Awesome Al Radio, an Alabama radio station with a unique vision

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA)— From the time he was 10 years old, Al Eford knew what he wanted to do.

“Music has been a passion of mine all my life,” he explained. “I was basically raised on the radio.”

He’s been a disk jockey for about 40 years. During the pandemic, he decided to take his career to the next level and start his own radio network.

“I enjoy talking to the people. I just said one day, God knows, I’m gonna be on the air. And now I am heard worldwide.”

There is something most of his listeners on the Awesome Al Radio network probably don’t know. While the sounds are important, it’s sight that makes this show unique.

“I was born with glaucoma. The older I got, the more sight I lost. I went totally blind by 12 or 13 years old.”

He never let lack of sight affect his vision.

“I have speech synthesizers on my computer. When I put my headphones on, the synthesizer comes through the headphones to tell me what song I’m going to play.”

Song requests? No problem. He has a special printer that converts an email request into braille.

“Mr. Peoples in Laurel, MS, wants to hear the Supremes with “One Day We’ll Be Together,” he explained. Eford plays a little bit of everything. “Classic R&B, Today’s R&B, Neo Soul, Smooth Jazz, Country.”

It’s how he plays it that makes Awesome Al Radio special. Al hopes to keep growing his listeners and getting more sponsors, but nothing will slow this guy down. He’s doing what he loves every day.

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