Runaway Radio 101 KLOL documentary VOD video on demand

Colonel St. James has died

January 11, 2025

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Joe Sayre, 72, known as Colonel St. James starting at the legendary 101 KLOL Houston and beyond, has died.

The Texas Radio Hall of Fame member class of 2009, was working up until his last days at Cypress Radio 103.5 on the afternoon shift.

The radio station announced the sad news on January 11, 2025:

“It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of Joe Sayre, lovingly known to many as Colonel St. James, a member of the Texas Radio Hall of Fame and the heart and soul of Cypress Radio 103.5. Colonel St. James has been a cornerstone of our station since its very beginning, bringing passion, dedication, and joy to everyone he touched. He will be deeply missed.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time.”

Cypress Radio announced it will continue to air the Colonel’s archived shows on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3 to 6 pm.

If anyone had that classic, baritone rock radio voice, it was the Colonel.

His broadcasting career started at 88.7 KUHF with a blues show. From there, he built his resume up working for legendary stations like KILT AM-FM which ultimately led him to 101 KLOL.

In his interview for the documentary “Runaway Radio,” the Colonel told me until his time with KLOL, his on-air name was Scott St. James. Colonel St. James was born when the station’s infamous Rock N’ Roll Army was created. As told in the film, none of the other DJs were interested in being associated with anything that had the word “army” in it, so St. James championed it and embraced his new name for the rest of his career.

The Colonel told me that as a young man driving a hospital truck for a living, he would call KLOL program director Jim Pruett (later of Stevens and Pruett morning fame), who was going by Tony Raven in the early 1970s, and would beg him for a job.

Those phone calls led The Colonel to becoming an instrumental part of KLOL’s history, as you will see in the documentary. Also featured in the film is his time jumping to competitor 97 Rock KSRR. He talks about the great radio war between the two Houston rock stations.

From there, the Colonel continued working for great stations across the United States including during the launch of XM Satellite Radio where he was the morning show host and music director of “50s on 5.”

Colonel St. James

Houston radio listeners will also remember him on Z107.5, KLDE, KIKK and his return to KLOL.

“He encouraged me to keep applying at KLOL,” former KLOL DJ Dayna Steele said. “And when I did get hired, he welcomed me into ‘Mother’s Family.’ And once you were in, it was an adventure. We championed each other’s successes from that point on. He will always be a Houston radio legend. Long live the Rock ‘n’ Roll Army!”

“Joe Sayre revolutionized participated radio,” former KLOL Traffic Master Lanny Griffith said. “His rock and roll Army cards are collectibles. He got people to write in for an Army Card and KLOL would mail them to your home address. People still have those cards in their wallets. Aside from that, he was a genuinely warm, fun guy to be with. We regularly met each year to try out someone’s chicken fried steak, or as he called them, CFS. He was so much fun to talk to. He was full of radio stories and tall tales of Miami radio when stations were coked on, well. Coke!! He talked openly about the joys of groupies and after-hour parties at a time when it wasn’t fashionable to talk about groupies and after-hour parties, shit, he didn’t care! He had a wonderful, sensational career, as a star in rock radio. I feel like we were best friends, but hell, he made everyone feel like his best friend. I am too shocked to say much more except I loved him and am missing him already.”

“One of Rock Radio’s pioneering voices has cued his last record,” Texas Radio Hall of Fame Executive Director and former KLOL promotions director Doug Harris added. “The leader of KLOL’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Army was a friend to his listeners and to the artists whose music he shared with them. He made a lasting contribution to Houston radio.”

“He was more than just a voice on the airwaves, he was one of my radio heroes,” former 97 Rock and KLOL DJ Chris Alan said. “It’s a sobering reminder that we never know when a conversation with someone will be our last. A few months ago, I sent Colonel a gift as a small token of appreciation, and he surprised me by calling shortly after to thank me. That call is a memory I’ll always treasure. Colonel St. James was not only an extraordinary radio talent but also a truly kind and genuine human being. He will be greatly missed.”

Here is Colonel St. James’s full resume:

April 2005 to 2013: KKRW-FM, Houston, TX – Classic Rock- (Nights)
August 2002 to January 2005: KLDE-FM, Houston, TX – Oldies- (Middays)
February 2001 to June 2002: XM Satellite Radio, Nationwide – 50s on 5- (Music Director/Mornings)
July 2000 to February 2001: KTRH-AM, Houston, TX – News- (On-Air Traffic Director)
May 1999 to June 2000: ABC Radio Networks/Oldies Radio, Nationwide – Oldies- (Program Director/Middays)
November 1998 to May 1999: KIKK-FM, Houston, TX – Country- (Weekends/Swing)
May 1997 to September 1998: WODJ-FM, Grand Rapids, MI – Oldies- (Mornings)
October 1996 to March 1997: KHYS-FM/KJOJ-FM, Houston, TX – Smooth Jazz- (Nights)
July 1996 to May 1997: Shadow Broadcast Services, Houston, TX (Morning Traffic Anchor KTRH-AM, Houston, TX)
January 1995 to July 1995: KLOL-FM, Houston, TX – AOR- (Nights)
October 1994 to January 1995: KZFX-FM, Houston, TX – Classic Rock- (Afternoons)
October 1989 to October 1994: KLDE-FM, Houston, TX – Oldies- (Afternoons/Asst. Operations Manager/Music Director)
November 1988 to September 1989: WZTA-FM , Miami, FL – Classic Rock- (Mornings)
April 1988 to November 1988: WGTR-FM, Miami, FL – AOR- (Mid-Days/Asst. Program Director/Music Director)
October 1986 to March 1988: KKHT-FM, Houston, TX – A/C- (Formerly KSRR) (Afternoons/Asst. Program Director)
February 1984 to October 1986: KSRR-FM, Houston, TX – AOR- (Afternoons)
September 1980 to February 1984: KLOL-FM, Houston, TX – AOR- (Afternoons)
July 1980 to September 1980: KILT-FM, Houston, TX – AOR- (Nights)
January 1980 to July 1980: KAUM-FM, Houston, TX – Top 40- (Nights)
September 1978 to January 1980: KILT-AM, Houston, TX – Top 40- (Late Nights)
July 1978 to September 1978: KILT-FM, Houston, TX – AOR- (Weekends)
December 1974 to July 1978: KYND-FM, Houston, TX – Beautiful Music- (Weekends)
February 1973 to December 1974: KUHF-FM, Houston, TX – U/H Station- (Blues Show)