Seventy years ago, as a kid in junior high school, Bill Moody knew what he wanted to do with his life – be a broadcaster. Not only did he succeed, but he also excelled in his broadcast career. If that wasn’t enough, Moody switched his career focus and became a top-notch sales executive. It’s not often you find someone who surpasses the norm in two different career paths whether it’s in broadcasting or any other field. Which is why the Alabama Broadcasters Association didn’t hesitate to honor Bill Moody with an induction into the ABA Hall of Fame.

“Yeah, it was my desire to be on the radio since I was probably in the 7th or 8th grade,” says Moody.  “A girl who sat behind me in chemistry told me that I would sit there and act like I was on the Big Bam in Montgomery. That’s where I wanted to go. Finally, I got there and it was a heck of a good ride.” 

The owners of WBAM wanted a younger audience and Moody was the perfect DJ for the job. He put together the Big Bam concerts; live events that sometimes showcased up to ten top rock and roll groups of the day.

Not only did Moody organize the events, he was responsible for getting the artists to and from all their engagements and he has lots of stories to tell about those times.

“I saw Sonny and Cher get in a tussle,” smiles Moody.  “We were taking them to the Coliseum, and they got in a knockdown drag out fight about what Sonny was wearing. He changed his clothes, but the whole time they were coming and going, they fussed.”

“I was in charge of keeping up with Peter Noon of Herman’s Hermits,” Moody continues.  “We lost him one night and I had to go find him. He was only 16 or 17 but I found him in a hotel lounge across the street! He grew up and became the nicest guy you’d ever want to be around.”

“I was around at the tail end of his broadcast career, but I heard all the stories about when he was a DJ,” says Denise Reed, WDGO’s traffic director and business manager. “He’s got a picture of him and Elvis Presley sitting on a couch! But I mostly knew him as a great sales manager.”

Moody switched from being a DJ to selling radio in 1967.

“The president of the company came in and said, ‘You want to raise?’ He said he wanted me to go out and sell advertising. So, I got on my suit and tie, went out the next day, and called on Jimmy Rouse Motor Company,” he explains. “He was on other stations, but not ours.  We had a great visit, and he signed an annual contract!”

For the next thirty-some years, Moody was a first-rate sales executive winning awards not only for sales records but for spot creation as well. Along the way, he made a difference in others’ careers.

 “I didn’t know a whole lot about radio,” says Reed. “But through Bill, I learned how to go about writing a commercial and I voiced a few.  He taught me how it comes down to creating something that people crave.”

“I got my early sales training from Bill Moody,” says David DuBose,  Market President for Townsquare Media of Tuscaloosa. “I’m still in sales today, some 50 years later.”

“I’m just so thankful for knowing Bill and working with him early in my career,” DuBose continues. “He and the Brennan family were instrumental in the successful path that I was on for the balance of my career, and I want to thank them for giving me that start back when I was in high school back in the 1970s.”

Both Reed and DuBose agree that Moody deserves to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

“Bill J. Moody. It’s hard to explain, but when he puts his mind to something, it’s going to happen,” smiles  Reed. “He had numerous awards in sales for being a top seller for like eight years or something. I mean, it was crazy. He was a great sales manager.”

“He was genuinely so excited about being inducted into the Hall of Fame,” says DuBose. “I’ve been around the ABA for a long time, and I think he may be one of the most excited inductees that I’ve ever seen!” 

“Well, it’s been an exciting life,” says Moody.  “I’ve enjoyed a lot of people I met along the way and I appreciate this honor. It means a lot. This is the biggest honor I’ve ever received … other than, you know, the lady I married!”