"The Tall One" Dave Neal

I was born and raised in Greenup, IL and grew up loving music and listening to it every chance I got. Since I was not born with a talent for singing or playing a musical instrument, I dreamed of one day playing the music I loved on the radio (the next best thing). I continued to dream as life moved on.

I became the father of two sons, Piers and Justin and worked different jobs over the years. After many years of meandering through life hitting my head on door facings and those darned hanging plants (not to mention those low hanging lights over the tables in restaurants) I decided to take a stab at radio (after all, there was nowhere to go but down, right?)

I worked for Hot 104.3 in Casey for several years, working an all night shift on Saturday Nights. I was approached by the program director who wanted to start a love song request and dedication show and wanted me to be the host. Really? Me? Didn’t see it working, but Sunday Night Candlelight was born and it was a big success and then became an even bigger success when I moved it here to 97.9 XFM. After hosting the show for a few more years on 97.9, I handed the reins of the show over to Kenna and the show ran for a total of 15 years, becoming one of the most successful and most talked-about radio shows in south central Illinois.

Now, 22 years later, here I am, having worked my way up the ladder to "full-time part-timer". The staff at Premier Broadcasting have been so much fun to work with over the years and I am very honored to be a part of their team.

One of the most satisfying things about this job is getting the opportunity to bring a little joy to people’s lives, even if it is only for 3 or 4 minutes at a time by playing their favorite song or saying something that makes them smile for just a minute. Anything I can do to make you slip way from reality for a few minutes is always a good thing.

So from the high altitudes, I say thank you for being the loyal listeners that you are and hope your love of music and our stations continue for a long time.

And now…back to our regularly scheduled programming.