Local broadcaster’s Beatles show develops far-flung following

It's too easy to kick off a story about Dennis Mitchell with a Beatles lyric.

But why not? Mitchell, the veteran Southern Nevada broadcaster whose syndicated radio show, "Dennis Mitchell's Breakfast with the Beatles," is in its 20th season, surely has heard them all by now.

Besides, considering how successful the show has become -- it's heard on more than 50 stations in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and New Zealand -- what's the harm? (Catch it locally at 10 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays on KVGQ-FM 106.9 and online at www. beatlesradioshow.com.)

So: The radio business has been a long and winding road for Dennis Mitchell.

That wasn't so painful, was it?

Mitchell, 57, is a lanky, affable, angst-free guy who, on a recent afternoon, greets visitors in a home office/studio that could serve as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum's western annex or, at the very least, the lobby of your local Hard Rock Cafe.

Framed autographed photos of music notables and legends (the Everly Brothers, Little Richard) and bits of rock 'n' roll arcana (a paper bag from a pharmacy in Freehold, N.J.; Mitchell also is a rabid Bruce Springsteen fan) line the walls.

There are bookcases packed with CDs, albums and tapes and, underneath the desk, a 1-terabyte hard drive on which reside two decades' worth of Beatles songs, outtakes, interviews and other digitized Fab Four memories.

But, most of all, there's Mitchell and his obvious love of music, radio and the artists who, without even knowing it, have given him a career.

Mitchell's lifelong association with the Beatles began inauspiciously: He missed the group's first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in February 1964.

He was living in Riverside, Calif., back then, and his career Air Force father was no Beatles fan.

"The first week, I wasn't allowed to watch it," Mitchell recalls. "He knew them and he didn't like them. We had a new TV and the Beatles weren't going to be on our new TV.

"He was a big Perry Como fan, a big band guy, but not passionately. My dad could sing. He had a lot of talent, a lot of music in him. But this made no sense to him whatsoever."

The next day, at school, Beatlemania bloomed and Mitchell heard about what he had missed. So, the following Sunday, Mitchell "happened to wind up" at his friend's house during the program and saw the Beatles for the first time.

The mix of the Beatles, the music of the British Invasion and the magic of '60s radio turned out to be a potent brew for Mitchell.

"From the age of, like, 10 to forever, I was one of those transistor radio-under-the-pillow kids with an earphone constantly in my ear listening to the new Animals record. I couldn't get enough of that."

Mitchell loved the Beatles, but "it wasn't a one-track deal," he adds. "I loved the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, the Who and the R&B stuff. Herman's Hermits. I loved all that British Invasion stuff. I thought it was just the best music going."

By high school, Mitchell already had decided to become a DJ and got his first broadcasting experience on a weekend students' show carried by a local radio station.

"I loved the music, and the music is what drew you in," Mitchell says. "But the DJs were hosts that walked you through the experience. They were friends, and they were on the air for four hours, and that was awesome."

After high school, Mitchell studied telecommunications and journalism at San Bernardino Valley College.

"I did college TV and college radio, college radio in all its glory, where you could literally do anything you wanted to do for two hours and be cool and have people call," he says. "Oh, it was just the best."

After leaving college, Mitchell spent several years working outside the industry, although his love of radio and music continued unabated. In 1981, he came to Las Vegas, determined to give a career in radio a serious go.

His journalism experience landed him jobs on news stations here and, in 1989, Mitchell says, "I was asked to be the news guy at KKLZ, the leading classic rock station."

Two years later, Mitchell began what would become "nine fantastic years" working with Ken Johnson and Jim Tofte, the station's uberpopular morning duo.

When Johnson and Tofte arrived, "it was decided that he'd be the news guy, and it was the most fortuitous thing that could have happened," Johnson says.

"We were a couple of smartasses, but nobody knew the area like Dennis -- who to lampoon, whose jugular to go for, all those things," says Johnson, who currently appears on the Foxx and MacKenzie morning show on KXPT-FM 97.1.

Eventually, the interaction between the duo and Mitchell became "almost a full partnership, except," Johnson jokes, "for the salary."

When that show ended, Mitchell worked several gigs at stations in town, including a stint as co-host of a morning show. While Mitchell has been off the daily airwaves here for about 4½ years, he has never really left because of "Dennis Mitchell's Breakfast with the Beatles," the show he began hosting while at KKLZ-FM 96.3 in 1991.

KKLZ had been running a weekend Beatles show, "but it was strictly computerized playlist stuff," Mitchell says. When a station official approached him about taking over the show, Mitchell jumped at the offer and set about revamping the program.

Mitchell's show isn't the first such Beatles show or, even, the only such Beatles show. He estimates there are about 15 other shows that meld Beatles music and Beatles-related interviews into a weekend-friendly whole.

But few have had Mitchell's enviable success in landing interviews with Beatles-related personalities ranging from the first and longest-serving president of the U.K. Beatles fan club to, most recently, Yoko Ono, whom Mitchell interviewed to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the release of John Lennon's "Imagine."

"I'm always trying to explore a different angle or trying to tell a story in a different way or trying to find something interesting that hasn't been told before," Mitchell says.

Mitchell recently entered into an agreement with a new syndicator that, he hopes, will put the show into even more markets.

He also partnered in 2008 with fellow Southern Nevada radio veteran Dan Lea to create LV Classic Rock (www.lvclassicrock.com), a 24/7 classic rock webcast designed to evoke the glory days of classic rock radio.

"We're working as hard on that as if we were going to a radio station every day," Mitchell says.

Mitchell would love to return to the local airwaves. But, he says, "radio is in a really dicey, weird place right now. It really saddens me deeply."

Yet, Mitchell remains a fan of both the music and the medium. He considers that word -- "fan" -- for a few seconds, even as the memorabilia in his office offers silent support to the proposition.

"Yeah," Mitchell finally answers, smiling. "I'm a fan. Big time."

Contact reporter John Przybys at jprzybys@review journal.com or 702-383-0280.