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Dennis Mitchell became enamored of The Beatles at age 9. After seeing their photos in the newspaper, he asked his mother
what they were all about, and she told him they were “a bunch of guys with weird
haircuts.” Though she made no mention of music, Dennis found out soon enough
what the buzz was about in early 1964. He also became a disciple of the legendary British disc jockey John Peel,
who at the time was still making a name for himself as John Ravenscroft on KMEN in San Bernardino, California.
Dennis would call and pester John to play deep tracks from Beatles albums, and John would always oblige.
Dennis planted the seeds for a career in broadcasting by co-hosting his high school’s weekly radio
Top Ten countdown show on Saturday mornings. Honing his craft at stations in San Bernardino
and Redlands, Mitchell began working full-time in radio in Las Vegas in 1981,
and hasn’t looked back.
According to Wikipedia, the original "Breakfast With The Beatles" began in Philadelphia in 1976, hosted by Helen
Leicht. In the ensuing years, dozens of BWTB shows sprang up on FM stations across the U.S. With a few exceptions,
the playlist would be randomly generated, leaving Beatles fans happy to hear a segment devoted entirely to their favorite
band, but wanting more in the way of background information and fan participation. One such station was in Las Vegas,
and at the start of 1991 Dennis became the first live host of that show, doing extensive research and digging deep for
interesting facts, rare recordings and interview clips. He would go on to produce more than 500 consecutive unique local
one-hour programs and win several local media awards. As word of the program's success and credibility spread, more and
more celebrites became interview guests, including Yoko Ono, Ringo Starr, Pete Best, Geoff Emerick, George & Giles Martin,
BBC legend Brian Matthew and many, many others. "Dennis Mitchell's Breakfast With The Beatles" is one of about 15
remaining weekly BWTB programs on U.S. radio. In May 2010, the program expanded to two hours for most radio affiliates.
In 1999, Dennis gave the program a presence the worldwide web, creating the first incarnation of the website you're enjoying
now. It has evolved into a one-stop Beatles information resource and companion media for BWTB listeners around the world.
After "Dennis Mitchell's Breakfast With The Beatles" established nine affiliate FM stations, the show became syndicated,
and since then the radio affiliate list has grown into the dozens, with stations in Detroit, Chicago, San Francisco, Denver,
Las Vegas, Raleigh, Tucson, two in Great Britain, one in Germany and one in New Zealand.
Dennis was inducted into the Nevada Broadcasters Hall of Fame in August of 2004. He was chosen (along with Lenny Kaye
and Sid Bernstein)to contribute to the liner notes of "Meet The Smithereens," the tribute album released in early 2007.
In March of 2007, Mitchell was honored as Best Local Radio Personality in the Las Vegas Review-Journal's "Best of Las
Vegas" edition, and in May 2008, Las Vegas Weekly honored him as "Best Morning Radio Personality." He is still
featured often in local media articles and regularly emcees Beatles-related events in and around Las Vegas.
Mitchell is a co-host on the popular
"963 Classic Rock" webcast, billed as Las Vegas' BEST Classic Rock Station.
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