Tom
Reeder
Tom “Cat” Reeder was the most popular
Country disc jockey of his time in the Washington DC
area . He in Abbyville worked for no pay on his first
job in 1956 as an air talent/gofer at WARL Arlington,
VA and got his first paying job at WABB Mobile Alabama.
He joined the Air Force and was stationed at Andrews
Air Force Base, outside Washington, DC. When discharged,
he went to work at WARL in Arlington, Virginia and
became very good friends with Don Owens who was known
as Mr. Country Music in the Washington, Virginia, Maryland
area. until Owens was killed in a car accident. The
crown was then passed to Tom Reeder, who moved to WDON
to take over the early morning drive time Tom Reeder
Show. He closed his show with the song Tom Cattin recorded
especially for him by Buck Owens and by saying: “May
the good Lord take a liking to you; May you live as
long as you want and never want as long as you live.
Bye-bye darlin’.Tom had his own record (Kash)
and publishing company (Tom-Kat Music) and managed
several country music artist in Nashville. Tom owned
WYAL Scotland Neck NC and WARI Abbeville AL and later
became station manager at WKCW in Warrington, Virginia.
Tom Reeder was inducted into the Country Music D J
Hall of Fame in 1990. He recently hosted one of the
Bluegrass Overnight shows on WAMU, Washington DC.
