Glen “Boogie” Bell was one of the personalities who helped establish KIMN 950 as Denver’s dominant rock-and-roll station during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Bell worked at KIMN from 1958 through 1963, a period when the station’s combination of hit music, aggressive promotion and highly recognizable disc jockeys made it a central part of teenage life along the Front Range.
Bell belonged to the generation of KIMN personalities remembered as the station’s “Fabulous Five,” alongside figures including Pogo Poge, Roy “The Bell Boy” Gunderson, Royce Johnson and Smilin’ Jack Merker. Their programs were designed to be entertainment in their own right. KIMN’s announcers staged endurance broadcasts, public appearances and unconventional promotions while maintaining the rapid pace expected of Top 40 radio.
A surviving February 26, 1962 aircheck captures Bell during KIMN’s peak years. The recording preserves the station’s tightly formatted presentation and Bell’s place within a lineup that, according to contemporary recollections, helped KIMN reach extraordinary audience shares. Colorado music histories continue to identify Bell as one of the signature voices of the station’s classic era.
Bell’s significance lies in the role local personalities played before music radio became increasingly standardized. At KIMN, the announcer was not simply a presenter between records; the personality was part of the attraction. Bell was among the broadcasters who made that model successful in Denver.
Sources: Rock Radio Scrapbook — Boogie Bell, KIMN, February 26, 1962; Colorado Music Hall of Fame — KIMN Radio; Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado — Denver Radio history.
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Aircheck · 1962
Boogie Bell on Denvers KIMN
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