Country Musician and Farm Broadcaster Dale Eichor spent more than 60 years in broadcasting and retired from Clear Channel Radio at the end of 2004. He remains on the air in the summer and fall, doing part time fill-in at 540 True Country KWMT (Fort Dodge, Iowa). He also emcees and plays music at various country and bluegrass festivals in Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota.
Eichor is self-taught on the guitar and bass, first playing in high school and later in country bands in Shenandoah, Iowa; Peoria, Illinois; Fort Dodge, Iowa; and the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.
He has promoted live concerts in Shenandoah, San Antonio, Peoria, and Fort Dodge; promoted listener bus trips to Nashville and Branson on behalf of KWMT; and served as a longtime reporter to the Gavin Report, Billboard, and Radio and Records magazines.
Eichor was named the Country Music Association’s (CMA) DJ of the Year: Small Markets in 1974; served on the CMA Board of Directors in 1977-1978; named CashBox Programmer of the Year for Small Markets in 1983; nominated as Gavin Report’s Music Director of the Year in 1983; named Billboard’s Program Director of the Year: Small Markets in 1989; and was inducted into the National Traditional Country Music Association’s Hall of Fame in Anita, Iowa, in 1998. Eichor was inducted into the Country DJ Hall of Fame in Nashville in 2001. He is highly respected for always being there for the new artists, many of whom are the super stars of today.
Eichor’s hometown is Casey, Iowa, and he graduated from Casey High School in 1956. He is married to Caroline Sump of Yorktown, Iowa; she graduated from Clarinda High School in 1957.
Over his 60-year career, Eichor cites many mentors and individuals who influenced his work as a DJ and farm broadcaster. He has been back at KWMT since 1972.
THIRD PHOTO – Dale Eichor and wife, Caroline, in Nashville
