Al Brady was about 7 years old when he got hooked on rock and roll. It happened one day when his mother, Anna, took him to see Elvis Presley in “Blue Hawaii.”
“My mom always loved Elvis,” said Brady, who lives with his wife Jaime in The Village of Duval. “When I saw Elvis singing those rock songs on the big screen — that did it. From then on, I wanted that music to be part of my life. My dream was to be a disc jockey.”
Brady is still living that dream. He hosts a Saturday all-request oldies show, called “Rock and Roll Palace,” from 2 to 7 p.m. on 790-AM radio, Leesburg. Also, he is on Sundays, from 6-9 p.m. with a doo-wop program. Both can be heard online at WWW.MY790AM.COM
Brady has kicked around radio most of his adult life, with stops in New York, New Jersey, North Carolina and Florida. He worked with Wolfman Jack in the 1980s as part of the nationally televised “Rock’N’Roll Palace” program at Little Darlin’s nightclub in Orlando. For nearly a decade he was a studio host in North Carolina for the PBS doo-wop and oldies programs that have generated millions of dollars for public television.
“Al has a tremendous knowledge and passion for oldies music,” said Chuck Matthews, former program director at Oldies 100.7-FM in Raleigh, NC, where Brady worked. “Al is one of those rare people in radio, who is the same on the air, as he is off. He’s a good guy.
“I’m glad he’s working down there in Florida. He’s one of those people who truly cares about the music and loves to entertain people.”
These days Brady spends much of his time on his radio show and also announces for Rocky and the Rollers, one of the most popular oldies bands in The Villages and Florida.
“This is the music I went to school with, this is the music I grew up with and I will always love it,” Brady said.
Wolfman Jack was a big influence.
“On the air he was tremendous, a complete original,” Brady said. “People might not believe this, but Wolf was a very shy person. I remember one night at Little Darlin’s, we wanted him to sing a song. He didn’t want to do it, to get up in front of all those people and sing. But we finally convinced him and he was great.”
Despite their often outlandish personalities, many singers and radio performers are introverted. “But something happens when they get in front of a microphone,” Brady said. “A whole other person comes out. That’s how it was with Wolfman.”
Brady was sort of a combination master of ceremonies and host at Little Darlin’s. One night, Muhammad Ali walked in.
“We played the theme from ‘Rocky’” Brady said. “I was in the DJ booth and Ali sat right behind me. Then he called me over and said he wanted to meet one of the singers.” Dee Clark, who had a big hit in the early 1960s with “Raindrops” was on the bill that night and Ali wanted to meet him.
“I took him over to meet Dee Clark and Ali was thrilled,” Brady said. He added that Ali invited Brady to Miami where the boxer was honored in a ceremony naming an arena after him. “For me, that was a thrill,” Brady said.
Another time at the club, Alan Shepard, the first American in space, came through the door.
“When I was a kid, I wanted to be an astronaut,” Brady said. “I started talking with Shepard. He asked about UFOs. He believed in UFOs and told me he saw one. He said he couldn’t explain it, but the UFO was there.”
Rock pioneer Bo Diddley was more down to earth.
“Bo was supposed to play outside for a concert, but the weather was horrible and it was rained out,” Brady said. “I asked Bo to come inside and I would get him anything he wanted. Bo asked for a big steak. After he ate, I asked him if he would like to play some songs. He got up on stage and he was awesome. That’s Bo Diddley.”
Chuck Berry was another hall of fame rocker and he was always determined to get paid.
“Chuck was strange,” Brady said. “He would drive to the show in his car and pull his guitar case out of the trunk. He wanted to be paid in cash. He wanted 20-dollar bills wrapped in rubber bands. He would then put the money in his guitar case and pack it in the trunk of his car when he drove away after the show.”
Things got tough for Brady after Little Darlin’s closed and the oldies format began shrinking for radio stations. Brady had known Gerry “Rocky” Seader of Rocky and Rollers from Seader’s days of playing with the house band at the Little Darlin’s.
By 2009, Brady was more or less out of the business working fulltime as a letter carrier. Then Rocky called.
“He resurrected my career, I will always be grateful to him,” Brady said. Rocky wanted Brady to act as host and MC for the band’s highly successful oldies cruises. It was on those cruises that Brady met people from The Villages.
“They told what a great place it was for people who love music,” Brady said. Earlier this year, he bought a house in Duval. “The people here know the oldies and they know me,” Brady said. “I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.”
