Perhaps the single most memorable radio personality in Bay Area history, Don Sherwood was born and raised in San Francisco. Known as “The World’s Greatest Disc Jockey” during his years of ratings dominance at KSFO, Sherwood was the bad boy who listeners couldn’t do without.
Sherwood was the product of a broken home, a high-school dropout who took a few tries at military service and found his calling while attending San Francisco’s Samuel Gompers Trade School. KFRC hired him at the age of 19 for a part-time announcing job. He was not an instant success.
Several years would go by, with a brief stop at KQW, before Sherwood landed at KROW. Legendary manager Alan Torbet gave the 25-year-old Sherwood his first real shot at Bay Area success. It worked, although the legendarily self-destructive Sherwood never followed a straight path.
Torbet brought Sherwood along when he moved to KSFO in 1953. It would be Sherwood’s radio home (mostly) until 1969. During much of that era KSFO, billing itself as “The World’s Greatest Radio Station”, dominated Bay Area ratings. At one time, a fourth of all morning radio listeners were tuning in Sherwood on KSFO.
Don Sherwood died in 1983 at the age of 58.
RELATED EXHIBITS:
“The World’s Greatest Disc Jockey” (includes numerous Sherwood audio examples)