Yolanda Neely
Mid-day Announcer - WQQK Nashville
Yolanda Neely, now embarking on her 15th
year in radio, has quietly mapped out a successful career
for herself. During her early years, she was torn between
her desires to become a music executive, or a radio personality.
Yolanda chose radio when she moved from New York to Miami
after graduating from high school in 1981. "I felt if
I worked a couple of years in radio, I would eventually begin
to make the transition to the record industry," Yolanda
notes.
Yolanda started her journey in radio at
Miami's Powerhouse urban station, WEDR. General manager, Jerry
Rushin, convinced her that she could have a long career in
radio. She reveals, "After seeing Mr. Rushin's success,
I felt I could really make a difference for women in radio."
After two years at WEDR, 1987 found Yolanda
in Orlando joining WJHM. She honed her skills as an announcer
while working with Program Director, Duff Lindsey and APD,
Cedric Hollywood. After 18 months of development, Yolanda
was ready to go back home to Miami "to do my thing,"
as she acknowledges. Timing was perfect, as Jerry Rushin hired
her once again at WEDR as the mid-day announcer. Yolanda came
back to Miami with a vengeance.
In 1990, WHQT in Miami made Yolanda an offer
that she could not refuse. She started right away as the station's
mid-day announcer and Music Director. During her tenure of
41/2 years at WHQT, she became the station's first black female
to have the afternoon drive slot. Eventually, as the radio
station's music format began to change to adult contemporary,
Yolanda left WHQT and returned to WEDR as co-host of the James-T
Morning Show.
During the next couple of years Yolanda
began to meet various artists and music industry pros. She
had a great opportunity to watch many of them become more
popular and successful on the music scene very early in their
careers, such as Usher Raymond. She eventually felt that it
was time to re-dedicate herself towards her career-long goal
of pursuing the music business in artist management. Yolanda
recalls, "I moved to Atlanta and worked part-time at
WALR in Atlanta and full-time at WIBB in Macon. I drove back
and forth to Macon each day for about a year until landing
my next opportunity in Nashville." The Program Director
of WALR, Jim Kennedy, believed that Yolanda could offer something
very special to WQQK in Nashville. She was more than ready
to take on the chance to create her niche in the Music City,
while further nurturing her professional interests within
the music business.
Currently residing at WQQK in Nashville,
Yolanda has managed to brighten her future towards personal
artist management, as well as media training and consulting
for developing artists who strive to become well-seasoned
professionals. She feels that her experiences in radio, as
well as her passion for music and her initiative to learn
more about the music business over the years, has been great
preparation for what she considers to be the next logical
step for her career. Yolanda has been able to develop a tremendous
ear for talent. Although she feels that great talent is important,
learning about the music business, great preparation, professionalism,
and passion for music are all critical to jump-starting a
successful artist-management relationship with her company.
Yolanda Neely is proof that success only
happens overnight after years of hard work and patience.
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