Jerry "Bo" Coleman

Gerald Marlin Coleman, known as Jerry "Bo" Coleman (born July 1, 1936), is a former radio disc jockey in Lubbock, Texas, whose career extended back to 1956. In recent years, he hosted a popular afternoon drive-home show on the former KDAV AM, 1540 on the dial, which called itself "the Buddy Holly station" but left the airwaves on March 30, 2015.

Family background

Coleman was born at home to a farm couple, Grover Cleveland Coleman (1913-1993) and Christeen Coleman (1916-1998)^[1] in Wilson in Lynn County south of Lubbock. A physician from nearby Slaton in Lubbock County came to the Coleman home and worked eight hours delivering him for a $15 fee. As a teenager, Coleman worked in the cotton fields for fifty cents an hour but only after his own farm duties had been completed: "I thought, golly ... I may move to Lubbock," then a "big city" of 30,000 persons.^[2] Coleman is an alumnus of Texas Tech University in Lubbock.^[3]

Coleman's parents married in Clovis, New Mexico, and farmed in Wilson until 1973, when they moved to Lubbock. They are interred at Green Memorial Cemetery in Wilson.^[1] Coleman has a sister, Grovonda C. Tweeton (born 1935). In 1961, he married Roberta Melzine Elliott; their daughter was born in 1963. He then wed the former Delores Suzanne Houser; they have two daughters, Christy Coleman Brijalba (born 1971) and husband, Edward Kelly Brijalba, and Julie Ellen Coleman Lewis (born 1972) and husband, William Steven Lewis, and four grandchildren. From 1998 until her death, Coleman was married to the former Vida Jo Cable (1938-2005), From this marriage, Coleman acquired two step-daughters, Kelly Green and Kara Lee Hudson.^[4] In 2005, he remarried Delores Suzanne Houser;^[5] they divorced once again in 2006.^[6]

Radio career

In Lubbock, young Coleman first worked for the RC Bottling Company. Then the door to radio opened for him in 1956 at KLLL, 1460 on the dial. His first time on the air was declared a failure, and Coleman was ordered to return to working on the transmitter. KDUB, however, soon hired him for on-air announcing. He went to other stations, such as KSEL, for which he played the "Top 40" hits in a night-time show called the Hi-D-Ho Hit Parade, referring to the Hi-D-Ho drive-in restaurant, which attracted a large number of young people. Coleman's program became the highest-rated radio show in Lubbock.^[2]

Coleman became well known in the Lubbock area and was a personal friend of Buddy Holly, Snuff Garrett, and Waylon Jennings. He had just moved to Los Angeles, when he learned of the airplane crash which in 1959 claimed Holly's life. Coleman left KSEL^[7] to return to KLLL to host a Country music show. Under the ownership of the Larry Corbin family, Coleman was made a stockholder of KLLL.^[2]

Coleman's afternoon show consisted of 1950s and 1960s favorites, many at listener request, interspersed with his comments about the West Texas weather, birthdays of celebrities, and any other information, often from personal experiences, that he thinks would interest his listeners, much of which would be called "old-fashioned", a proper venue for his oldies music. When the program was available, many listened loyally to Coleman via Internet connection to KDAV.^[8]

References