Happy 100th Birthday, Luther. “Don’t forget him. Just don’t forget him,” Luther’s wife Mary (March 28, 1936-June 3, 2021) said to me, just moments after Luther’s funeral as she accepted condolences from family and friends on that sad day in October 2014.
Luther, “the man with sunshine in his voice,” was born on March 9, 1922 and died on Oct. 20, 2014 (read Luther’s obituary). He was and continues to be the longest running broadcaster in the history of the world. His name is Luther Masingill. He was known as “The Voice of Chattanooga,” Tennessee for more than seven decades and had an unprecedented career in broadcasting.
Luther Masingill, known to locals in Chattanooga as simply “Luther,” held the same job at the same radio station (WDEF) in the same time slot for 74 years. In addition to his radio career, he signed on with WDEF-TV the first day they went on the air in 1954 and worked there ever since, heading to the television studio after his radio shift each day.
He was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2012, an inaugural member of the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame, and a winner of the NAB’s prestigious Marconi Award. He is the only known radio personality in history to have reported both the Pearl Harbor and 9/11 attacks on the United States.
Luther is a man that, over the course of his career, received offers to move to larger markets, but each time respectfully declined. He chose to remain where he was and serve his community. He understood the power he held as a broadcaster, but was also known as a humble man. He even received offers from Ted Turner, but declined, choosing to remain in the city he loved and using his position as a broadcaster to “help others.”
Luther considered helping others one of the most important aspects of his life. His coworkers and friends have told countless stories of his generosity and kindness. The stories include paying for car repairs, donating to a couple’s adoption fund, and stopping after work to weed-eat a random business’s overgrown storefront. Many of the children at his church had no idea of his fame or notoriety, but simply knew him as “the man who emptied the trash at church every Sunday morning.”
In the days after Luther passed away, I listened to story after story as people reminisced about him. Most I had heard, although there were a few regarding his signature generosity I had not. It was characteristic of Luther to do things privately when he helped others. He was not a showman when it came to helping people. While a pro with impeccable timing and charisma in front of the mic and camera, his good deeds were done privately. They were not for an audience, but simply out of a sense of kindness and a duty that aligned with his relationship to God.
Luther was also widely known for helping people with their pets. People called Luther whenever there was a lost dog, cat, or even a snake! “The busiest morning was always July 5, because everyone’s dogs would go missing the night before, from the fireworks and loud noises,” he said. “It would just scare those poor dogs to death. Have you found my dog, Luther? Can you help me find my dog, Luther? Please help me find my dog. People just love their pets so much. The phone in my studio would be ringing off the hook. And we’d find ‘em. It may have taken a few days, but we’d find ‘em.”
Luther’s long-time cohost, James Howard, remembers how Luther helped him find his lost dog when he was a young boy. “He quickly became my hero,” he said. James grew up and, until Luther’s death, worked right alongside the man he had admired and listened to on the radio every morning as a child.
Today, James often thinks of Luther. “He’s on my shoulder. I often ask myself, ‘What would Luther do? What would he say?’” James says. “Luther loved people and he loved Chattanoogans and his community, so if there was something important such as a traffic slow-up or news or something that affected the listeners, he would say, ‘Get it on the air immediately…if it affects our listeners, don’t delay. Get it on the air now.’ I miss Luther’s wisdom as well as the little, random everyday things, his friendship, the jokes, and the laughter.”
Luther, dubbed by a newspaper writer as “the man with sunshine in his voice,” took his last breath peacefully on a Monday morning at 6 a.m. (2014), the exact time he signed on the airwaves every morning for more than seven decades at the WDEF Radio studios in Chattanooga. He was 92 years old. Luther would have turned 100 years old today.
So, the next time you drive down the Luther Masingill Parkway section of Broad Street in Chattanooga, remember him. Remember him the next time you eat a Moon Pie, perhaps washing it down with an RC Cola. If you ever happen to run across a bottle of Nehi Grape, remember him. In random acts of kindness and benevolence, remember Luther.
Chattanooga, in the words of his beloved wife Mary, “Don’t forget him. Just don’t forget him.”
To learn more about Luther and his life, read My Life with Luther, A Glimpse of a Legendary American Broadcaster, written about the broadcaster and his life, told through the eyes of his longtime friend and cohost, James Howard. The authors have donated additional copies to both the Chattanooga Public Library and the library at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The book is also available for purchase on Amazon and online at Barnes & Noble.
WDEF Sunny 92.3 will be broadcasting “Remembering Luther” moments all day today, March 9. You can also honor Luther’s memory and “Random Act of Luther Day” by donating to his favorite organizations including Humane Educational Society, the Chattanooga Area Food Bank, and The Salvation Army.
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Holly Abernathy is a communications and creative arts professional. She works in a variety of media and lives in Nashville, Tennessee. For more information, visit www.6qCreative.com.