When you say someone has the gift of gab you don’t necessarily think of that characteristic as  a professional asset. But if you knew Beecher Hyde, you knew his gift of gab made him  one outstanding disc jockey who was beloved by his listeners.  For his ability to charm audiences decade after decade, the ABA is truly honored to recognize Hyde, a Boaz radio icon, by inducting him into the Hall of Fame.

“He did not meet a stranger,” says his son, Ronnie Hyde. “ He liked to talk with people and interview people.  People would call in to talk to him on the air, and it was amazing the people that he knew and who knew him.”

“He could talk to a microphone for twelve hours and never break,” laughs Chris Watkins who worked with Hyde.  “And he didn’t have to have a topic to talk about stuff. He could just talk.”

“And he could get along with everybody,” Watkins continues. “He could talk to the president of the United States, or he could talk to the guy that picked up the garbage. There was no distinction between them.” 

“I’ve seen him stand in front of people in the communities and other places and just make up a talk,” says Ronnie. “He’d not only nail it, but he’d do it with little effort and do a great job.”

He also had a laugh that you couldn’t mistake.

“He had a laugh that once you heard it, you couldn’t forget it,” smiles Ronnie. “ And as a kid, we’d all be in this department store somewhere and it didn’t make no difference where, but if I ever got lost from him, I’d stand there and, in a minute, he’d get to talking to somebody and then when he started to laugh, I could walk straight to him!” 

Many people were afraid to be on the air with Hyde for fear he would pull a prank on them.

“He was quite the jokester. For instance, he would make two pans of cornbread, stack them on each other and then cover them with icing. It looked just like a chocolate cake,” laughs Ronnie. “And he would put it in a church social or something. Then he’d just sit back and wait for people to eat it. They would be going – this is the driest cake I have ever eaten in my life!”

“They had an electric fence around the tower. And when the engineer would have to go down there to check some stuff, he would tell Beecher to cut that fence off,” says Watkins. “And Beecher was like, okay, and he’d stand there and unplug it waiting for that guy to straddle the fence and he’d plug it back up. Every single time! And I’m like, how do you fall for that every time?”

Hyde made an impression on almost everyone with whom he came into contact including Congressman Robert Aderholt who was frequently a guest on Hyde’s radio show. In fact, it was Aderholt who submitted Hyde’s name for induction.

“I was honored to nominate Beecher Hyde for induction into the Broadcaster’s Hall of Fame just one week before his passing,” says the congressman. “It was a privilege to help recognize someone who was truly a broadcasting legend on Sand Mountain.”

“Beecher’s voice and his impact on our community will not be forgotten,” Aderholt continues. “I have no doubt that somewhere in Heaven, he is playing great gospel music right now and truly living up to the call letters of the station he loved so much – WBSA – the Best Sound Around!”