Keith Urban Shares Hilarious Reason He Was Fired From His First Radio Job
Keith Urban originally had his sights set on being a radio personality, but it obviously didn't quite work out that way. During a showcase performance on Thursday (Feb. 23), the superstar told an audience of radio programmers why he got fired from his first-ever radio gig.
"I went to intern at a radio station in my hometown of Brisbane, because I thought, 'I'm going to be a radio announcer,'" Urban shared with the industry-only crowd at the 2017 Country Radio Seminar in Nashville during the annual UMG showcase. "This is my calling, right?"
Urban performed the usual menial tasks required of an intern, but "what I really wanted to do is get behind the mic in one of the studios and run my own radio show," he recalls.
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There were two radio booths in the station, and while one was on air, the other was off. Urban finally prevailed upon the station manager to let him try his hand at putting together his own show in the booth that was not in use, and he excitedly gathered together his favorite vinyl records, which included Waylon Jennings' theme from The Dukes of Hazzard, as well as some news announcements.
"I put on the music, and I couldn't hear it, and I flipped this button," he recalls. "Next thing, I see this guy running," he adds with a laugh, simulating a frantic arm-waving motion.
"What happened was, in the next room there was a very serious news report being read, and right in the middle of the news report, it goes [sings the opening line], 'Just a good old boy ....'"
Sadly, that ended Urban's short-lived radio career right on the spot, but things worked out for him in the end. His set at CRS included a stellar jam with Chris Stapleton and Vince Gill on his latest hit, "Blue Ain't Your Color," which has become one of the biggest hits of a long and successful career that has placed him at the forefront of country music.
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