-
"Rock On, Linda"
June 16, 2017
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. -
"She died trying."
That's Jeff Young, husband of WYCD/Detroit afternoon co-host Linda Lee, recalling the final hours of her battle with cancer – one she ultimately could not win. Determined to accept her 2017 Academy Of Country Music Broadcast Award for Major Market Personality Of The Year with on-air partner Rob Stone in person in Las Vegas, Lee – against doctors’ orders – had checked herself out of intensive care on March 31st. "It was crazy, but that’s how she was," said Young. "I had the motorhome ready so we could drive to Vegas and get her ACM." Lee had defiantly told Young, “I’m going to die in a motorhome. I’m not going to die in this hospital. I want to go to Vegas.”
After just a few miles down the road, Lee collapsed. "The ambulance took her to the nearest hospital, and that was the end," said Young. "It was heartbreaking she didn’t make it."
It could have – should have – been such a triumphant year for Lee in 2017. February 22nd certainly was a great day. That morning, Lee and Stone were announced as ACM Broadcast winners; later, in front of a packed room during opening ceremonies at the annual Country Radio Seminar, Lee was revealed as one of nine inductees for the Country Radio Hall Of Fame's Class Of 2017. Lee knew the Hall Of Fame announcement was coming, having been told a month earlier. "This is how it went down," said Young. "We were sitting outside on a beach in Florida while she was on a medical leave, when [WYCD PD] Tim Roberts and [CBS Radio/Detroit Market Mgr.] Debbie Kenyon called to tell her she was inducted into the Country Radio Hall Of Fame, and she started crying. That’s how she got the word, and it meant the world to her. She had worked diligently for 20 years – it was awesome."
Linda Lee had what is becoming more and more rare these days in radio: 20-plus years in the same market, with the same format, and – mostly – on the same radio station. She started as an unpaid intern on the WYCD morning show in 1994, eventually becoming an on-air personality, and ultimately, a standout at both Country stations in Detroit. We'll recall her many successes and accolades shortly, but first, let's go back to how Lee found radio to begin with.
According to Young, it was sort of an accident. "She was the oldest of nine children, and her entire family worked at Ford, but she got Carpal Tunnel really badly 25 years ago. It got to the point where she couldn’t work an assembly job anymore, so they paid for her to go to Specs Howard School Of Broadcasting." The internship followed; the on-air part came natural, said Young. "People liked her because she was the real deal. She was a talker; she even talked in her sleep." Tim Roberts, Lee's longtime PD at WYCD, confirmed that assessment, telling me, "She connected, because she was authentic, herself, and had a beautiful soul that shined through the radio."
After a short stint at crosstown Country WWWW, Lee returned to WYCD in 1996 – ironically, serving as morning show producer/co-host with fellow 2017 inductee, Joe Wade Formicola. Adding to the irony – in a very sad way – was Formicola's sudden passing last month. Lee also has connections to another Country Radio Hall Of Famer, 2015 inductee Karen Dalessandro. Known primarily for her successful 17-year run at WMIL/Milwaukee, until her recent retirement, Dalessandro was co-hosting mornings at WYCD while Lee interned there. A quick aside, for those of you keeping score, as of next week's June 21st induction dinner, the formidable Detroit contingent enshrined at the Country Radio Hall Of Fame will include Lee, Formicola, Dalessandro, Roberts, and Don Carpenter.
Lee segued to afternoons at WYCD in 1998 and stayed there until forced to take medical leave last summer. She worked with three different on air partners during those years, including current co-host, Rob Stone. Lee and former co-host Chuck Edwards (now WYCD morning host) won the CMA Personality Of The Year award in 2011. Additional honors for Lee included a Gracie Award in 2014 and the Michigan Association Of Broadcasting's Personality Of Year award in both 2010 and 2015.
Roberts described Lee as, "A truly great broadcaster. I called her the Chippewa Princess Of Show Prep. She started emailing me and doing show prep by 7am daily. She always came in with fun, exciting, and innovative ideas. Linda had a ton of drive, and she was the WYCD cheerleader, always. She would help anyone in need at the station, anytime day or night. She was there for everyone. On location at live broadcasts, she knew how to entertain a crowd and keep them as lifelong fans."
And Lee knew how to inspire listeners and fans to help others in need, said Young. "It was a love for the underdog and less fortunate. She would always say, 'With big rewards, comes big responsibility.' It was amazing how generous she was. She helped raise millions of dollars for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital over the years. The station had the Radiothon every year, and she was the biggest producer. She just had a way to get to people; she would have all the firemen and the cops – everybody – calling in to become a partner in hope. Every year, it was Linda to the rescue. She did a good job; then, ironically, cancer killed her."
Lee had already battled diverticulitis, a chronic disease of the digestive system, that eventually forced surgery to remove a portion of her colon. "She went back to work about two weeks early, because she loved her job," recalled Young. "That’s when she felt like she had pneumonia. She had symptoms of pneumonia, but ended up having a lung cancer diagnosis – the worst kind." Lee never returned to work after receiving that news in August of 2016. She felt well enough to host her daughter's wedding at her home on Labor Day the following month. However, Young said, "After that, it was downhill from there. She never went back to work once she was sick."
Lee's diagnosis followed tragedy in her immediate family; a brother died in June of 2016, which devastated her, said Young. Another brother and her father had passed away during the previous two years. Nonetheless, Young said her faith remained intact. "She believed in Jesus. One day, she woke up in the middle of this fight, and she was like a little kid on Christmas and said, 'I saw Jesus last night.' She had a vision that Jesus came to her, and she said, 'Whether I stayed here with you, or if I went to Heaven, I’m good either way.' That’s how peaceful she was, and how much she believed in the Good Lord. She was at peace with it."
During one of her many chemotherapy treatments, Lee texted a friend she had come to know – fellow Detroit legend, Kid Rock. According to Young, Lee told Rock she needed hats to cover up her bald head, and he responded instantly. "'Hey, I heard – Tim [Roberts] told me.' Kid had his people put together a box of hats, t-shirts, and coffee cups, and it made her day. She was a hit in the oncology department, because the box came within two days to the hospital. He’s a genuine guy."
Shortly after Lee's passing, Kid Rock posted a short tribute to Lee on his blog, saying: "It breaks my heart to hear my friend and WYCD radio personality Linda Lee has passed on. She was always so positive, happy, and full of life. She always made me smile and feel good by telling me what a big fan she was (and would insist on proving it by sending me pics of posters of me prominently displayed in her home! – Sorry Jeff!!!) She always treated me with respect, and we shared a lot of laughs when interviewing me or texting (especially in this day and age of “I gotcha”). Rock On Linda, from your friend and FAN." Rock titled his post: "F*** Cancer."
When it's time to formally induct Lee to the Country Radio Hall Of Fame on Wednesday, June 21st, Kid Rock will be on the podium doing the honors. Said Young, “To be inducted into the Country Radio Hall Of Fame was her dream, and I’m so happy she was able to realize that before she passed." Adds Roberts, "WYCD has been a powerful radio voice for over two decades, and always at the heart of it, you could find our beloved Linda Lee. The ACM, CMA, and NAB and Gracie awards on her mantle – and now, the Country Radio Hall Of Fame – are more than fitting for Linda Lee, one of the best women in radio. My staff and I were lucky to know her, work with her, and see her achieve greatness; we will miss her smile every day."
-
-