Jimmy Lyons is revered by jazz fans as a founder of the Monterey Jazz Festival. His roots were in radio: he worked on Southern California stations, spun jazz records on Armed Forces Radio during World War 2, and hosted popular shows on San Francisco’s KNBC in the 1940s and 1950s.
Lyons was born in China, the son of a Presbyterian missionary. The family would eventually settle in Southern California, where Lyons appeared on Santa Ana radio station KVOE. He also worked as a publicity agent for the Rendezvous Ballroom in Orange County, where he helped launch the career of a young pianist named Stan Kenton.
After two years in Santa Ana, Lyons went to New York, where he produced radio shows for NBC.
Lyons’ wartime Army service led him to Armed Forces Radio. His Discapades program featured the big jazz artists of the day and was heard worldwide.
After the war, Lyons landed in San Francisco, joining KNBC. Discapades aired from midnight to 1 a.m., and Lyons also hosted a Saturday show called Favorite Five as well as a Monday evening show called Lyons Busy, featuring Dave Brubeck. A 1949 San Francisco Chronicle profile of Lyons said he had “established himself as the articulate voice of Bay Area bop–or as he prefers to call it–‘progressive jazz’.”
Jimmy Lyons died in 1994 at the age of 78.