Fans of the morning-radio personalities “Ace & TJ” were blindsided by the news on Friday that the long-running duo on Beasleyt'd Classic Hits WKQC was splitting up — after more than a quarter-century on the airwaves together in Charlotte.
The departure of David “Ace” Cannon from the popular syndicated program was announced on its social-media platforms at 7 a.m. like this: “The new TJ & Riggins Show begins Monday, September 23. Expect much of the same content and products with some new additions to be announced soon. Ace is no longer associated with the show.”
Cannon did not immediately respond to attempts by The Charlotte Observer to reach him. The duo’s manager, Adam Goodman, told the Observer “we have an agreement with Ace that’s basically a nondisclosure agreement,” but added that “we want to try at least to relay that ... he is still our friend.”
Commenting was turned off for the identical statements posted to Instagram and Facebook.
Hundreds of users shared the announcement on Facebook, however, and expressed varying degrees of shock and bewilderment.
- “What happened? “This is a joke, right?”
- “I need to know the tea. That’s drastic.”
Cannon and Beams had been an on-air duo since 1993, when the Louisiana natives were paired up for the first time on a Top 40 station in Alexandria, near their hometowns of Pineville and Winnfield. They moved from nights to mornings, then on to Baton Rouge, then to stations in Huntsville and Birmingham in Alabama, before being hired to do Kiss 95.1’s morning show in Charlotte in 1998.
Locally, “Ace & TJ” had moved up and down the dial, including to “Channel 96.1” WHQC in 2012; back to WNKS in 2022; then to “K104.7” WKQC in May. The show was syndicated to several stations in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic, and spawned a podcast.
Said Goodman: “We’re doing the exact same show (starting) Monday. It’s just called something different — and Ace isn’t there.”
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