Jack Daniel (DJ)

Jack Daniel (real name Shane Atwell) is a DJ and radio professional who has worked in Charlotte, North Carolina radio since the mid-1970s.

While Shane Atwell was a student at Concord High School in Concord, North Carolina, he worked at the student radio station. As a computer science major at East Carolina University, he devoted much of his time to working at the campus radio station there, and he dropped out in 1975. A year later, he went to work at WPEG, a Top 40 station in Concord that switched to disco in 1977. When the disco craze ended and WPEG changed to soul music, Atwell moved to WROQ. Jim Ballard, WROQ program director, decided Atwell needed a better name, and when he heard someone order Jack Daniel's and Coke, he told Atwell his name would be Jack Daniel. After his first shift as Jack Daniel, bikers loved the name and even brought him a bottle of Jack Daniel's.

When WROQ was an album rock station, Daniel served as program director. Later he became a morning host at CHR WJZR "Z-100". In 1986, Daniel became midday announcer at CHR/adult contemporary WBCY. At that time, he was also host of the TV series "Let's Dance" on WPCQ. Later that year, he was also WBCY program director. During his time at WBCY, the station made a significant ratings improvement after finally selecting a successful morning team—Randy Cook and Spiff Dingle—and increasing its focus on CHR music.

In September 1987, Daniel became program director on the station he had left in 1986, which by this time was album rock WRFX. At this time, he had been a part of Charlotte-area radio more than 12 years. By 1990, Daniel was the station's general manager. Daniel prevented popular morning hosts John Boy and Billy from leaving the station by making a deal that paid them well and gave them the chance to be syndicated.

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