WFLI's Johnny Eagle Enters Tennessee's Radio Hall Of Fame

When Johnny Eagle joined the Air Force in 1959 he never realized it would lead to a nearly 60 year career associated with radio and broadcasting. Mr. Eagle was inducted into the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame Saturday night at the historic Mule House in Columbia, Tn.

Here’s part of the broadcaster's acceptance speech:

“I’m just a country boy, the youngest of six with five older sisters whose parents were sharecroppers for a time. I only have one surviving sister and she is here tonight. Also celebrating with me tonight are my son Keith and his wife Susie and my daughter Tammy. Susie, my daughter in law, is a recognized Chattanooga radio personality. I’m sad that I don’t have my late wife Jet Fli Jackie here to celebrate this honor with me but I’m blessed to have a very special and wonderful lady in my life Mary Jane who is here tonight.

"I’m sure most of you know that to enjoy success in the radio business you have to have someone to believe in you. That person in my career was William E. "Billy" Benns. His widow Ying and daughter Betty are here tonight.

"I also have a lot of special friends here tonight helping me celebrate. A big thank you to my close friends Ben Cagle and Earl Freudenberg (another Tennessee Radio Hall of Famer) plus a host of talented people that worked for me and were alongside of me over the years.

"In the words of the late Dr. Billy Graham, 'I not only know who I am, I also know where I’m going.' May your troubles be less, your blessings more and may nothing but happiness, come through your door. Life without God is like an unsharpened pencil, it has no point. Thank you Ladies and Gentlemen for this honor.”

Mr. Eagle said while he was on active duty in Hawaii, he and a fellow airman entered a contest on radio station KIKI. He said the announcer read the definition of a word and he and his friend had to guess the word. He said his buddy actually guessed it and he called the station to identify the word.

He said, “They asked us to come to the station to claim our prizes; dates with co-eds who were attending college on the island.”

Winning the contest led to a part time overnight job at the radio station. After completing his obligation to Uncle Sam, Mr. Eagle enrolled in the Keegan Technical Institute in Memphis. Upon graduation he got a job a radio job at a Fort Payne, Ala., station. Mr. Eagle said he wasn’t extremely happy at the Alabama station and when he learned about a job opening at a new station in Chattanooga he applied. A few weeks later he got the job at the new 10,000 watt station.

WFLI Radio went on the air Feb. 20, 1961 and Johnny Eagle went to work for the station the first week in April.

In 1963, he was named program director, and in 1965 he was promoted to station manager eventually going into sales. Mr. Eagle would work for WFLI for nearly 20 years.

He said, “I never realized joining the military would lead to a life long career associated with radio.”

Also being inducted into the Career class of 2023 were Devon O’Day, WSIX, Nashville, Dr. Al Adams Johnson, WKCS. Knoxville, and Art Gilliam, WLOK Memphis.

The Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame was established in 2011 and is dedicated to documenting, preserving and honoring the broadcasters, managers, support staffs of radio station in Tennessee.

The current Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame president is Pamela Fur, who works in Nashville radio.