why.

Little Big Voices started back in the 1950s.

Well, not exactly.

The web was 40 years away and I hadn’t landed on the planet yet, but my Dad, Jerry Caddell, had – and he was running around West Texas helping start radio and TV stations back when that stuff was the coolest thing since cars.

I grew up around the KLAW-FM radio station in Lawton, Oklahoma, which my Dad managed. I’ll never forget staring through the hallway window into the smoky control room, listening to the on-air speaker over my head, mesmerized by these gods of radio. Those guys were the real deal – that gravelly FM persona – smoking cigarettes on air while they took song requests and dedications, picked out the next record, ripped the AP news off the teletype, and kept the folks in southwest Oklahoma entertained and informed while they worked and played.

My Dad always smiled when he spoke of those days. He was certainly in his element, his happy place, when he could be behind a mic or anywhere near “it”.

Now it’s my turn – to be in the hot seat – working hard every day to make this program worth your time. My Dad never took who listened for granted – and neither do I. Thank you for listening. 

Little Big Voices is a way for me to connect with and understand my co-travelers in a meaningful way. And, I’d love it if you were along for the ride!

I dedicate this podcast to my Dad, Jerry Caddell and my Uncle, Don Couser, a Texas Radio Hall-of-Famer – two men who helped pave the airways for those of us who find our happy place behind the mic…listening.

Thanks, Dad.

Mark Caddell
Producer/Host, Little Big Voices