Zia Tammami started at KLSU, back then it was WLSU, in May of 1977. In May of 2022, it will have been 45 years since the beginning of his time here. He currently has the longest-running jazz and blues show in not just Louisiana but in North America.
Zia got into the idea of broadcasting and radio from one of his hobbies when he was younger, listening to shortwave radio. He would listen to BBC London, Radio Luxembourg, Pirate Radio, and more. Zia said, “I basically had the best of the best.” From Wolfman Jack to Dick Clark to Charlie Tuna. He learned from them and went on to audition for the radio station at LSU while getting his degree.
One of the stories he told while talking about his time at KLSU was when a guy came to take over the radio station and wanted to get rid of all the specialty shows, including his. When he did his last show, he kept getting call after call of fans asking if there was anything they could do to save the show. They ended up writing about 450 emails to the president of LSU begging for the show back. After that, the president said Zia had the show for life, and now it is about to be 45 years of it.
The first-ever interview Zia did was in 1980/1981 with Dr. Billy Taylor. He said he was very nervous but re-listened to it about 40 years later and thought it was pretty good. Some highlight interviews were Natalie Cole and Frank Sinatra Jr. The interview he did with Frank Sinatra Jr. was the last interview Mr. Sinatra Jr. did before he passed away.
On average Zia gets about 60-70 new releases. People from New York to Los Angeles
are sending him new music. “When people know that you are serious and you’re not taking advantage of this for your own benefit, then you become part of that circle,” Zia stated, “now you are part of that fraternity that they trust you and respect you.” People all over still want to send him new music and new releases.
After doing this show for so long, Zia has had moments where he has thought about dropping the show. Then he would get a call from a random fan saying how much they love the show, and he would be reminded that there are still people out there listening and learning from the show. There are people in London, Germany, the Persian Gulf, and even Dubai that are fans and listen to the show.
The show is always moving forward. “When I look back and listen to the copies of the old shows it’s great and I enjoy it, but I don’t do that anymore,” Zia said, “I’ve just moved on.” The show is always keeping up with new things and constantly going forward.
Towards the end of the interview, Zia told one of his most interesting memories about the show. The Moody Blues were coming Pete Maravich Assembly Center, and someone who was working at the Hilton and running the shuttle at night called into the show to say he was going to pick up Patrick Moraz who was the keyboardist for The Moody Blues. The driver asked Zia if he wanted him to bring Patrick Moraz to the station and if he could order pizza for them. Zia said all the new stations were shocked he got to interview Patrick Moraz.
While wrapping up the interview Zia said, “It’s like a family story, it’s not just a radio station it’s like a family.” When you’ve been somewhere for 45 years, you do start to feel like you are a part of a family. If you would like to check out his shows, you can hear Zia Tammami on KLSU from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and on WBRH from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Be sure to check both of those out!