After 42 Years voicing WWL, Steve St. John signs off

There are some people in radio whose names listeners know instantly. Then there are the people whose work listeners know, even if they never realize who was behind it.

Steve St. John is one of those people.

After 42 years at WWL and more than 50 years in radio, "Studio Steve" is retiring, wrapping up a career that touched nearly every corner of the business. He has been a DJ, host, production director, tech fixer, and behind-the-scenes creative force, helping make WWL sound like WWL.

In a recent conversation with me on air, Steve traced that love of sound back to childhood. He remembered his father playing guitar for the family and making the kids laugh, and later discovering a box of 45s filled with artists like the Beatles, the Monkees, and the Bee Gees. Hearing “Paperback Writer,” he said, was a turning point: “That was it. I wanna be a DJ.”

He got his radio operator’s license before he turned 15 and quickly found himself behind the board at a local station near his hometown. From there, the journey took him through several stops before he found a long-term home at WWL, where he became known not just for his versatility, but for the imagination and humor he brought to the work.

Steve has a gift for creating the voices, characters, and moments that make commercials and production pieces memorable. Asked what made the work fun, he put it simply: “I just love characters.” He also said the freedom to take a script in unexpected directions was a big part of the joy. “That really just allows me to go in whatever direction I want. And that makes it fun.”

That sense of fun came through in the work. So did the craftsmanship. Steve helped create the kind of audio that listeners may not consciously think about, but would absolutely miss if it disappeared.

Just as important as the work itself was the way he did it. Around the station, Steve built a reputation as someone steady, talented, and willing to help solve almost any problem. Reflecting on that approach, he said, “The answer has to be yes, I can do that, or I’m going to figure out a way to do it.”

Maybe you remember some of Steve's best work - "So there's a tree in your yard" will ring a bell in listeners' heads for a long time to come. Hear more in this audio player:

As he heads into retirement, Steve said he is still figuring out what leaving will feel like after so many years in one place. “At first, scary,” he said. “Going from doing this every day to suddenly, I don’t have to do this every day - that’s a little scary!”

But when asked what he hopes people will remember, his answer was simple and telling: “I hope I made people laugh. I hope that people could feel the fun I was having.”

Steve helped make the station sound better, feel livelier, and stay human. And whether listeners knew his name or not, they knew his work. His legacy will be around for many more years to come.