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Listen to ‘The Voice of Winter’
Seeking nominations of students for / 20
our 13th Annual 20 Under 20 issue. ' under
20
W
The 13th annual 20 Under 20 will appear in
our january 2022 issue and we are now
seeking nominations of students from public schools,
private schools, and colleges ages 19 and younger who
have contributed to the community in a significant way.
Here's the information we need:
■ Nominator (name, relationship to nominee and contact information)
■ Nominee (Name, age, grade, school, parent or guardian names,
contact information)
■ Characteristics and service: Please provide a paragraph describing why this
nominee deserves recognition. Include service projects, goals, and areas of interest.
■ A high resolution photograph (1MB in size or more) ofthe student in any setting.
The deadline for nominations is Nov. 1,2021. Please email your
nominations to editorCollinKelleyatcollin@atlantaintownpaper.com.
I’ve been blessed to have met many
successful professionals in my industry and
call them friends. These people have voices
as different as they are.
About 50 years ago, I heard a voice
like no other. That voice belonged to Jeff
Winter.
JefFs voice was not the typical “radio
voice” we were accustomed to hearing.
By that I mean big pipes, or a somewhat
volunteering and working at a handful of
New York area stations, Uncle Sam invited
Jeff to join the U.S. Army.
While he was stationed at Fort
Jackson, South Carolina, Jeff was assigned
to the Public Information Office as a
Broadcast Specialist. During his stay,
he entered a talent show at the service
club with a comedy act that had him lip
synching records. FFe won! His artistic
abilities, along with his comedy later
got him transferred to Fort McPherson
in Atlanta, and he joined a “traveling
troupe of soldiers.” This group toured the
Southeast, and that’s how Jeff finished his
military career. I guess it was the Southern
hospitality that lured this northern young
man to stick around for a while.
This is the beginning of his time at
WKXI-FM, later known as WQXI FM.
Jeff later became the morning man at a
brand-new station called WKLS, perhaps
better known as 96 Rock. Both of these
stations changed the landscape of Atlanta
radio in major ways.
Jeff worked in many different jobs at
the stations but recording commercials
with clients interested him the most.
Commercials are how stations generate
revenue. They were the only way in those
days. Jeff really dove into creating and
voicing these spots. FFe’d always enjoyed
great commercials, and what was required
to make them work.
Working the morning show left him
plenty of extra time to pursue auditions for
freelance voice work. Once he succeeded
in getting some really big
accounts in the region, more
exposure meant more attention
from agents.. .locally, and
nationally. Long-time Atlantans
may remember the FFiFi Buys
spots voiced by Jeff The first
national TV account he landed
was for Fresca. “National”
translates to “huge” in the
voiceover industry.
While home for the summer
in New York, Jeff pounded
the pavement and had dozens
of auditions.. .but turned up
nothing. FFe still pursued his
dream. After leaving 96 Rock,
Jeff went back to New York,
and won two of four auditions.
One of these led to network TV.
“Network” means “huge,” too!
FFe never looked back.
Based in Atlanta, Jeff spent a
lot of time over the next several
decades commuting to New York to do
voice work and network TV. FFe was heard
by millions. Jeff has slowed down a bit, but
he is still one of the most respected people
in the voiceover world, both as a talent and
a person.
I called this article “The Voice of
Winter.” Now you know it has nothing
to do with the season. Jeff Winter is voice
actor.
Many voiceover people are doing
admirable jobs, but true voice actors take
their gifted instruments to much higher
levels. Not only with audio commercials,
but anywhere a recording of a voice is
needed. Maybe you’ll be fortunate enough
to hear Jeff
From the Crates
1
Kelly McCoy
is a veteran Atlanta
broadcaster who
writes about the
days popular music
only came on vinyl
records, which often
were stored in crates.
deeper voice. His voice wasn’t high, but it
wasn’t low, either. It was smooth, casual,
and velvety. Not weak by any means, but
natural and unaffected. Many radio types
yell, grunt or growl. And there are other
adjectives that could be used to describe
their delivery: one
technical term we use in
the business is “puking.”
I first heard Jeff on
WQXI FM, the sister
station of WQXI,
“Quixie in Dixie,” the
legendary Top 40 AM
station that produced
a list of well-known
radio and voice talent
long enough to rival any
station. (A fact many
Atlanta radio fans don’t
know is that WQXI
FM once had the call
letters WKXI. When Jeff
began his radio tenure
in Atlanta, he actually
started on KXI.)
Jeff is a native New
Yorker who started his
career after being bitten
by the radio bug in the
nation’s Number One
market. As a young 15
year old, Jeff was allowed
to observe onsite remote
broadcasts by WNBC
for hours at a time.
The program director
was impressed by his
enthusiastic interest
in the station. Jeff
was invited to visit the
studios and sit in with
people on the air to watch real live radio
from a heritage station in the famous RCA
Building.
Fast forward a few years. After
getting his first full time job at 17, then
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AUGUST 2021 | INT0WN 47