Most every Chattanoogan who is over the age of 35 and listens to the radio knows who Tommy Jett is. He’s been a pillar of the community with 50 years of on-air radio experience to his name, and with that, the right to say straight up how he feels about the changes in the business, and changes in his own life that have brought him to where he is today.
Jett grew up partly in Old Hickory, Tenn., and partly in Detroit, Mich. Back in the ’50s, when Jett attended school in Smithville, Tenn., there was no such thing as rock n’ roll and there was no Elvis yet. Smith developed his musical love from his mother, a schoolteacher and a piano teacher, and his brother, who sang.
When Elvis did hit the scene, Jett was an instant fan and began to develop his vast knowledge of musical trivia. When he graduated from high school, he knew he wanted to be some sort of entertainer in the business, and so he worked in the daytime and went to broadcasting school at night at Mid-South Broadcasting School in Nashville. There, an instructor of his, Jimmy Kent, became a big influence on Jett’s life and helped him find the right direction to get him started.
After graduating, Jett went to work at WFLI, the most powerful station in the area. There were only eight AM stations in Chattanooga at the time and no FM stations. Jett was right in the middle of this at only 20 years old.
It was the height of the age of radio personalities and disk jockeys, and everywhere Jett went, people wanted his autograph and picture. Girls, of course, came along with it, he says jokingly. Appearances at nightclubs brought in more money than his salary on the radio show. And in 1965, at the first Jet Fly Spectacular, there was Paul Revere and the Raiders, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Rivers and a whole host of others in Chattanooga for the admission price of only $2.50.
Jett says he thought he wasn’t good enough to work in Chattanooga’s market, and was hoping for just six months here to get enough experience to move on. Everything worked out and Jett got to stay in Chattanooga for a lot longer it just became “it” for him, he says.
Although Jett never thought he’d play country music, he switched to the country station WDOD in 1970.
“When I was a kid, it was ‘hillbilly music,’ and I didn’t like it, but country had a drastic change in 1970 with Charlie Pride and [when] Alabama came along,” Jett says.
Over the years, Jett has gotten the chance to meet a lot of people and make a lot of friends with those in the business and those who come up and share their stories of hearing him on the air, but Jett still maintains his belief that humility is a key factor in this business.
“One thing I tell kids today is: ‘Never become your own biggest fan,’ because that’s a bad place to be,” Jett says. “The word humble is mentioned 68 times in the Bible. It’s a very important word and it’s good to be that way. People listen to you on the air and perceive you to be a certain way, and if you are not that, and they are disappointed in you, they will tell everyone they see that they met you and you were not what they thought. I try to keep my feet on the ground and stay humble, thankful and appreciative.”
Jett says the thing he misses about radio is the personal connection that radio personalities provided.
“When you can go into a radio station and do a four hour show in 45 minutes, something’s wrong. I’m not against technology. I think it’s good, but when you take the personable touch out of it, and you are listening to a radio person who is not even there … I’ve lost touch with new radio and I don’t like any of it,” Jett says.
Even though Jett is semi-retired, he says he hates idle time and likes to fill his day with work on his online radio show and his involvement with the Tommy Jett Entertainers Reunion. The first of these began in 1993 when he thought it would be a good idea to get together all the bands he had worked with throughout the years.
It became a huge success as Jett expanded it with inviting radio and television personalities and began to use the event to sponsor local charities. This year’s May 15 reunion was the 15th Entertainers Reunion and benefited tornado victims in the area. Special guest entertainer at this event was Danny Shirley of Confederate Railroad.
Jett has been married to his wife Charlene for 30 years, and they have two children and four grandchildren, one of which wants to be a singer. Jett enjoys hunting and guns, especially his 107-year-old gun his Uncle Staley passed down to him and was the first gun Jett shot.
Jett says in all his interviews, he never gets asked much about his spirituality, and it’s something he would like to share more with people.
“I’m not saying that I’ve lived a saint’s life. Being in broadcasting and radio and all the things you are exposed to … I’ve probably drunk enough booze to float a barge. I’ve never wanted to come off as holier than thou, but people never ask much about my spirituality and what I believe.
“What I believe is very simple: If Christ hadn’t died on the cross for me, I’d be going to hell when I died and that’s all I need to know.”
Jett also says he doesn’t judge anyone on their beliefs.
“I don’t care what denomination you are, what religion you are, that’s between you and God. I can tell you how I feel but telling you, ‘you need to believe or feel this or that;’ I wouldn’t do that,” Jett says.
When people call Jett an icon or a legend, he says he can’t relate to that and he doesn’t know or want to know what a legend really is.
Jett would sum it up in saying his on-air closing phrase, “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you will be among the stars, and remember, T.J. loves you!”
Tommy Jett’s new CD, “From Me to You,” is now available. To buy a copy, visit www.tommyjett.com where listeners can also hear “The Tommy Jett Show.”