Big Chuck Remembers the Legendary Paul Harvey

This week marks the anniversary of the death of broadcast legend Paul Harvey (1918-2009).

I had never heard of Paul Harvey until I started at WDOS in 1989.  His 3-minute morning commentary piece was a bit odd sounding to me, with dramatic pauses, high pitched squeals and perfectly pronounced grammar.  He seemed to be a bit of a throwback to the olden days of radio.  A bit outdated.

Over time I grew to love Paul Harvey and am thinking about him this week.  He was a master storyteller that I grew to emulate.  He was an artist with words, painting pictures of faraway places, legendary figures and historical events from our school days.  He was economic in his use of phrases, perhaps because of years of having to squeeze his thoughts into three minute segments.

Paul later recorded his famous "The Rest of the Story" segments.  I found these to be excellent and really personally appealing.  I loved the trivia, the twists and turns and the historical oversights that he discovered or uncovered and told us about in his well-modulated barks and whispers.  Like many millions of other Americans, I hung on every word until, well, until we learned the rest of the story!

Paul Harvey died on Feb. 29, 2009.  For radio lovers he will always remain in our hearts.  Certainly, a one-of-a-kind character.  He is missed.

Here is a rare video of Paul Harvey doing what he did best..making history come alive!