How an amateur radio operator rescued the Grateful Dead [040]

Well if I told you that that radio operator was Bob Heil all might become clear.

Recently I was exploring The Podcast Show in London and stumbled upon the Heil Sound booth. Stood behind a few amazing looking microphones was Ash Levitt, President & CEO of Heil Sound, also known as KD9JQS.

Ash went on to tell me all about how Bob Heil, a keen ham radio enthusiast and his small music store flew into action and made sure The Grateful Dead could play at the Fox Theatre in St Louis. Bob supplied a large scale live sound system and went on to custom build other systems for many bands, including The Who. Heil sound is the only manufacturer to feature in the Cleveland Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum.

Licensed since 1956 Bob said…

“I learned how to design and build special equipment from what I learned from my early days of Amateur Radio. It is a great honor and very humbling to have this display open in the Rock Hall museum,  located right beside the Les Paul room and around the corner from the historic Sun Studio.”

I wonder how many other music legends can thank a ham radio nerd for ensuring they got heard.

Thanks for the chat Ash, and thank you Bob K9EID for helping out a great band.