Josh Holstead - Rowdy Yates

Rowdy Yates was born in Fort Worth and is the son of legendary Texas newsman and Texas Radio Hall of Famer Joe Holstead. Josh Holstead or Rowdy as he is known on the air, has been in broadcasting since the age of 10, when he first appeared on shows in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Local personalities probably remember little Josh roaming the halls at KXOL, KLIF, KFJZ, WFAA, KRLD and WBAP in the ‘70s.  While getting in their way, he was also gaining knowledge about the radio business.  When he was 15, his mother, Charlotte, agreed to drive him to Denton, where he ran the church tapes at KDNT every Sunday morning.

He arrived in Houston in 1994 as the afternoon air personality at KIKK and moved to sister station KILT in 1997.

Along the way he was educated by Texas Radio Hall of Famers Rusty Reynolds and Earle Fletcher, as well as legendary managers like Benny Springer, Debbie Brazier and the late Ted Stecker - and he even traveled out of Texas with stops as a personality and Program Director in New Orleans and Oklahoma City.

It was the late General Manager and Texas Radio Hall of Famer Dickie Rosenfeld and Operations Manager Rick Candea who hung Josh Holstead with the handle "Rowdy Yates".

Today, Rowdy and his wife Kim live in Sugar Land with dogs Duke and Daisy. He can be heard now weekdays from 3pm - 7pm on KILT.

Rowdy was named as Houston's Best Country Music DJ in the July 2002 edition of Inside Houston Magazine.

Two years ago he took the reins as host of the syndicated program "Country Gold," which is the nation’s number one country request show that is heard every weekend on over 100 radio stations.

Twice he has been nominated for Academy of Country Music Personality of the Year.  He was voted top jock by Houston's H-Magazine, and readers of the Houston Chronicle voted him the 'ultimate afternoon jock.'

Photo Source: KILT