In an X post that came shortly after Jim Ladd passed away on December 17, Roger Waters paid tribute to the late DJ. He criticized Ladd’s bosses at SiriusXM and took some of the responsibility for his firing from the radio station. Revealing his friend died in his sleep, Waters wrote:
“As the Irish have it, ‘I’m sorry for my loss.’ I just watched an interview I did with Jim in 1984, f**k he was good, and so was Stewy, my cocker spaniel. Jim suffered a setback at work recently. SiriusXM, for whom he worked, cut him from six Deep Tracks shows a week to one. Thank you, Scott Greenstein, and if it wasn’t you, you should have stopped whoever it was.”
SiriusXM had changed Ladd’s schedule, reducing his airtime on the Deep Tracks channel from a daily show to a weekly one. The former Pink Floyd member explained his effect on this decision by confessing that he was the responsible for that. He said:
“I believe Jim was fired, partly, at least, because of me. Against the company’s better judgment, Jim had interviewed me on Deep Tracks, and our conversation had veered too close to the sacred cow, Israel, and its subjugation of the Palestinians.”
Waters’ Love For Ladd
Waters also talked about his long-time friendship with Ladd, which started back in the ’80s. He shared:
“I loved Jim, and he loved me. I got him the job at Sirius when the meat grinder that is modern LA finally closed its door on his legendary career at KMET and KLOS. Jim was a revolutionary. Jim Ladd believed in the power of love. Jim Ladd believed in telling the truth, Jim Ladd believed in human rights, Jim Ladd believed in Freeform Radio.”
The singer also mentioned that he and the late DJ had plans to start a new radio station called Radio KAOS FM in 2024. The station’s name came from the 1987’s ‘Radio KAOS’ album, which the two worked on together.
Jim Ladd’s Death
Jim Ladd passed away at the age of 75 from a heart attack. His colleague at SiriusXM, Meg Griffin, announced his death on the Deep Tracks channel.
Griffin let the listeners know that Ladd died at his home near Carmichael, California, with his wife, Helene Hodge-Ladd, by his side. Then, paying tribute to the late DJ, he added:
“He never stopped caring. He delivered the truth. He lived for the music, and I am blessed to have worked with him.”
The Late DJ’s Career
Ladd began his radio career in 1969 at KNAC in Long Beach, California. He quickly became a known voice in Southern California’s rock scene as FM radio was growing and influenced many artists, including Tom Petty, whom he inspired for ‘The Last DJ’ album.
In a past interview with Michael Simone, he spoke about being at the forefront of radio:
“We were inventing this thing as we were going along, so what I would say in radio [for role models], it is pretty much everybody that I’ve worked with that I’ve learned from or borrowed from. As far as role models in my life, Martin Luther King would be one, and certainly, when I was growing up, John Lennon and Jim Morrison were two others who had a great influence on me, as well as [Roger] Waters.”
You can see Roger Waters’ tribute message for him below.
#JimLadd @JimLaddRocks pic.twitter.com/pg8owzYrtj
— Roger Waters ✊ (@rogerwaters) December 19, 2023
