prize my induction into the NTCMA Midwest Country Music Hall of Fame. Thank's for Listening folks and I hope you will vote for me and preset, and most important sign up here on this page as a Prefered Customer