• John Willyard Named As Voice Of 45th Annual CMA Awards
  September 20, 2011 at 6:57 AM (PT)
  
  
  Country radio voice/imaging specialist JOHN WILLYARD has been named as the voice of the 45th ANNUAL CMA AWARDS. WILLYARD tells ALL ACCESS that it will be his 16th consecutive appearance on the broadcast.
  The CMA AWARDS will take place at the BRIDGESTONE ARENA in NASHVILLE, TN on WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9th on ABC TELEVISION. Tickets will go on sale to the public SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24th at 10a (CT). Tickets can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com and ticket prices start at $110.
  For info visit www.cmaworld.com. 

Date of Birth:  June 7, shares with Tom Jones, Prince and Liam Neeson

Favorite Sport/Activities to Do:  Golf and Trail Running.  Loves Travel and Photography

Female-Dominated Family:  Wife Debbie, two daughters one granddaughter (and female dog).  “A minority in a sorority.”

Career Shift:  Concentrated on entirely voice overs for a living in 1991.

Voice heard in unusual places:  The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee and National Marine Museum

Unusual gig:  the promotional voice of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) for 6 ½ years.

Occupational Hazard:  Had an edema (due to overuse) on the right vocal fold and some ensuing vocal trouble in 2002 – was under the care of the Vanderbilt Voice Center, which has doctored voice issues for Johnny Cash, Vince Gill, Sara Evans, and others.

Set an Awards Show record:  Have voiced more CMA Awards telecasts than anyone, ever – 15.

Endurance:  Have voiced one FOX TV affiliate for over 13 years, for as long as they’ve been an affiliate.  Image voice for Kat Country 103 since 1992.

Relationship:  Am the proud uncle of identical twins: Danielle Kelly and Kelly Danielle Willyard

Tuesday afternoon, August 10^th, I almost lost my faithful and otherwise healthy 12 1/2 year old Chocolate Labrador, Java - and because it was on my watch, it was my fault.  I'm always so vigilant about letting her right back inside the house, no matter the weather or time of year.  For some reason I became distracted and after letting her out went to my studio where I worked for I figure 45 to 55 minutes.  As I walked back out of the studio and office my eyes went to the pool area where suddenly I spotted Java lying on the concrete completely collapsed.  

Just to review her situation, because of her age she's got excessive panting issues when it's warm (she's ok when cooled down!) but I immediately ran to her, realizing that she was in grave danger!  I'm sure what she did (because I can see the slobber on the storm door at the upper deck and scratch marks on the door frame) was that she panicked and stood there getting overheated in the 85 degree day in the shade, yet she was not!  She was in direct overhead sun.  And I'm certain she paced between that door then down to the basement door, becoming anxiety-stricken, struggling with the panting and finally lost all her strength.

What I'm going to share is not exaggeration.  She was splayed out where he legs could not hold her, her head was all the way down on the concrete, listing to her left side and her tongue was grey and hanging way out to the side.  Her panting was now unbelievably labored and heavy with a slathered front of sticky drool the likes of which I never imagined possible on a dog.  Her front was thickly covered with it.  She had a distant gaze, was actually grotesque looking and was almost completely unresponsive.  I lifted her to just inside the basement door, tried giving her water but she was too far gone -- couldn't even lap. Tried spraying a mist from the garden hose but stopped when I realized I must move quickly to get medical attention!  Just unreal struggling, labored panting, tongue still gray.  I tried pouring water onto her tongue, not wanting to drown her, but she didn't take it.  It was as if she couldn't do ANYthing.  Brought her to the cool basement tile floor, tried with more water -- nothing.  

This entire episode I'm fired with adrenaline and moving so quickly, seeing that she's about to lose her fight.  I'm starting to cry out loud "Lord, please keep her alive, save her!  I don't want to lose her like THIS!"  Side note:  I know that she'll eventually pass but I'd certainly like it to be comfortable, with dignity, and when she's READY to go.  

