LISTENER’S LIAISON:
SHAILA SCOTT
BY KEVIN ROSS
WBLS New York’s Shaila Scott is a radio legend. She’s been working in the NY market for 28 years. We both went to Buffalo State College together in the early 80s and the same PD gave us our first break in radio, but in different cities. Shaila was immensely popular on campus and she’s always had an infectious warm and friendly personality. Nothing has changed. I’ve gotten several calls over the years about her quoting Radio Facts stories or talking about Radio Facts on her show and I greatly appreciate that.
We were both brought into the radio industry by the late great Byron Pitts. You in Buffalo and me in Atlanta. I actually remember your first night on WBLK in Buffalo.Do you recall that night? Do I ????! It was Saturday, August 18, 1984 (lol). My fellow Buff Staters jammed the request lines. What was going through your head at the time? How grateful I was to meet Raymond Anthony, who told me the station had an opening and assisted in making my demo tape. How blessed I was to get the opportunity, being a broadcasting major and STILL a student. It was only a one day a week shift, but I felt like I had a full-time, six-figure salary gig. 12 | RADIOFACTS
Buffalo has always been a market that many jocks used as shortterm training ground. You were from NYC, but stayed in Buffalo at WBLK for several years. What was it that kept you attracted to the market? Just the thought that Frankie Crocker, Gerry Bledsoe, Gary Byrd & Eddie O’Jay had sharpened their skills in the Buffalo market was a great motivator. So much so that I started thinking “Why can’t I make the Buffalo to NYC radio leap?” Many laughed and said: “You have to pay your dues little girl; go to other markets and get some experience.” My thought was: “What experience do I need?” I was born and raised in NYC. I know the city inside out. I studied the NY Radio Greats like Vaughn Harper, I used to make cassette tapes of his show and study his delivery, Gerry Bledsoe too. Plus I was homesick; I didn’t want to go anywhere but home. When you left Buffalo you skipped many markets and got directly into New York radio. Was that an easy feat? How did you accomplish that? I sent 11 tapes to WBLS and never received a call. One day my neighbor told me Percy Sutton’s secretary Sylvia Shoultz, lived on my block. I stood outside of her house one morning, and when she came out I begged her to take my tape to BK
Photo by Karl Ferguson Photography
In the early 80s, every Tuesday night was “Black Night” at the Pub at “Buff State,” where some of the best music was played by the DJs on campus. As I write this, I can still hear the start of Denroy Morgan’s “I’ll Do Anything For You” as we all flew to the dance floor and I can still smell the pizza that everybody ate right outside the Pub. Shaila was a great dancer and I can still see her cutting up on the dance floor, looking like she was having the best time of her life. I’m very proud of her legacy in the industry, but not surprised by it. She is very talented and I knew that she would have some wisdom to share in this issue.