Key Points
- Kid Kelly’s syndicated radio program “Backtrax USA” will end after 34 years, with its final new episode airing Thanksgiving weekend.
- Kelly announced the decision after the program spent recent months airing repeat episodes.
- The program debuted in December 1992 with a focus on 1980s music before adding a 1990s edition about a decade later.
Kid Kelly is ending his nationally syndicated radio program “Backtrax USA” after 34 years, with the final new episode scheduled to air the weekend of November 28.
The announcement was made in a social media post on Monday, after radio stations spent several months airing replays of his syndicated radio program.
“After three decades, Backtrax USA 80s and 90s radio show will come to an end,” Kelly said in the message. “It’s been a privilege to share the music, memories, and magic of two of the greatest decades in music history with radio stations and listeners. What started as a passion for the music grew into something that became a huge part of my life.”
Kelly launched the show in December 1992 while working at WHTZ (100.3 FM, “Z100”) in New York City. Originally focused on music from the 1980s, the show expanded about a decade later with a separate edition featuring hits from the 1990s.
The program briefly expanded into nightly programming in 2020, with a continuous version also airing on an FM translator in Baltimore. Recent broadcasts have consisted of repeat episodes.
A 2018 inductee into the National Radio Hall of Fame, Kelly spent 19 years at SiriusXM, serving as Vice President of Pop Programming from 2001 to 2020 and hosting afternoons on “Hits 1.” His earlier broadcasting career included multiple stints at Z100, evenings at WKSE in Buffalo and programming and morning show duties at WBHT in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
No replacement program was announced in Kelly’s message, and it is unclear how radio stations will fill the time slot that he will vacate at the end of the month.