While attending to her I grabbed the cell phone and found in my contacts the vet -- quickly explaining her distress.  They said bring her immediately and they would start her on oxygen, pull her chart and be ready.  When I carried her up the stairs to the back door into the garage I was sobbing, and as I laid her down at the threshold to start the car, put the seat back, cranked the AC I started back and cried out "No, no!"  I thought she was giving up right there.  But I got her into the car, raced to the vet, carried her in running past the front desk to the back and laid her on the examining table. 

I could see in an adjoining room that the only doctor on duty was just wrapping up a surgery.  A diminutive woman in her 50's, she immediately began giving Java oxygen and two assistants came to Java's side with wet towels and an IV bag.  The oxygen immediately pinked up her tongue which gave me my first moment of encouragement.  Knowing, though, that she was by no means out of the woods, we all worked on her for the next hour and a half.  

They immediately took her temperature -- normal canine temp is 100.5 to 102.5 -- Java's was 106!  I learned quite a lot about heat stroke treatment and one thing you cannot do is immerse them in ice, or put ice packs on them.  It must be gradual cooling.  So the wet towels kept coming and when the temp dropped to 103 the doctor said she was now feeling good about it.  During this time they shaved her left front lower leg looking for a good vein, struggling to get the IV flowing.  From having difficulty with the cannula it delayed getting the saline solution into Java (I don't know even now what was wrong) to eliminating bubbles in the line there was some delay getting the much-needed solution into her.

About this time she laid herself down on her side as I alternately gave her oxygen.  At one point I shifted positions to the other side of the table and I could tell that Java's eyes were more focused because she wanted to know where I was.  After about 90 minutes of this they had pulled some more blood samples and found she had low blood sugar.  They brought out a can of Recovery (kind of a small can like cat food almost) and I dipped my fingers into it and offered it to her.  It warmed my heart that immediately she went for it, downing every little bit I fed her as she ate lying on her side.  

They then made room in a stainless steel holding cage below the other animals in the main examining room and I carried her into it with her IV still going.  We had gotten there starting the emergency care at 1:25 and stabilized her by close to 3.  She stayed there until picking her up to take her, with the vet's referral, to a 24-hour animal hospital where she could be monitored and tested through the night.

The greatest news was that that evening about 11 I called and talked to her exclusive med tech who stated that all the tests had come back showing no damage, liver, brain, other organs, all great and that her blood work was normal.  What an unbelievable relief swept over me.  

I found out later that late afternoon at the vet (before taking her to the hospital) that she'd begun barking at a cat who they were working on.  She had come back!  And by 10 the next morning when I picked her up she was prancing around, knocking me down with her greeting and wildly wagging her tail, ready to go home!

The moral of the story is that something like that can so easily happen, sneaking up on you, especially when dealing with a geriatric dog!!!  Plus I'm convinced that the Lord brought her through it, knowing that it would've been on my conscience for the rest of my life!  I've awoken every night with an image of how she looked when I first spotted her in trouble even though I know it will pass eventually.

I'm increasingly grateful to see her healthy and happy and enjoying "her people!"  I've been covering her up with my hugs and generally spoiling ever since.  Still amazed that every morning Java’s routine is to bug me until I relent, letting her out the side door, then watching her run down the driveway, retrieve the morning paper, then proudly trot back to receive her treat.

    10 Questions with ... John Willyard November 2, 2009

         BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

         Voice Overs/Owner -- John Willyard Productions, Inc. 1991-Present

         Voice/Producer -- Bill Young Productions, 1991-1995

         Image Voice/Creative Producer/Air Personality -- KEZR-FM San Jose, 1990-1991

         Image Voice/Creative Producer/Air Personality -- WSTR/WQXI Atlanta, 1987-1990

         Program Director/Air Personality/Image Voice -- KWIN Stockton, CA, 1979-1987 (PD 1984--87)

         Program Director/Creative Producer -- KCVR Lodi, CA, 1977-1979

         Network Program Announcer -- Family Radio Network, KEAR San Francisco, CA, 1970-197

