R.I.P.: Dalton, GA Radio Personality Otis Head

Otis Head

Otis Head, a musician and longtime radio personality in Whitfield County, GA known for his showmanship, passed away on Tuesday.

He was 94, according to daltondailycitizen.com.

Randall Franks, a friend of Head’s for some 25 years, said Head “had a great ability to relate with other people, a great ability to communicate.”

“His personality was very outgoing,” Franks said.

Many people in the area, Franks said, heard Head, the self-proclaimed “Mayor of Plainview,” on local radio stations. According to Head’s obituary, his “Otis Head Show” and its predecessors appeared on Dalton-area radio stations for more than 50 years. His final live broadcast on WTTI was last month.

Head started hosting live radio shows featuring country and bluegrass music in 1959 on WBLJ. He moved to WRCD for 28 years, and spent 27 years at WTTI 1530 AM.

Head, who is a member of the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame, hosted many bluegrass and country music stars on his radio shows over the years, including Raymond Fairchild, Arnold Sanford, the Fort Mountain Boys and the Bell Brothers. As a producer, he assisted the careers of Fairchild, country singer Clyde Beavers and numerous bluegrass and gospel acts, his obituary said.