KSHE-95’s Shelley Grafman

The Architect of Classic Rock Radio

Retail Price: $34.95

In the early 1960s, KSHE 94.7 FM was a small, struggling radio station in St. Louis, Missouri that featured classical music and news, but things began to change in 1964 when the station was sold to Century Broadcasting, who would soon change the format to Classic Rock and hire Shelley Grafman as general manager.

With Grafman at the helm, things changed forever, and St. Louis soon became the hub of rock & roll across the country, featuring Album-Oriented Rock music and cementing FM radio’s place in radio history.

Real Klassic Rock was born!

KSHE-95’s Shelley Grafman tells the story of how Grafman and his talented team of deejays, salesmen, and marketers made KSHE the dominant station in the St. Louis market, and in the process, helped launch the careers of many of rock & roll’s most famous artists. This book also features rock ’n’ roll treasures from the never-before-seen private collection of the architect of classic rock radio himself—Shelly Grafman!

About The Author

Michael R. Grafman Michael R. Grafman grew up in media and worked in the radio industry after attaining his BA from Colorado State University. He sold radio advertising in Colorado, Florida, and eventually his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. Always wanting to achieve more, Michael went back to school at night and attained his MBA from Maryville University and held COO and Director of Sales positions in radio syndication and advertising sales. He was also employed in the point of sale and insurance industries to round out his business acum Learn More about Michael R. Grafman

“Shelley Grafman pioneered rock radio in the St. Louis area through KSHE radio. He was responsible for breaking hundreds of artists. Bob Segar and myself, just to mention two. The longevity of KSHE has had in St. Louis is a testimonial of Shelly Grafman’s vision. He certainly deserves a star!”

-—Sammy Hagar, the “Red Rocker”, American singer, songwriter, guitarist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist

“Representing K-SHE 95, 49-year vet John Ulett: “Shelley Grafman was one of the most important people in the entire Radio industry in the 1970s. His wisdom and foresight help a new art form develop in the United States. Just the fact that KSHE is still on the air with the exact format he helped put in place 57-plus years ago is a testament to what he accomplished. His efforts made St. Louis a major player on the world’s Rock and Roll stage.”

-—John “U-Man” Ulett , former KSHE-95 DJ and public address announcer for the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team

“…Without Mr. Grafman’s insight, our musical culture would still be in the stone-age where he found it before the dawn of KSHE radio. Shelley Grafman was one of the cornerstones of popular music in St. Louis for SEVERAL generations.”

-—David Surkamp, guitarist, singer and composer for Pavlov’s Dog

“Music in America would not be what it is without the vision of radio pioneering men like Shelley Grafman.”

-—Gregg Rolie, Inductee, Rock N Roll Hall of Fame Founding Member, Santana and Journey

“…Shelley single-handedly broke my first band, REO Speedwagon. We can only remember and wish the business could be like it was when Shelley Grafman was calling the shots in St. Louis.”

-—Irvin Azoff, Chairman and CEO, Azoff MSG Entertainment

“Shelley and his rock radio station KSHE was instrumental in making St. Louis one of a very few break markets in the US. Records added to KSHE play list were tracked by all the national trade magazines, Billboard, Cashbox, Record World, Gavin Report, etc. Radio stations all over the US watched the music mix that Shelly offered to its listeners. Our industry leader, Sheldon Grafman, started many of the careers of Capitol Recording artists — artists like Sammy Hagar, Bob Seger, Little River Band, Pink Floyd, April Wine, Grand Funk Railroad, Leon Russell, Linda Ronstadt, and many more. Record executives around the country shouted his praises. ‘Now we know what it takes to make a hit record! Shelly has taken the guess work out of it.’”

-—Wayne Meisenholder, promoter for Capitol Records