NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — How many of us know what we're meant to do before we can speak complete sentences?
Jessie Scott is one of those people. When she was just four years old, she knew she was meant to be on the radio.
Today, she can say she followed through on that childhood wish upon a star. In fact, she has been doing it for more than half a century.
"I was chasing this like since I was four years old and I couldn’t tell you what it was that I was chasing," Scott said.
As program director and afternoon drive host for WMOT Roots Radio, such a legacy station has this legendary voice.
So where did this all start?
It was 1971. All Scott wanted was a chance. She walked into ABC Radio headquarters in New York City and asked for a job. No appointment — just perseverance and a drive to do what she always dreamed of.
"At the end of which he said – we’re gonna hire you," Scott recalled. "I didn’t know how to run board. I didn’t know anything about you know, the structure.”
Scott is so full of energy and a love for what she does. In fact, I noticed during her answers to some of my questions, she would pause and laugh. Talk about someone who lives the saying: if you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life.
Scott's career has taken her all over. She started in Pittsburgh, went to New York, Texas, Florida, D.C., another stint in New York, and two stints in Nashville. Not in that particular order, though.
She noticed how it wasn't just the technology that has changed, but even the operations.
“We were playing probably 50 songs from the Rolling Stones and then they came to us and said uh, pick three," she said while laughing. "How do you pick three Rolling Stones songs?!”
When you spend almost 54 years in one business, you're going to have some unforgettable memories. From deciding between which chocolate bar out of a vending machine working overnights in New York, to realizing you've reached the top.
“Fond memories of those elevator doors opening at 30 Rock and you never knew," she said. "It could be Henry Kissinger, could be Hall & Oates. But it was amazing to be in that building. It was sort of the center of the universe and I was there for four years.”
Now at WMOT Roots Radio, the NPR station over at MTSU, her dream job continues while helping others pursuing their own.
“But the other part of it that’s so fulfilling is that I get to help artists make their first contact with bigger audiences," she said. “It’s amazing. Identifying talent, finding the audience for it, and knowing – that it takes light and grows wings and flies and you know it’s incredible to watch that happen.”
Even approaching 54 years in this business, Scott doesn't consider stopping anytime soon.
“I can’t imagine stopping," she said. "I mean, what does it mean to be retired? What do you do?!”
She'll reach 54 years in radio coming up in June.
Do you have a positive story you'd like to share? You can email me at Austin.Pollack@newschannel5.com.
No one can bring a story to life better than the talented group behind the Nashville Public Library's Children's Theater. This story will make you feel like a kid again lost in the wonder of a good story. Congrats to Bret Wilson on his leadership role!
-Carrie Sharp
