First Listen: Greg FM

You probably already know Greg Beharrell by his trail of deadpan. Since the syndication of his night show in 2020 from KLOS Los Angeles, Beharrell’s press releases have taken on a life (and following) of their own. They’re cheerfully printed verbatim in Radioinsight and other trades with headlines like:

• KLOS Extends Greg Beharrell With Multi-Week Deal
• Loud Media Purposely Launches 105.9 Greg-FM Knoxville
• Greg-FM Adds Stationses

In those releases, Beharrell says things like “the excitement I’m feeling is immeasurable, due to the subjective nature of emotions!” and, upon adding WIYY (98 Rock) Baltimore as an evening affiliate, declaring that the city’s famed “Inner Harbor is in my top three harbors, next to David and resentment.” At KGFM (Big FM) Bakersfield, Calif., he promised to grow the ratings “to the roof,” not through it, “because structural damage doesn’t make any sense.”

There have been trade interviews with Beharrell of a similar tenor since Greg-FM launched its first affiliate in late May, suggesting that interviewers can no more force him to give a straightforward interview than they could have Robin Williams, but also, why would they want to? There have also been attempts in other trade reporting to replicate Beharrell’s sense of humor. It’s easier to let Adult Hits Greg-FM’s imaging speak for itself:

•  “You’re here by mistake? Samesies!”
• “105.9 FM? That’s way up the dial. Who’s gonna find that?”
• “Greg-FM is WGAP Marysville/Knoxville, a Loud Media station … and that’s all the info I have.”

There are also one-liners like:

• “If the CAPTCHA could see me struggling to figure it out, it would know I’m human.”
• “People get real annoyed when you slowly drive behind them for their parking spot, especially when they’re the only one in the lot.”
• “I can’t wait for everyone to read my book on creativity.”

Like the syndicated evening show, Greg-FM is punctuated with phone calls. One listener rambles incoherently and Beharrell asks, “Is this your attempt to have legalization reversed?” Another turns out to be a security guard at a plant manufacturing child-safety seats. Beharrell says his parents still strap him into his.

During the ’10s, Beharrell became the imaging voice of Canada’s Jack-FM affiliates. While the mix will reportedly be customized to various affiliates, the first version of Greg-FM goes places that the Adult Hits format generally doesn’t — ’60s oldies, the late-’00s/early-’10s “turbopop” era. 

With the broader music and off-kilter feel of the presentation, the first Greg-FM is often reminiscent of the early “every-segue-a-surprise” days of Adult Hits 20 years ago. Think of it as not Jack, but Jaximalist.

Here’s Greg-FM on June 15:

• Lynyrd Skynyrd, “I Know a Little”
• Beatles, “Ticket to Ride”
• Gary Numan, “Cars”
• Hootie & the Blowfish, “Hold My Hand”
• Big Brother & Holding Company, “Piece of My Heart”
• Enrique Iglesias, “Tonight (I’m Lovin’ You)”
• Martha & Vandellas, “Dancing in the Street”
• Katy Perry, “Part of Me”
• Eddie Money, “Shakin’”
• Chicago, “Old Days”
• Sheena Easton, “Morning Train (9 to 5)”
• Sugar Ray, “Every Morning”
• Gary Wright, “Love Is Alive”
• Kelly Clarkson, “Since U Been Gone”
• ZZ Top, “Legs”
• Dion & Belmonts, “A Teenager in Love”
• Romantics, “What I Like About You”
• Refreshments, “Banditos”
• Dr. John, “Right Place, Wrong Time”
• Black Eyed Peas, “I Gotta Feeling”

Here’s another Greg FM stretch from June 30:

• Everclear, “Santa Monica”
• Fleetwood Mac, “Second Hand News”
• Monkees, “I’m a Believer”
• Badfinger, “Baby Blue”
• Culture Club, “Karma Chameleon”
• Ace of Base, “The Sign”
• Phil Collins, “Sussudio”
• George Michael, “Faith”
• Natalie Cole, “This Will Be”
• Britney Spears, “Womanizer”
• Crystals, “Da Doo Ron Ron”
• Police, “De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da”
• New Order, “True Faith”
• Miami Sound Machine, “Conga”
• Commodores, “Brick House”
• Avril Lavigne, “What the Hell”
• Paul Revere & Raiders, “Hungry”

(I originally wrote this story in tandem with Chicago radio veteran Bob Stroud’s sign-off at Classic Rock WDRV. If you’re looking for my “Final Listen,” it’s here.)