         1) You started 'imaging' radio stations in 1991. How and why did you start using this talent of yours? First, we need to establish if you call that "talent." Okay, assuming that's my "condition," as early as college I was "imaging" radio stations in San Francisco at age 18. I still have reel-to-reel recordings to prove that I was doing "liners" back then. I can never throw 'em away. In every radio station setting I found great comfort in the fact that whatever I produced could be pre-recorded, massaged, re-voiced, remixed, and unlike live announcing (which I did too) one could create a perfect piece of production to convey exactly what you wanted it to. And in '91 I started with one Country station that grew to a dozen and more quickly. I'd get demo requests all the time and would ask who recommended me. The answer just about every time: "Rusty Walker!" It would be another 4 or 5 years until I'd actually meet him and his team. I've been very fortunate over the years to find that same favor from many other consultants.
2) Country KZLA/Los Angeles was your very first client. There are so many people doing this kind of work today, but back then what was the landscape like? That was before the Telecom Act of 1996, and stations hired their own 'imaging' people in lots of cases. Yes, I was one who was hired as in-house image voice to work at 94Q Atlanta. I was brought in by Don Benson, who is now President and CEO of Lincoln Financial Media. Looking back I felt one could jot down all the imaging voices in one column on a ruled piece of paper. Now that talent troop is fiercely competitive thanks to so many factors in place that weren't 15, 20 years ago and it seems those names could fill a phone book. I feel that voices back then were a fraternity of voices so well known and strongly recommended by a networking of programmers that they didn't give someone new a chance as is so commonplace now.
3) Congratulations on being the voice of the upcoming CMA Awards show! How many years have you been doing the show now, and how did you land the gig? I appreciate the congratulations! It never gets old. With only three weeks before the 30th Annual CMA Awards I had set up a dinner in Nashville with the show's long-time executive producer, Walter C. Miller. Before driving back to Atlanta I told him he'd be receiving a Fed Ex with a cassette of how I thought the CMA voice over should sound (yes, a CASSETTE!). In the next few days I even solicited some key people in the broadcast industry to help with a faxing campaign to tell Mr. Miller why I should be the new voice. In retrospect, it was pretty gutsy considering he's been producer/director of the Grammys, Emmys, Tonys, etc. With only six days before that show, I got the call for my first CMA show on October 2, 1996. That telecast opened with 13-year old LeAnn Rimes belting out "Blue" as then host Vince Gill then heralded her as the phenomenon that she obviously was. I've had so many wonderful memories of those many years, but one of the most unusual was during the show when, during a commercial break, I ran into the late actor Rod Steiger who was looking for the men's room. I showed him the way.
4) How did you start doing TV voiceovers? You do some work for CNN, correct? Curiously, I always wanted to work in live broadcasting and felt so strongly destined that when I was 7 or 8 years old, I drew a picture in class of a live television studio complete with boom mikes, cables, curtaining, lighting and TV cameras with the CBS logo on them. So because it was CBS-TV for the first 11 years doing the CMA's was quite a thrilling exclamation point to my boyhood "dream!" One of my first true television jobs was subbing for the main menu voice at TNT. What a session it was because Lucille Ball had just passed and the entire "movie menu" changed to feature her movie roles. The biggest early TV voice over role was that of WCW (for 6 1/2 years), Turner South followed after a 1998 sign on. In late 2000 I started voicing CNN promos and currently I am the back up guy to the daily topical promo main stay, as well as voicing certain show promos.
5) Have you ever done anything for Hollywood yet, voice-overs for movie 'trailers,' etc.? I have voiced movie soundtrack commercials but have not partaken yet in the holy grail of the voice over world -- The Movie Trailer! Just because it's elusive does not mean it's impossible!
6) How does it feel to be able to drive to virtually any city in the country and hear yourself on the radio? It's funny, I got used to it early on when I worked for a syndicated radio network and because they pre taped the network programming I would always hear myself played back when it was broadcast locally. So early on I got used to "me." But yeah, I've had friends tell me that on their road trips they could hit scan and listen to one of my stations virtually their entire trip. Personally I get to listen quite often online yet would prefer to take a "road trip" too. In fact was thinking about covering one part of the nation by car visiting as many stations as I could this summer. But I got too busy with everything (including being the voice of a hotly contested governor race this year! Political voiceovers are a whole new arena!)
