He was the voice that carried across more stations than any other radio personality in history. His was the voice of an experienced family member, deep, experienced, and filled with wit. He could tell you the rest of the story with a chuckle or raise your hackles with the beginning of the story. That voice, the golden voice of Paul Harvey, has been silenced after 70 years behind the microphone. Paul Harvey has died at age 90.
Radio Loses an Icon
As Harvey’s family mourns his death, radio is left without one of its’ legends. Simply put, Harvey is irreplaceable. He has been broadcasting to a radio audience through a World War, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, two wars in Iraq, twelve US Presidents, the first African American President, and September 11. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005.
His style was wry, dry humor, and a sense of practicality often missing in the world. Harvey began his career in 1933 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Harvey held a job cleaning the radio station and when a fill in was needed, Harvey slid behind the microphone. The next 70 years contained very few times when listeners could not depend on hearing Harvey’s voice cheering on the day’s events. Harvey was away from radio briefly while in the Army, and later due to damage to his vocal cords.
Based in Chicago, Harvey had the ability to inject a Midwestern sensibility into his broadcasts. He was able to appeal to both coasts with a national news program that was not regionalized or slanted towards any metropolitan area. His broadcasts, peppered with emphatic pauses and advertisements, were loved by millions over the years.
Harvey a Master of His Craft
While many of Harvey’s critics claim that some of his tales to end the show were fabricated, his listeners hung on every word. Many of Harvey’s tales during the Rest Of The Story segment were for entertainment. Harvey told the tales with an element of surprise in his voice, luring the listener in with inflection, then hooking them with a punch line. His zeal translated over to his reading of ad copy, as Harvey was a purveyor of many product recommendations to his audience, be it Bose radios or Ocular vitamins.
Harvey’s career spanned generations, and his impact on radio cannot yet be felt. It may be another 70 years before any personality comes close to Harvey’s complete domination of his craft. Harvey was the background voice to the human history of the United States. Regardless of the situation of the world, Harvey was there, through thick and thin. His ability gave him an audience, and his grace and charm kept him floating across the airwaves. A true American icon has been lost.
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