Mark Shannon
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Mark Shannon is a long-time radio personality currently living in Edmond, Oklahoma.
Shannon was born in Lincoln, Nebraska where he lived until graduating high school in 1969.
After high school, he joined the Navy, not so much to sail the world as to save his butt from himself. (Hey, it was the late sixties and things were getting a little nuts around Casa Del Shannon.)
In the Navy he was an air traffic controller, training and working at bases in the Philippines, Brunswick, Georgia, and Virginia Beach.
In June of 1973, after being discharged from the Navy, and while waiting to transfer to civilian air traffic control, Mark attended broadcasting school in Minneapolis where he graduated "with honors." (In radio school "honors" means you showed up most of the time sober, didn't get caught sleeping with any of the school staff, and bought lunch for your instructors at least once at the Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips across the street.)
In April of '74, Mark began his first radio job at KUBC 580am, in Montrose, Colorado, "The Hub of A Western Wonderland," which is what you call yourself when you have nothing else to sell to the public passing through town.
Shannon used the air name Mark Stone while there.
After six months, Shannon had enough of the "wonderland" surrounding him, as had his boss of Shannon, so after working out a settlement, our young disc jockey hit the road again, landing this time in Sioux City, Iowa.
Talk about your identity crisis! Shannon began his 2 year run as night jock at KWSL using the name Jackson Todd. Soon afterwards, he became Mark Jackson Todd because the boss thought Jackson sounded "too black," you know, like say, uh...Jackson Browne. DOH!!!!
That's especially funny since Jackson is Mark's middle name, and he is a descendant to Confederate General Thomas Jonathon "Stonewall" Jackson.
After a few months, most were calling him "Marcus in the Darkness," or the "Darkness Daddy," (worked nights,) which was his CB handle too. (Yeah, he got sucked into that craze for about, oh six months.)
Mark Shannon as a radio name came into being in March '77, when he headed to KPUR 1440am, another Top 40 station, in Amarillo, Texas. Since "Todd" (his brother's first name,) had to be dropped because there was already a guy using that name in Amarillo. Shanster did one year of evenings, one year of afternoon drive, and one year of morning drive in that West Texas town before being solicited to work in Philadelphia doing mornings on (then) WIFI 92FM.
After a run which included the period where the Phillies won the World Series and the Eagles last played in the Super Bowl, Shannon got the call to head across the state to Pittsburgh to help sign on hit radio B-94FM, WBZZ.
In 1983, after a quick return stop in Amarillo, Mark joined a former program director, and moved to Oklahoma City, where they put KJ103FM (KJY0) on the air. His 7 year run there included two stints as morning man, with a 3 years between as afternoon guy.
Shanster moved over to Classic Rock 107.7 KRXO, for eight years, where he evolved the mornings from a "more rock, less talk" format to a "no rock, all talk" show. The show, which was sometimes described as Rush Limbaugh meets Howard Stern, helped take the struggling station to number one in the market, and the highest rated classic rock station (percentage of audience) in the United States.
In 1998, The Sports Animal 104.9/640am, hired Shannon to do a "man show" for the sports station.
When the axe fell at the end of his contract in a much publicized departure, Shannon took 2000 off from radio, doing some substitute teaching, (which he swears he will never do again,) and working at a local golf course.
In October of 2000, Mark was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, (CLL) a slowly progressing form of the disease of the blood. It currently is responding to treatments and for all practical purposes is in "remission."
Mark returned to Oklahoma City after a stint doing mornings on 50,000 watt AM news/talk WLAC in Nashville.
If he's not on the air, or writing his daily "blog," you'll generally find him on a nearby golf course.
His best round was a 71, has had two hole-in-ones since picking up the game in 1990, but all that said, he generally shoots in the 80's.
Shannon bounced around on WKY and even did the launch of the morning show on the new BOB-FM, before settling in on WKY'S morning show.
In January of 2006, Citadel, owners of WKY flipped the station format to Mexican regional music and Shannon began his next trip around the dial, where he will land is yet to be determined.
On December 10, 2007 Mark returned to the Oklahoma City air waves on Clear Channel's KTOK AM 1000 in the 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm Monday - Friday time slot.
Mark and his wife Kris have been married since 1988. Their "kids" are a 4 pound Shitzu/Poodle named GRACIE. (Poodle body...Shitz for brains,) a pure bred Shi Tzu named SNUG, and a BIG MIX OF SOMETHING, who can fit both her sisters in her mouth, but thankfully, chooses not to.
WEBSITE: MarkShannon.com