7) Do you do other formats besides Country, and why do you think your voice lends itself so well to our format? Ironically, the first station I voiced in Nashville was a Triple A. I went on to voice both WSM-FM and later its legendary AM. But for several years I've only voiced the Country format. It gives me the most pleasure, really! It's the one I identify with first with the music and artists I admire most. I believe that if my voice lends itself to this format it's because I'm not one sound. Neither is Country. It covers a gamut of emotions and textures, and I get to reflect that in the studio. It can be kick up your heels fun and the next song real-life-grieving sadness. I like reflecting the realities of life. And because Country folk are so giving we can appeal directly to the listeners' heart through campaigns like St. Jude Children's Hospital, Make-A-Wish and many others. I also think that I began filling a niche back in the early 90's (many of my stations from '94 and '95 are still with me). I keep evolving and adapting with my stations and new ones all the time, giving multi-dimensional sessions as often as I can. I like to surprise the creative folks (and love when they surprise me back with stellar production from the pieces I've recorded). I also think one of my mantras has been: under-promise, over-deliver.
8) Consolidation has provided a boom for your kind of work, but as a person that loves radio, do you think radio stations are kind of 'over-imaged' at this point? If you mean just saying the same stuff over and over with perhaps waning focus, lack of genuinely compelling imaging, missing the ability to capture the excitement and imagination of the listener, then I'd have to agree that "over-imaged" is plaguing the airwaves. That may sound harsh (I don't mean it to be) but it sometimes feels like the work is just feeding the production machine, filling a quota of work. Thankfully for the industry there are the bright shining beacons on the hill whose radio production prowess is unmatched -- from the concept to writing to final production that gives me a warm feeling whenever I see their copy come across in an email because I know invariably that it's going to be fun -- AND that I KNOW I have the latitude, the license, the encouragement to go "off the page," to experiment, to be a real performer, not just a reader.
9) You also donate your voice for non-profit causes, especially churches. Are you attached to certain causes and why? I just voiced a TV project for Habitat for Humanity and think it's incumbent on us to give back. The verse "to whom much is given, much is required" rings truer all the time. I heard this in the 90's when Contemporary Christian music hit its stride -- "how come the devil has all the good music?" To me that angst has transferred into the churches pertaining now to media arts from video packages to internet platforms. It's now as good as anything you see anywhere else in electronic media.
10) Have you ever refused to do a liner because of inappropriate content? At first I racked my brain to think of one. Finally, yes, got one: one station wrote something pretty cute but in writing it said they'd bleep words that they actually wanted me to say. I couldn't do it. Too much risk to have certain words not spoken in polite company be possibly exploited. So I gave just enough so that the audio bleep would work for the effect of the liner. Incidentally I guess I was brought up in such a way that clients will notice if I muff a line. I'm not given to expressions I'd be sorry to have uttered in a moment of frustration. Another way to answer question 10: I've been much more tempted to not do liners that were poorly written that I couldn't get interested voicing.
Bonus Questions 1) How many times do you think you have said "Today's Best Country," since 1991? Hopefully not as many times as I'm going to continue to say it in my long future in this business. I don't foresee slowing down any time soon.
2) What's the goofiest liner you were ever asked to do? Wow! There are SO MANY! And I'm happy in making them even goofier! But one goes: "We're like a booger on the end of your date's nose. You can't ignore us and we ain't goin' away!"
3) What does John Willyard listen to in his spare time? I know a lot of people listen to iPods, but I just never have. When I'm out trail running or sitting in the backyard I like to listen to the birds sing. But when in the car I listen to the radio -- always Country first, Talk radio next and sometimes XM/Sirius - I camp out on the Country channels and Bluegrass Junction! I love the genuine honesty of bluegrass.