The North Dakota Music Hall of Fame proudly inducts Shadoe Stevens, born Terry Ingstad in Jamestown, North Dakota, one of the most recognizable voices in American radio and television.
Early Life and North Dakota Roots
Stevens’s radio career began at home in Jamestown, where his family owned station KEYJ (now KQDJ), part of what is today Ingstad Family Media, which continues to own radio stations across North Dakota. At age 11, he built his own working radio transmitter in his attic, and in 1957 was featured in a Life magazine article titled “America’s Youngest D.J.” He went on to land a regular shift on KEYJ during high school, hosting the “Mister Midnight” program and developing the distinctive “slow ‘n low” speaking style that would become his trademark. Stevens graduated from the University of North Dakota, where he was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity and majored in Commercial Art and Radio/TV Journalism (he also studied at the University of Arizona), working his way through college at KILO in Grand Forks and KQWB in Fargo.
Career Highlights
Stevens built a national radio career at legendary stations including WRKO in Boston and KHJ in Los Angeles, before becoming a programmer and personality at KRLA, KMET-FM, and KROQ-FM. In 1988, he signed a seven-year contract to succeed Casey Kasem as host of the internationally syndicated American Top 40, a role he held through 1995. His television work made him just as widely recognized: he was the announcer for two runs of Hollywood Squares, played Kenny Beckett on the sitcom Dave’s World, and served as announcer for The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on CBS for nearly a decade. Since July 2015, he has been the primary continuity announcer for the Antenna TV network. In 2023, Stevens was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame.
Beyond the Microphone
Stevens co-founded and created Sammy Hagar’s “Cabo Wabo Radio,” broadcasting from the Cabo Wabo Cantina in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. He currently hosts the internationally syndicated radio show “Top of the World” and co-hosts “Mental Radio,” and is the author of a series of children’s books beginning with “The Big Galoot” in 2006.
Legacy
From a homemade transmitter in a Jamestown attic to some of the most listened-to airwaves in the country, Shadoe Stevens’s decades-long career carried North Dakota’s voice to a national stage. He will be formally inducted into the North Dakota Music Hall of Fame on September 20, 2026.