Larry Monroe (radio personality)


Larry Monroe was an American radio personality. He hosted popular radio shows on Austin's NPR station KUT 90.5 from 1981–2010, and KDRP 103.1, Sun Radio, from 2011–2014.. In January 2014, speaking with a group of noted musicians at Austin's Continental Club, Austin blues guitarist guitarist Eve Monsees said “ I don’t think that any one person did more for Austin music than Larry Monroe.”

Early life

Monroe was born in Hartford City, Indiana, to Lawrence "Slick" Monroe and Thelma Burchard Monroe. He graduated from Hartford City High School in 1960 and Ball State University in 1967, where he received dual degrees in radio & television and English.

Radio career

Monroe started his career in radio at age 13 while still in high school, where he announced local high school basketball games. After graduating from college he worked at radio stations in San Francisco, Indianapolis, WOAI/WNRZ in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Detroit's WABX before landing in Austin in 1977, where he worked at KHFI-FM and later at KNOW-AM under the pseudonym, Les Moore.

KUT

In 1981 Monroe was hired at KUT-FM for a five-night-a-week jazz program in which he played a combination of jazz and blues interspersed with comedy. He went on to create and host Texas Radio, Segway City, Blue Monday, and Phil Music. He was a frequent host of KUT’s Live Set program.
Monroe was well known for his in-depth musical knowledge and clever use of segues that linked songs to create captivating radio sets.
He preferred to refer to them as segways, a play on words. He championed Austin singer-songwriters and Austin-produced music in general and felt strongly that DJs should be allowed the freedom to create their own unique programming. In the Summer of 2009 KUT's station management began to exercise more artistic control over Monroe's programs and cut his on-air time. He left the station at the end of August 2010 after 29 years at KUT.

Sun Radio

In 2011 Monroe was invited to join the staff of KDRP. He accepted the invitation when the station's founder, Daryl O’Neal, assured him that he would have full control over the selection of the music that he played on air. At KDRP, later “Sun Radio”, he brought with him his signature programs Blue Monday and Phil Music and founded Texas Radio Live, a program with live musicians broadcast from the oak garden of a popular restaurant on South Congress Avenue.

''Blue Monday''

One Monday night after having had a rough day, Monroe started his jazz program by declaring it “a blue Monday.” He played the bluest side of the jazz library as well as some traditional Blues records. The following Monday a listener called him at the station and said he wanted to get his request in early for Blue Monday so that Larry would be sure to play it. Monroe had no idea what he was talking about and asked, "What?" The caller replied, "Last week the show was Blue Monday, isn't that a regular show?" Monroe though about it for a second and said, "Yes, it is. What did you want to hear?”

''Phil Music''

The Phil Music theme was developed in his early days at KUT when the station hosted Austin City Council meetings live. When the Council went into executive session, which sometimes lasted an hour, he would write in his log book ‘fill music” and play music to fill the time. Later, when Phil Music became a regular program, the recurring story was always that DJ Phil Music was missing. Larry would make up an excuse for Phil’s absence and announce that he was “Larry Monroe standing in.” It was always Monroe who would “Phil” in.

''Texas Radio Live''

When Monroe moved to Austin in 1977, his goal was to put Austin music on the radio in the form of records, live performances, and interviews. Three months after his debut at KUT, he got permission to create Texas Trax, a program that would feature Texas musicians and later become known as Texas Music, a program that fulfilled his goal. One example of how Monroe easily fused a Texas influence into nationally acclaimed music is illustrated by this story: In 1982, a 22-year-old named Casey Monahan contacted Monroe to ask permission to do a Jimi Hendrix special on his program. Larry welcomed guest DJs, so the answer was yes. Monroe and Monahan continued the specials for many years, always around Hendrix’s birthday. If the date fell near Blue Monday, they would play the blue side of Hendrix. If it fell on or near a Texas Radio night, they would play Texas musicians covering Hendrix. If it fell on a Thursday, they would create a thematic Phil Music. When Monroe joined Sun Radio in 2011 he wanted to bring back his Texas Radio program. Sun Radio founder, Daryl O’Neal, responded to this by suggesting they create a live version of it.

Other professional work

Townes Van Zandt – Documentary

In 1992 and 1993, Monroe interviewed poet and singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt about his life in an extensive series of studio sessions. In those interviews Van Zandt discusses his childhood, education, songwriting techniques, and his relationship with Blaze Foley as well as live recordings of some of Van Zandt's favorite songs. The Townes Van Zandt Documentary album was released as an audio CD and vinyl LP in 1997 under the Normal record label.

Blaze Foley Documentary

Monroe was the narrator on a feature-length documentary film on the life and music of Blaze Foley, produced and directed by filmmaker Kevin Triplett. The film, released in 2011, was titled: Blaze Foley: Duct Tape Messiah.

Awards and memorials

Personal life

Monroe was never married. He had a late-in-life relationship with Austin photographer . He maintained a close relationship with a stepdaughter from an earlier relationship. He died from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – COPD, at St. David's South Austin Hospital, Austin, Texas, on Friday January 17, 2014. Larry Monroe was buried in Hartford City Cemetery, Hartford City, Blackford County, Indiana on January 23, 2014.