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The Golden Tones of David Locke?
Posted by: Annie Whittaker Jazzbot Blogger on November 2nd, 2010
The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of the Utah Jazz.I tuned into the radio broadcast of the last Jazz game and of course I heard David Locke calling the game. I couldn’t help but miss the voice of Hot Rod Hundley, and I think I will for a very long time. Nothing against Locke, just a testament to what Hot Rod did with the team and his career.
I remember when David Locke first took over calling games. His voice isn’t exactly smooth is it? And frankly, the delivery of his commentary wasn’t either; not by a long shot. People wrote on this blog and others complaining about the way that he sounded. So when I turned on the radio and thought about Hot Rod this time, I started getting all nostalgic about the golden voice that would be no longer. But then, I came to a realization about actual reality. Hots didn’t have a golden toned or smooth voice. His voice had the same tonal quality of the cars driving over loose gravel in my parking lot.
The thing that endeared us to Hot Rod of course, was what he said. Yes he got points for flare, and the way that he phrased things could never be beat, but it wasn’t how he sounded, that made him a hall of famer; if we are trying to be exact. David Locke has a unique voice, and I’m not just talking about the sound produced by his vocal chords. David offers a unique perspective and insight that dare I say; Hot Rod did not?
David Locke was talking about the Halloween activities of the team while on their road trip. I for one appreciate these little glimpses into the life of a Jazz player. I don’t want to know juicy private details of their lives, but I do appreciate the insight into what makes the team work. That chemistry that has been brought up so much in the last 2 weeks is affected by these little activities like going to the spook alley as a team. So while Hot Rod could never be replaced in my mind, or in the mind of anyone else I’m sure; I think the guy that took over his job is making the job his own. This goes to show the overall quality of the Jazz organization as a whole, which makes me that much happier to be one of it’s fans.
Go Jazz.
Replies: 11
Views: 1394
11 Responses
I can’t stand listening to Locke. His schpeel right before the open scrimmage this year almost had me running for the doors.
That said, his play-by-play is great and there are definitely nights I prefer listening to him over Boler.
Great post, I think Hot Rod had a little bit of an accent that made him easier to listen to, but probably it came from years of listening to him that made his broadcasts so great. I did have a much easier time vizualizing the court with Hots. But Locke has imparted gobs of information, both stats (not my favorite) and some more personal insight into the players. What I would like to see is for him to seperate his radio show persona from his announcer persona a little bit, especially while he works with Booner. The last thing I want to hear is them arguing.
In my opinion David Locke is the worst announcer of all time. I wont listen to games on the radio anymore, I just hit refresh on my phone over and over on nba.com when I cant watch the game.
Locke cuts in and out of his play by play to throw out tidbits and stats that don’t matter. He needs to tell us what is going down on the court cuz we can’t see it and say the score besides when its going to commercial break
Great post, Annie! I may take some heat for this comment, but I actually like Locke better than Hot Rod. I don’t like his voice better, but I feel he overall brings more to the table.
Gotta agree with Scotty T!! Drives me nuts how he such a stat freak! I’m not a Locke fan at all! That being said I do like his passion for the Jazz and hate for the Lakers!
“a gentle push, a mild arc, and the cowhide globe hits home” Hot Rod was one of a kind. Personally I like that Locke is being Locke. He has his own style and in my opinion does well. Bollerjack on the other hand really got on my nerves when he first started. You could feel him struggling to create catch phrases and try to be like Hot Rod. “Memo money”, “buckle up”… He has since kinda grown on me but I am still not a huge fan. Glad Harpring is in there tho, he is awesome.
Hot Rod was one of a kind, and it was well known that he drank while on the air …at least sometimes …He would get carried away sometimes and a little slurry – like the great Harry Carey …Hot Rod Hundley was definitely my favorite Jazz voice, Locke has a long way to go.
The worst I have heard though is the Milwaukee Bucks play by play guys, I watched the Blazers/bucks game last night on ATDHE.net – they were slaughtering the names of the Buck’s players, and Bucks’ fans were supposed to text to vote on the poll: ‘which Brandon (Roy or Jennings) is a better PG?’
Colten Davis I agree with you, there reason Seattle tossed him back our way..LOL.
Yeah Locke drives me nuts. His voice is just so….ugh.
I think he does a great job digging into stats and everything but when he announces he has really bad ADD. His voice is not an easy one to listen to.
I’m glad I don’t have to listen to radio broadcasts.
i will give him credit for the Sundiata Gaines “prophecy” that was pretty cool, but when he hit the shot and screamed you had to check to see of your ears were bleeding.
Hot Rods voice wasn’t a smooth voice, but it was a great voice to listen too. Lockes voice sounds like he has gravel down his throat and the only good thing he announced was the Sundiata Gaines shot against Cleveland last year. We need a new voice for the Jazz