Barry Mayo (Finding Aid)

Barry Mayo

1952 -

Favorite Color: Black

Favorite Food: Fried Chicken

Favorite Time of Year: Summer

Interview Length: 139 minutes

Interview Date(s): December 7, 1999

Interview Location(s): Chicago, Illinois

Abstract

Radio executive Barry Mayo's earliest memory involves birthday parties thrown in his honor. He also remembers his early affinity for music; his father played jazz and blues 45s on the family's Victrola. Mayo describes listening to music as an emotional experience. His favorite genre, jazz, is the music with which he grew up. Mayo discusses his interest in a museum project in Chicago, Illinois that would chronicle the history of jazz, an art form that he describes as improvisational and uniquely American. Mayo describes himself as having been a rambunctious child growing up in the Bronx and then Harlem, New York. He emphasizes the role of school integration in his life; he was the first black student to attend a white school in the northeast Bronx. He recalls being an engaged student who was targeted by schoolmates; ultimately, fighting a bully resulted in his comfort in his environment. His experience attending an all-white school and then returning home to a predominantly black neighborhood contributed signi Radio executive Barry Mayo continues to discuss his family structure; he compares his small family to the large families of his first wife and his current wife. Mayo discusses his brief time at the City College of New York and indicates that he declared an electrical engineering major, the requirements of which proved difficult. Mayo discusses a pyramid/sales opportunity in which he and his parents invested. His attempts at sales success ultimately failed; Mayo found himself in a dire economic situation. Mayo made the decision to return to school at Howard University, in Washington, D.C., to become an audio engineer; he went to school full-time and worked to pay his tuition. Mayo became involved with Howard's radio station, WHBC, and ultimately became its general manager. His success in that position earned him attention; he was informed of a position with a Little Rock, Arkansas radio station by the university's dean. He left college, without graduating, to take that job. Mayo describes fellow students' retr Radio executive Barry Mayo discusses the importance of education; he claims that education is essential to the future successes of African Americans. Mayo discusses the power of mentoring, particularly in single-parent situations. He remembers one of his own mentors, a supervisor at an early job. Mayo describes that a pyramid sales opportunity, though not financially successful, encouraged him to aspire to success. Mayo reviews his broadcast management positions at a number of geographically disparate radio stations and reflects on his successful approach to radio programming. He considers memorable co-workers whom he met in the course of his career, and he reflects on the atypical development of his career and the concomitant challenges he faced. Mayo remembers his time working for a Chicago, Illinois radio station and describes Chicagoans' sophisticated musical tastes. He reflects on his move from Chicago back to New York and the business decisions that come along with such a change. Radio executive Barry Mayo discusses his successes at 98.7 KISS FM, the New York radio station for which he left Chicago, Illinois. He recalls a seven-year period in his career--1988 to 1995--during which he took advantage of opportunities for advancement at the radio station. His ultimate achievement in this period was becoming president of a public company. During this period, Mayo learned another important lesson, the need for balance in one's personal and professional lives. Mayo discusses the invaluable role of radio research as well as instinct in his field. Mayo discusses the changes in the radio industry since the government's deregulation of telecommunications in 1996. He discusses the few opportunities that the consolidated industry still has available to African Americans interested in radio broadcasting. Mayo discusses his involvement in establishing Chicago's first hip-hop station, and he begins to describe the evolution of rap music. Radio executive Barry Mayo continues to discuss the evolution of rap music. As he was present at its inception, he is able to put the music into a social context; he wonders if young people, including his children, are able to do the same. Mayo emphasizes rap's staying power. He likens rap to jazz in terms of their American origins and their improvisational nature. Mayo considers the effect that the Internet has had and will continue to have on the recording industry and its sister industry, radio broadcasting. Mayo would like to be remembered for combining business and art--maintaining a lucrative radio station that plays good music. Barry Mayo describes plans to continue pursuing photography, with a concentration on issues of race. Mayo recalls coming up in the 1960s, dominated by figures like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy. He also discusses the powerful presence and solid guidance of Minister Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam. Mayo describes the importance of faith and determination i

47 Stories (See Ordered Story Set)