In 1980, my first full year working at a radio station, there were two announcers doing commercials that I especially admired and wanted to emulate.
One was Jim Kelly, who had worked for a while at that same suburban Chicago radio station where I got my start. He then went on to work at the old FM 100, (4th bullet point) a Beautiful Music station. And to do a lot of radio commercials.
The other was John Doremus. One memory of John Doremus that is especially precious to me, was a series of announcements he voiced for the Union 76 service stations during the Bicentennial in 1976. Wonderful patriotic messages, delivered in that classic Doremus style.
Both of these men were examples of the archetypical big-voice announcer guy. And back then, that’s what I wanted to be too. To some extent I guess I succeeded. Or at least, I’ve made a fair amount of money doing the big-voice announcer guy for lots of different people since 1979.
However, since 1997, I’ve been working very hard to get as far away from that style as I can. Because, more and more, the only people who want that kind of sound are people who are stuck in the past. And the advertising that’s using that kind of voice on television or radio is losing effectiveness. Every day, a little at a time. But, it’s happening. And the pace is starting to accelerate.
The natural human voice is the sound. Authentic. Raw and unpolished. That’s the sound that’s coming. That’s already here. And I’m working hard to stay as close to my natural voice as I can. To unpolish what I worked so hard for so many years to polish. Because, I want to keep working. And not just on little jobs. And not just on things that are losing ground and losing effectiveness.
As strange as it may seem, my greatest weakness as a voice-over talent today, is the very thing that has been my bread and butter for the last 20 years. My “announcer” voice.
am looking to purchase John doremus passing parade radio shows any idea where I can start looking for these recordings?
Kerry,
I’m sorry, but no I do not. I wish you success in your search.
Be well,
Bob
What do you think of Arthur Godfrey’s conversational style announcing? I think he was way ahead of his time. Of course he also got a little big for his britches and ruined his career, but I still think he would fit in well on the air today.
And John Doremus? Excellent, of course. Different style. I still listen to Patterns in Music on KNXR. I’m afraid the style is mostly lost on anyone under 50…just because there’s no exposure to it anymore.
Brady,
I think Arthur Godfey’s style would work great at any time, because he was so much just himself. And I’m a huge John Doremus fan.
Be well,
Bob
Well, I’ll take Bob’s comment a few steps further. Yes, I agree, classic ‘announcer voices’ seem to have fallen out of favor with the agencies that do voice talent casting. There are a few voices right now doing national accounts, that simply would not have been heard on the air 15 years ago. These voices would have not been hired to work in a market the size of Toledo or Fort Wayne. IMO, not persuasive, not stylized in any way. Not at all distinctive. No edge. One of these voices (no, I won’t name him) has taken a handful of national accounts by storm. He’s being heard doing EVERYBODY’S spots. Lots of financial services campaigns. Probably a very nice fellow who would be liked very quickly by you, me …or most anyone. But he’s very SHALLOW voice talent. Sounds like he’s 19 years old. Is this what producers and big agency creative directors have come to like? I think there’s more to it.
Why would an agency want to pony up AFTRA rates to use a particular voice on so and such spot in the top weighted U.S. markets for a specified number of weeks? That could become expensive, especially upon consideration of renewing the campaign. Is there a better business model?
WHO is a voice talent in August, 2010? WHAT is the voice over business?What are the qualifications of talent? Are there any experience requirements? This is no longer a game of farming out reels to agencies or directly to clients and hoping for a response.
You are a national voice talent if you SAY you are on any of a half dozen voice talent portals. Can you afford an RE 20? Maybe a U 87? A little sound-proofing? You have a reasonably muscular laptop that can run Pro Tools? Can you learn the utter basics of editing and effects? Is it possible for you to have an ISDN line installed and get hold of a used CODEC? All of this gear combined doesn’t cost anywhere near as much as opening a small strip mall franchise today, a sandwich shop for example. 6 to 10 thousand dollars, maybe less with used gear, and you’re in the voice business.
Since you don’t have a small business loan—or credit card debt—for $135,000 hanging around your neck, and you’re working from your basement with no rent and little overhead, you can do spots on the cheap. Reallllly cheap. You can voice :30 spots for national use and charge $115 if you like. Why not? I’ll make the point that we’re hearing lots of these ‘eco-spots’ on national accounts everytime we listen to broadcast radio or TV.
As budgets are stretched tighter than piano wire in the coming couple of years, I expect to hear more and more of this. It’s simply a great time for anyone who’d like to do voice work …to jump in. If you can assemble the infrastructure, there’s a good chance you’ll be hired—on the cheap—to start your new career. You certainly don’t have to sound like Ken Nordine or Like Ernie Anderson used to sound. Sound any way you wanna sound! Somebody is bound to contact you with an offer.
Jay,
Very interesting and cogently expressed thoughts. I very much appreciate your contributions to the conversation.
Be well,
Bob
Back in 2006 Kerry wrote:
am looking to purchase John doremus passing parade radio shows any idea where I can start looking for these recordings?
Now it’s four years later an Kerry has probably found what he wanted, but just in case anyone else is interested, I can tell you that the rights are owned by Grace Gibson Productions:
http://www.gracegibson.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=36%3Anostalgiahistory&id=99%3Athe-passing-parade&Itemid=62
The Passing Parade is still being broadcast on radio stations around Australia.