Les was hungry, and he was ready. He would have run down the street for more booze if Rock had asked. When the phone rang, Les pounced on it. It was the station manager, as he knew it would be.
“Les, this is Mr. Klein.”
“Yes,” said Les. “I know.”
“Les, I don’t think Rock can finish his program.”
“Yes sir, I know.”
“Would you call one of the other deejays to come in and take over?”
“Yes, sir. I sure will.”
But when Les hung up the telephone, he said to himself, “Now, he must think I’m crazy.”
Les did dial the telephone, but it wasn’t to call in another deejay. He called his mother first, and then his girlfriend. “You all go out on the front porch and turn up the radio because I’m about to come on the air!” he said.
He waited about 15 minutes before he called the general manager. “Mr. Klein, I can’t find nobody,” Les said.
Mr. Klein then asked, “Young man, do you know how to work the controls in the studio?”
“Yes sir,” replied Les.
Les darted into the booth, gently moved Rock aside and sat down at the turntable. He was ready. And he was hungry. He flipped on the microphone switch and said, “Look out! This is me LB, triple P — Les Brown, Your Platter Playing Poppa. There were none before me and there will be none after me. Therefore, that makes me the one and only. Young and single and love to mingle. Certified, bona fide, indubitably qualified to bring you satisfaction, a whole lot of action. Look out, baby, I’m your lo-o-ove man.”
Because of his preparation, Les was ready. He vowed the audience and his general manager. From that fateful beginning, Les went on to a successful career in broadcasting, politics, public speaking and television.
Look Out, Baby, I’m Your Love Man
萊斯-布朗和他的雙胞胎兄弟出生在邁阿密一個(gè)非常貧困的社區(qū)，出生后不久就被幫廚女工梅米-布朗收養(yǎng)了。
由于萊斯非常好動(dòng)，又含含糊糊地說(shuō)個(gè)不停，所以他小學(xué)就被安排進(jìn)一個(gè)專(zhuān)門(mén)為學(xué)習(xí)有障礙的學(xué)生開(kāi)設(shè)的特教班，直到高中畢業(yè)。畢業(yè)以后，他成了邁阿密灘的一名城市環(huán)衛(wèi)工人。但他卻一直夢(mèng)想成為一名電臺(tái)音樂(lè)節(jié)目主持人。
每天晚上，他都要把他的晶體管收音機(jī)抱到床上，聽(tīng)本地電臺(tái)的音樂(lè)節(jié)目主持人談?wù)摀u擺樂(lè)。就在他那間狹小的、鋪著已經(jīng)破損的地板革的房間里，他創(chuàng)建了一個(gè)假想的電臺(tái)——用一把梳子當(dāng)麥克風(fēng)，他念經(jīng)一般喋喋不休地練習(xí)用行話向他的“影子”聽(tīng)眾介紹唱片。
透過(guò)薄薄的墻壁，他母親和兄弟都能聽(tīng)到他的聲音，于是，就會(huì)對(duì)他大吼大叫，讓他別再耍嘴皮子而去睡覺(jué)。但是，萊斯根本就不理睬他們，他已經(jīng)完全沉醉在自己的世界里，努力想要實(shí)現(xiàn)他的夢(mèng)想。
一天，萊斯利用在市區(qū)割草的午休時(shí)間，勇敢地來(lái)到了本地電臺(tái)。他走進(jìn)經(jīng)理辦公室，說(shuō)他想成為一名流行音樂(lè)節(jié)目主持人。
經(jīng)理打量著眼前這位頭戴草帽、衣衫不整的年輕人，然后問(wèn)道：“你有廣播方面的背景嗎？”
萊斯答道：“我沒(méi)有，先生。”
“那么，孩子，恐怕我們這兒沒(méi)有適合你的工作。”
于是，萊斯非常有禮貌地向他道了謝，然后就離去了。經(jīng)理以為再也不會(huì)見(jiàn)到這個(gè)年輕人了。然而，他低估了萊斯·布朗對(duì)自己理想的投入程度。要知道，萊斯還有比成為一名音樂(lè)節(jié)目主持人更高的目標(biāo)——他要為他深?lèi)?ài)的養(yǎng)母買(mǎi)一幢更好的房子。電臺(tái)音樂(lè)節(jié)目主持人的工作只不過(guò)是他邁向這個(gè)目標(biāo)的一步而已。
※本文作者：佚名※