By Gene Lambey,
Special to the AFRO
Rev. Lee Michaels has retired after over 40 years as a gospel radio host for “The Morning Experience” on Baltimore’s Heaven 600 radio station.
Michaels, who officially retired on Dec. 31, 2023, told the AFRO that his time as host of Heaven 600 “The Morning Experience” was “fun and fulfilling.”
As a retired radio host, Michaels plans to continue his work as a voice for the Baltimore community. He also looks forward to continuing his ministry in the Christian faith at Manifest Wonders Christian Center. And then there are plans on writing a book about his life and his journey.
Michaels celebrated his retirement at the Empowerment Temple AME Church in Baltimore on Feb. 18.
The AFRO had the opportunity to speak with Michaels about his journey to becoming one of Baltimore’s most renowned figures on gospel radio. Raised in the Perkins Homes public housing project in east Baltimore, which at the time was known as “the Bottom,” Michaels knows a thing or two about working his way to the top.
“Geographically, it was called ‘the Bottom’ because it was the lowest point of public housing before you got to the undeveloped area towards the waterfront,” Michaels recalled. Perkins Homes was rough and tumble development where his mother raised him in a single parent household.
“All of the trappings that come with living in an economically depressed area and the behaviors that go along with that–all of that was what I had to face and I was able to get out,” said Michaels.
He grew up listening to many radio personalities like “Fat Daddy,” Kelson “Chop Chop” Fisher, Sir Johnny O and many other early 70’s Baltimore radio hosts. However, the first radio host that took Michaels “under his wing” was Maurice “Hot Rod” Hulbert.
“These guys were bigger than life to me. They really inspired me through the years. To finally find myself sitting in that chair that I admired–that was fun,” said Michaels.
He recalls his time working in the radio industry as fulfilling because of his faith. While there were bumpy periods, he said he ultimately found his “way back to a place of faith” through the experiences bestowed upon him. One such opportunity came on a Sunday evening while eating dinner alone, the words of a radio evangelist encouraged him to combine his skill sets from the Air Force, the Army Reserves, brief studies at Coppin State University and the Broadcasting Institute of Maryland (BIM) to get into broadcast radio.
His first broadcasting job was with WCEM/WESP-FM Cambridge, Md. radio station in Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The FM genre was rock. The AM genre was big band. Both arenas featured music formats he “knew nothing about,” he said.
“I tell everybody to this day that was the best thing that could’ve happened to me,” Michaels told the AFRO. The circumstances of his new opportunity forced him to study and adapt, learning how to present the genres to listeners.
He organized a handful of disc jockeys who worked at four clubs in Baltimore. Through that group–the Disco Knights–he made contacts with music producers and learned the ins and outs of the broadcast music industry, eventually meeting key players in the upcoming rap music industry. in the early 80’s. Among the new connections was a relationship with New York City record producer who would become the famous business mogul, Russell Simmons.
Though the thrills of mainstream radio were ever-present, eventually Michaels answered a higher calling and decided to move into gospel radio. He got his start in Christian radio under Pastor Naomi DuRant at WBGR, but it was his time at Heaven 600 that has made Michaels a household name in Christian homes and cars across the area.
Today, streaming has become the new normal for the radio industry and through it Heaven 600 has forged a global outreach. Michaels said connection with organizations like the Gospel Announcer’s Guild, out of the Gospel Music Workshop of America, allowed him to understand the impact of technology.
“You must always keep in mind that your presentation in radio has to be one dimension better than the accepted practice in radio–which is information and entertainment,” said Michaels. “We understand that people come for those two things.”
Now that his time on air is done, Michaels told the AFRO he looks back with gratitude and can only hope he has been a good example to others.
“Having had this opportunity to live what I call a ‘fulfilling life,’ and a fulfilling career, I would hope that my journey and my story in some way, form or fashion as a source of encouragement and a reminder that God does still honor faithfulness–if you are true to your commitment,” said Michaels. “Live a godly life, God will reward it. I really believe that because that is what I lived.”
Gene Lambey is a resident of Washington D.C. He is writing for the community.
