Dennis Mitchell became enamored of The Beatles at age 9. After seeing their photos in the newspaper, he asked his mother what they were all about, and she told him they were “a bunch of guys with weird haircuts.” Though she made no mention of music, Dennis found out soon enough what the buzz was about in early 1964. He also became a disciple of the legendary British disc jockey John Peel, who at the time was still making a name for himself as John Ravenscroft on KMEN in San Bernardino, California. Dennis would call and pester John to play deep tracks from Beatles albums, and John would always oblige.

Dennis planted the seeds for a career in broadcasting by co-hosting his high school’s weekly radio Top Ten countdown show on Saturday mornings. Honing his craft at stations in San Bernardino and Redlands, Mitchell began working full-time in radio in Las Vegas in 1981, and hasn’t looked back.