Jody Denberg is retiring Friday after more than 40 years on the radio in Austin, working those final 14 on-air with KUT and KUTX.
Denberg already had three decades of radio experience before joining KUT, with his disc jockey days beginning at KLBJ in 1980 as the host of the weekly program Critics Choice. About a decade later he took over as program director at KGSR, now known as Austin City Limits Radio.
He joined KUT part-time in 2010, back when the station played a mix of news and music, and transitioned to KUTX full-time when the station began broadcasting its own signal in 2013.
Denberg has nine Best DJ Austin Music Awards, in addition to being a member of the Texas Music Legends Hall of Fame. But individual accomplishments are only part of one’s career.
“I’m most proud of the teamwork that I got to be a part of at KUTX," Denberg said. "That sense of camaraderie."
He said working at KUTX has been his favorite job and he's leaving with nothing but gratitude. He's been preparing for retirement for some time now and that's given him time to treasure all that goes into doing a daily radio show.
“What I’ve really appreciated is — and not with the negative connotation of the word — the mundane aspects of what we do,” Denberg said. “Walking into the booth, putting your mic screen on, putting your headphones on, lining up the underwriters, making sure the music is ready. I like all the little minutiae.”
KUT and KUTX General Manager Debbie Hiott called Denberg "a guide to the Austin music scene for thousands of listeners," noting the vast knowledge of the music he shares and his passion for the artists, venues and organizations that serve musicians.
"I'm really going to miss how Jody took every shift, every membership drive, every show so seriously and personally that he was always looking for feedback on how it went and how to make it better," Hiott said. "At the top of his career, he has never given up on working to improve. That's amazing."
Matt Reilly, KUTX program director, said Denberg has been a champion of the Austin music scene since he arrived in 1977, helping to bring attention to local artists from outside the city limits.
"Jody gave me my start in radio and his opinion of music and what works for radio in general will be missed," he said. "We're also like family. He's my radio dad. I'll miss having him around to just talk about life stuff."
As he wanted it, Denberg's retirement tour has been quiet, but now that word has gotten out, he’s heard from many folks who’ve followed him along his journey.
He admits it’s been a little overwhelming, so he’s sorry if he hasn’t responded to your message.
“You’re going, ‘Man, I thought I was just in a little room talking to myself,'" Denberg said. "And I don't mean to be disingenuous, obviously there’s people out there. If you give away tickets, the phone rings! But you don't realize the connection that you're making in those solitary times."
His face is the one I’ve spent the better part of the last four years looking at through a window that separates the KUT and KUTX host booths. Our microphones align in a way so that I'm often looking at him when I’m talking to you.
I’m going to miss that face and his sleeveless black T-shirt with the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover on it. I always did like that one.
“I have a lot of gratitude and I feel like the listeners, the musicians, my colleagues, my family and friends, they all combined unwittingly to make my dreams come true,” Denberg said. “My dreams in life came true and I didn’t even know what they were when I started attending [UT Austin] at 18 years old in 1977. Here I am, 47 years later, across the street from where I went to school. It all worked out well.”
