ZZ Top With Uncle Joe Benson<\/span><\/p> Steve Perry<\/a> was another friend and fan, as Sherry remembers — he even called the radio station one particular year while Benson was on the air, to wish him a happy birthday.<\/p>\n Perry and others, shared countless anecdotes with the radio host that went far beyond the usual surface stories about the songs. For the former Journey<\/a> vocalist, one moment found him sharing memories of when he heard AC\/DC<\/a> for the first time, “this new band,” who were opening the shows for the Bay Area group.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody said they were really rockin,\u201d he told Benson during an interview. \u201cI was showing up the last 10 minutes of every show. I\u2019m trying to sing all my stuff [backstage] and warm up, and I hear this, \u2018I\u2019m a problem child!<\/em>\u2019 I said, \u2018What the hell is that?\u2019 And I run out and I see Bon Scott<\/a> just layin\u2019 in down, and the [Young] brothers are driving, and the audience has their fists in the air, just shaking in time with the music.”<\/p>\n “I was stunned. I just said, \u2018This is unbelievable. What is this?\u2019 And then I had to follow this band? Go out there, sing \u2018Wheel in the Sky<\/a>?\u2019 What am I doing? They\u2019re killing me here!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> Steve Perry Recalls AC\/DC Opening for Journey<\/a><\/p>\n There’s a wealth of recordings of Benson all over the internet, including YouTube. In the later years of his career, he posted on ongoing series of videos at his channel, Uncle Joe’s Garage<\/a><\/em> — and that wasn’t just a random name. As Billy Gibbons hinted with his mention of the “race track,” the DJ himself was a rabid fan of racing.<\/p>\n But he went far beyond just talking about it on the radio. By the mid-’90s, he was participating in as many as 50 events each year, both as a stock-car driver or drag racer. It was perhaps one of his most challenging endeavors and he welcomed the uphill nature of the profession he’d chosen to get involved with.<\/p>\n \u201cThe great drivers–the Unsers and the Andrettis and people like that–I know I\u2019m nowhere near that level,\u201d he shared with the Los Angeles Times<\/em><\/a> in a 1995 interview. \u201cBut if I can go out there and compete with people on an even basis, to me that\u2019s the greatest kick . . . not to win so much, but to get out there and get better each lap and actually run a good race and not make any stupid mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n It was a passion which had deep roots, going back to his teenage years when he built his first hot rod. When he welcomed his first child in 1996, he started to slow things down a bit, though he addressed the relative change in status with typical humor. \u201cI made a conscious decision to do things that did a little bit less economic damage,\u201d he quipped<\/a> in 2000. \u201cEconomically, I can afford to take [my 1994 Nissan 300ZX] to Buttonwillow [Raceway in Bakersfield], get more seat time and have more fun.\u201d<\/p>\n Jimmy Page and Uncle Joe Benson<\/span><\/p> When you have the kind of career that Benson enjoyed, it seems almost inevitable that you might eventually find yourself working at a place called Ultimate Classic Rock<\/a>. But it took a few additional steps.<\/p>\n After leaving KLOS initially in August of 1997, he ended up at KCBS-FM in the area doing mornings for seven years. An additional seven years followed where he was back at KLOS.<\/p>\n In 2013, he started middays at the sorely missed 100.3, The Sound, KSWD-FM. He stayed there through the station’s unfortunate demise in 2018 and thought he might\u00a0step away from the microphone.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m thinking I\u2019m semi-retired. That there\u2019s nothing in this town for me right now,\u201d he told the Orange County Register<\/em><\/a> in 2018. \u201cI needed to take some time off, give my body and brain a chance, and talk to the family. Evidently, the kids grow when you\u2019re not watching.\u201d<\/p>\n Instead, he had a good phone interview at Ultimate Classic Rock, but thought probably nothing would happen. Something did<\/em> indeed happen. \u201cBy God, probably a week later, [they] said, \u2018OK, you can start on Monday,\u2019\u201d he remembered \u201cSo I went and said, \u2018OK, let\u2019s see what happens.'”<\/p>\n It was a big victory for Ultimate Classic Rock, as the show’s programmer, Joe Limardi, remembers now. “When the UCR program first started, I knew it was designed with Uncle Joe in mind,” he says. “When we finally got him as host, it took on the sound and essence that I had always envisioned it having.”<\/p>\n “We had a production meeting one time and I vividly remember Joe saying that in all of his radio and syndicated experiences, UCR was one of the best programmed shows he’s ever been a part of,” Limardi adds. “From the music to the features to the final production, it was a class act. You don’t take commentary like that from a legend lightly.”<\/p>\n Uncle Joe Benson at the Whisky for Aerosmith<\/span><\/p> In closing, Mike Sherry reflected on the radio miles he logged with Uncle Joe. “I spent almost 20 years from KLOS to The Sound to Ultimate Classic Rock producing the man with the golden pipes,” he says. “If Joe was in a room, you knew it. Not by his stature, by his voice. He will be missed, but his legend lives on with his stories, his books and his thousands of interviews with some of the greatest musicians, drivers and comedians of the last 60 years.”<\/p>\n “Aerosmith<\/a> played a secret show at the Whisky <\/a>in 2013 {complete with a guest appearance from Slash<\/a>) and Joe and I got invited to cover it,” he details. “From the moment we walked out the car, until the show started and then right after the show, it was just constant people coming up to Joe to talk to him. From musicians, to industry people to fans, it was nonstop. It really is telling on how much he was loved and respected.”<\/p>\n A look at those we’ve lost in 2026.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nWatch Heart’s Nancy Wilson Talk With Uncle Joe Benson<\/h3>\n
Uncle Joe’s Garage<\/h3>\n
Jimmy Page With Uncle Joe<\/h3>\n
Uncle Joe Meets Ultimate Classic Rock<\/h3>\n
Uncle Joe at the Whisky for Aerosmith in 2013<\/h3>\n
The Man With the Golden Pipes<\/h3>\n
Watch Aerosmith Perform at the Whisky in 2013<\/h3>\n
In Memoriam: 2026 Deaths<\/h2>\n