For over 40 years, St. Louisans’ have found comfort in the fact that there has been a Carney on the KMOX radiowaves. John can be heard weeknights at 8 at the helm of the “Carneyshow.”

Broadcasting was not anything John Carney wanted to do as a kid, or even through high school. But now, with more than twenty five years behind the mic, he can’t imagine doing anything else. In a business where abnormal is the norm, John says, “I’m quite at home!”

Carney’s commitment to a career in radio came on the heels of advice from his father, the late Jack Carney of KMOX fame, who told him not to do it. As a professional defiant, young John knew what he had to do. It was on his twenty-first birthday that he celebrated his first day on the radio as the host of an afternoon country music show just outside of Denver (actually it was some 100 miles outside of Denver, but you’ve never heard of that town, and you can’t get there by car anyway!!) That first gig lasted only three months, but John says it was still a positive experience. “I really got to be a fast packer!”

Job two took John to Columbia, Missouri to work with the famed Larry King on KFRU radio. He only pushed buttons for Larry’s show from midnight to three in the morning – since King was syndicated out of Washington, he was not actually aware of Carney’s existence on the planet. John did get some airtime there; at the conclusion of King’s show, Carney hosted his own program during the highly coveted 3-6 a.m. slot. Word has it he was a big hit among both of that town’s insomniacs.

Like his father, John loved St. Louis. He had his first crack on the air in 1986 at KXOK when the station switched to an “all talk format.” He produced for and co-hosted with the late Mort Crowley and Grant Horton. Unfortunately the format was short-lived when a year and a half later the station sold. It was at this point that John served as a comedy writer for Dick Cavett; a position that he kept for 5 years. Dick still keeps in touch, calling from time to time to remind John that he’s not funny.

From there Carney had radio stints in the Ozarks and Carbondale, Illinois, co-hosting a classic rock morning zoo. Even though he continued to hone his craft outside of the Gateway city, he never gave up hope of returning to St. Louis. Opportunity knocked again in 1989 in the form of a big band jock spot at WEW. After four years of spinning Kay Starr and Woody Hermann records, John became restless and found his way back into talk radio.

WIBV was the next stop for John, which later became KTRS. It was there that he honed the art of interviewing and comfortably filling the airwaves with something other than music. His 9 to noon slot quickly gained notoriety with frequent stops to the studio by the famous and infamous. In 1997, John received that “Air Award” for talk show host of the year and was chosen as one of St. Louis’ top radio personalities by the Riverfront Times. And, while we’re back patting, John picked up “Media Personality of the Year” in 1999 and 2000.

In July of 1998, Carney signed on at long time powerhouse KMOX to host the overnight slot. With Jim White’s retirement after a 30 year stint, the mighty KMOX management did the most natural thing and gave Carney the nod. For 7 years, he hosted to 10-2 slot. When the baseball team moved their broadcasts, the station wanted to offer up something completly new that would get folks talking. That came in the form of “Two John’s, no waiting”. For the next two years carney and evening host, Jon Grason, held court and more importantly, held the listeners. With the shows’ success came bigger $$ demands from the two hosts. As a result, management split the pair up to keep them from getting too powerful. No worries though; Both can still be heard on the 1120 airwaves.

Even with John’s deep love for the business, it takes a back seat to his family. Daughters Jaede and Joerdan are his China Dolls and, as he puts it, “they’ll be the prettiest nuns in the convent.” The brood continues to grow. In August of 08, John and his wife, suzanne, had their first son. No word on what shift the kid is going to have on KMOX, but we’ll keep you posted.

John can be found hosting various charity events around town, or making very loud noises with his one of his bands, The “Carn Dogs” Heartsfield” or the ” Mr. Wizzard” > John’s other passion is helping kids. It was from this that the “Carney’s Kids Foundation” was born. The organization raises awareness thousands of dollars each year for several childresn’s charities. He has also put out a cookbook and a “best of the Carneyshow” Cd is on the way. For more info on the foundation, check out www.carneyskids.org.

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