Steve Craig of 99X to be inducted into 2024 Legends of Radio Hall of Fame
Steve Craig, the longtime 99X midday radio jock and current program director, has been inducted into the 2024 class of the Legends of Radio Hall of Fame.
“It means a lot,” said Craig, who has been in the business more than 40 years. “It’s funny because it makes you stop and think how long you’ve done this. It all goes by so quickly.”
He and six other radio professionals will be officially inducted at a gala at the Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center on August 24 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $99 and include dinner.
Craig came to Atlanta in 1991 just before top 40 station Power 99 became what would become the seminal alt-rock station 99X. He was there during its entire first incarnation until 2007 as midday host. After a few years at a rock station in New York City, he returned to Atlanta for a brief foray at Dave FM before spending a decade at 97.1/The River, Atlanta’s top rock station.
He figured for a time that the River would be his home until he retired, but he was enticed back to 99X when the station was revived in late 2022. He came back last summer and is now both program director and midday host.
Craig is known for his deep musical knowledge and has a popular daily noontime show called the House of Retro Pleasure focused on 1980s new wave music. “I’ve always tried to be a one-on-one communicator, one listener at a time,” he said. “For me, it’s all about the music.”
In his mind, “I’ve always flown under the radar. I wasn’t the high-profile person. But I was a person everyone listened to. My voice has been familiar. I was never trying to be a shock jock.”
The other six radio veterans inducted:
- Pete Spriggs ran news/talk WSB radio from 2000 to 2020, when he retired. Over that span, he oversaw major changes in WSB’s lineup and the addition of an FM signal in 2010. He managed the departure of Neal Boortz in 2013 while recruiting talent such as Herman Cain, Erick Erickson, Eric Von Haessler, and Mark Arum.
Spriggs was well respected by his employees, seen as much as a coach as he was a boss.
“It’s really great to be recognized with so many fantastic broadcasters,” Spriggs said in a text with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It was a blessing to have Cox Radio hand me the keys to WSB to work beside such great talent. We all accomplished some great things together over those 20 years.”
- Wendy Williams has been general manager of noncommercial Jazz 91.9/WCLK-FM since 1994.
“It’s quite surreal and I am deeply honored and grateful for this recognition,” she said in a text to the AJC. “And I am totally elated to be among great company.”
Over three decades, she has helped keep the station relevant, creating the first-ever Jazz Music Awards in 2022.
- Bobby Ellerbee has been a television historian and voice-over talent with decades of radio and TV history. He worked at WDOL and WRFC in Athens as well as Z93, 96rock and V-103 in Atlanta. Ellerbee has voiced thousands of national commercials and has run his own creative services agency. He was also the voice of Sheriff on Adult Swim’s “Squidbillies.”
- Bob Helbush was chief engineer at 96rock during that rock station’s heyday. He was also IT manager for 99X and worked on the engineering team at Cox Media Group before retiring.
- Brady McGraw has been in the Savannah radio market for 45 years.
- Howard Toole has worked in radio for decades and is now managing partner for Rome Radio Partners, which owns multiple stations in Georgia.
About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
