Steve Leeds has had a long and illustrious (dare we say even Gump-like) career in the music business. Terrestrial radio (Murray the K!). Major labels (Led Zeppelin!). Indie promotions (Joan Jett!). MTV (Adam Sandler!). Today he’s a VP of Talent for Sirius XM and a college professor. If it’s happening, Steve was — and still is — involved. Steve shares his memories of working with 97X (and getting lost leaving…) and what stations like 97X meant to emerging artists.

Check out Steve’s bio – it’s a who’s who of music. Steve’s blog also covers the latest twists and trends in the music biz, from someone who truly has been there and done that.

In our interview, Steve mentioned the 97X Cookbook (featuring “Dave’s Sensational Seven-Layer Salad”). Here he is holding his copy during our chat.

Here’s Steve interviewing the co-authors of the book I Want My MTV: the Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution.

And here are a couple of clips featuring artist promos for U68, a New York-area TV station that Steve programmed with music content.

Here’s a podcast featuring Steve talking about the music biz.