For nearly five decades, John Ulett has been behind the mic at KSHE-95. While he’s now in semi-retirement, John “U-Man” Ulett has made an indelible mark at the “real rock radio” station at 94.7 FM.
Ulett, 67, will reflect on his career this Thursday evening at an event at the Sheldon Concert Hall titled “Life, Death & Other Scary Things: An Evening with KSHE-95's John Ulett.”
Before becoming a legend of classic rock radio, Ulett grew up in the Lafayette Square neighborhood in the 1960s and '70s. “It was nothing like it is now,” Ulett said of the south St. Louis neighborhood. “It was a very volatile area. … How we survived and got out of there, I don't know how we did it, but somehow we survived and found our way to prosperous lives.”
It was on the front steps of his childhood home on 18th Street that it dawned on him that he wanted a career on the radio. “I said to myself, ‘I want to be that guy,’ you know, I had this dream that I wanted to be on the radio in my hometown, and everybody would know my name,’” Ulett said.
The DJ job at KSHE-95 came early on in Ulett’s broadcast career, when he was just 19 years old.
“Ron Stevens was the program director at KSHE at the time, and he heard a tape of me at the Broadcast Center after I had left [St. Louis] and was working in the radio business in Jefferson City, Missouri, doing that small-town thing,” Ulett said.
He didn’t accept the job — twice. “I told him a lie. I told him that my mother didn’t want me to do it because it was a drug-oriented radio station.” At the time, Ulett was dreaming of becoming a sports broadcaster or a baseball play-by-play announcer.
But Stevens didn’t take that second “no” as the final answer, and Ulett finally relented. It wasn’t such a bad deal: He was able to play softball with his buddies back home, and his girlfriend lived in St. Louis, too.
Ulett’s love of baseball did enter his professional life. In 1983, he was tapped to be the public address announcer for the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. The team wanted a consistent presence from game to game. He’s heading into his 40th full season of doing that.
Ulett stepped down from his morning show duties at KSHE-95 last year, but he continues to host the KSHE Klassics show on Sunday mornings. And at noon on Sundays, along with Mark Klose, he hosts “Vinyl Exam.” The station continues to be at or near the top of St. Louis radio ratings — and with Ulett, the rock is staying real.
To listen to John Ulett talk about his career — and hear stories about Rush’s Neil Peart and Journey’s Steve Perry, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcast, Spotify or Google Podcast, or by clicking the play button below.
Related Event
What: Life, Death & Other Scary Things: An Evening with KSHE-95's John Ulett
When: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 29
Where: Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Ave., St. Louis, MO 63108
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Roshae Hemmings is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr. Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org.
