The Gods of KSHE Radio at the World Premiere of NEVER SAY GOODBYE – THE KSHE DOCUMENTARY at The Moolah

The stars were out tonight at The Moolah Theater and Lounge! The stars of KSHE Radio, a St. Louis institution. Original KSHE DJ  Ron Stevens’ documentary about the first ten years of the station, NEVER SAY GOODBYE – THE KSHE DOCUMENTARY, had its world premiere at The Moolah tonight and We Are Movie Geeks was there to snap some pics. If the names Ron “Johnny Rabbit” Elz, Richard Palmese, Peter Maer, Steve Rosen, Gary Bennett, Ron Stevens, Bob Burch, Mark Klose, Jim Singer, Ted Habeck, Joy “Joy in the Morning” Grdnic, John Ulett, Gary Kolander, Rick Balis, Joe “Mama” Mason, “Radio” Rich Dalton, Pat Liston (Mama’s Pride), David Surkamp (Pavlov’s Dog), and Mike Safron (Pavlov’s Dog) don’t mean anything to you, then you likely did not grow up listening to rock music in St. Louis in the 60s through the 80s. Most were in attendance tonight and many arrived in limos. If you missed the fun, you’ll still have a chance to see NEVER SAY GOODBYE – THE KSHE DOCUMENTARY when it plays Sunday November 12th at 6:00pm at the .ZACK (3224 Locust St.) as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival. That screening is FREE.

With NEVER SAY GOODBYE: THE KSHE DOCUMENTARY , director Ron Stevens traces the unlikely beginnings of the world’s longest-running rock radio station, KSHE 95, which reached its 50th year of continuous rocking in 2017. Stevens, who was himself an integral part of KSHE as a DJ in the 1970s, interviews the very first person ever heard on the station’s air — at 7 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 11, 1961, years before it converted to album-oriented rock — and tracks down every major personality (or at least those still alive) who worked there through 1979. Amazingly, from 1968 to 1976, every disc jockey hired at KSHE had no previous experience in radio, including its manager, Shelley Grafman, who was selling insurance door-to-door before his brother hired him to run the St. Louis station. Filled with original film footage and photos from the ’70s — and plenty of “KSHE Klassics” — the documentary celebrates both the on-air personalities and the rock stars whose careers were most closely associated with the station. The jocks and musicians share memorable tales about the rock station that became known around the world and that has now endured for a full half century.

Enjoy these photos of tonight’s festivities: