I want to start from the beginning, for those who listen to Johnny's House and those who may not know who I am or where I'm from.
I'm Johnny Magic, Host of Johnny's House on XL 1067. My real name is John. I was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina and the youngest of 5 kids. I'm blessed to still have my Mother and Father alive. They're both in their mid 80s. I tell everyone, I got my heart from my Mother and my strength from my Father. My Dad is my hero. If could be half the man my father is, I would be one heck of a man. They both taught me to work hard to achieve my dreams. Growing up in deep South, my parent dealt with a lot of racism but they taught us to love everyone. Let your work speak for your character and always be humble with your success. The love I have for my parents are unmeasurable.
One of the hardest days of life was Dec 31, 1989. That's when I jumped into my 1981 Dodge Charger Turismo and drove to Orlando. The car my mom bought for me at a car auction. It had no air conditioning and I had to buy used tires for the trip. That's the day I left Charlotte. I left my parent, all my childhood friends and my high school sweetheart, that I was engaged to at the time. I was leaving to start this new life in Orlando at a new radio station that wasn't even signed on the air yet. Anyone that knows me, know that I hate goodbyes. When I left for Orlando, I woke up in the middle of the night, jumped in the car and drove through the night. When everyone I knew and loved woke up, I was gone.
My love of radio started in college on the campus radio station. I was in college on a track scholarship. I was pretty fast back in the day. My college roommate was on the campus station and asked me to help him do a commercial for a local car dealership. I'd never done radio or read a script before, but I decided to do it anyway. I had no idea that reading that commercial would change my life. I did the voice of Mr. T. I said in my Mr. T. voice, "I pity the fool that paid too much for their car, I pity that fool". The commercial was funny and the Program Director decided that he wanted to meet me. After a short conversation, I was doing an overnight air shift on the campus station. My first night on the air I was PETRIFIED. All I thought was how much I didn't want to be there. I just knew I sucked on the air. I had no formal training and just talked. I remember just trying to sound like the people I heard on the radio in the past. Looking back on it, I think I sounded a lot like Count Dracula. I couldn't wait to get off the air and never do it again. The next morning, I walked to my dorm, slept a little bit and we to have lunch in the Student Union. As I walked across the campus, people were telling me that they heard me last night. They mentioned the music I was playing. What they didn't mention was that I sucked. That was a game changer. The next night I got better and that's where it all began.
I'll do this in three parts. This is part one. Two more to follow.