Jim Ladd, Rock Radio DJ and SiriusXM Host, Dies at 75
Jim Ladd, the famed rock radio disc jockey in 1970s Los Angeles who went on to host a show on SiriusXM, has died after suffering a heart attack. He was 75.
Ladd’s on-air colleague at the satellite radio service, Meg Griffin, shared the news of his death on Saturday on its Deep Tracks channel, which the two worked on together. The station plays album-oriented rock that the freeform DJ was known for during his decades-long career.
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He first gained nationwide recognition when he hosted the hourlong, nationally syndicated show Innerview at KMET in Los Angeles. The first of its kind, it aired weekly on more than 160 stations from the 1970s to the late ’90s and offered an in-depth look at music from the artist’s perspective. Ladd sat down with legends like Led Zeppelin, the Beach Boys, the Bee Gees, John Lennon and Aerosmith, among many others.
Ladd’s long career and dedication to music made him well-liked among artists. Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters asked him to be a part of his 1987 album Radio K.A.O.S., on which he played a rebel DJ. He ended up joining the artist for the album’s world tour and starred in three music videos for it.
He also served as the inspiration for Tom Petty’s hit 2002 song “The Last DJ,” which detailed a disc jockey who stood up to management at radio stations.
Ladd began his career at KNAC, a small Long Beach rock station, in 1969 before moving on to L.A. station KLOS two years later. He made his way to KMET in 1974, staying there until 1984, when he returned to KLOS briefly before going back to KMET and later completing another run at KLOS from 1997 to 2011. He joined SiriusXM in January 2012 for its live, daily, freeform music show on the Deep Tracks channel.
His work didn’t stop with radio, however. He played an all-night DJ in Say Anything, and his music was featured in films like Tequila Sunrise, Rush, She’s Out of Control and Defendor.
Survivors include his wife, Helene.
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