Photo via WNOV
Milwaukee lost a lively presence after four decades on the radio Friday June 11. Ernest Glen Mitchell, better known as Ernie G to listeners of his Saturday afternoon potpourri of funk, quiet storm soul and more, “G’s Jams” on WNOV, died of a massive stroke. He was 65 years old.
“Jams’” 1-5 p.m. weekend slot may have been where G was last heard over the airwaves—and on the internet, evidenced by the shout outs he gave to online listeners from across the U.S.—but his involvement in broadcasting goes back to the 1970s, when he carried records for WNOV disc jockeys.
After graduating from UW-Sevens Point with a communications degree, he was hired as one of the station’s announcers in 1977 and named its program director/music director in 1980. His ability to help break records nationally with the support of Milwaukee listeners led to the station’s office and studios being adorned with gold and platinum sales plaques addressed to G from Whitney Houston, The O'Jays, George Benson, The Temptations and The Isley Brothers. As current WNOV program director, Homer Blow says, “the list goes on.”
Of G’s mentorship, Blow says, “He created the program director, music director and on-air personality radio personality you see and know today!” As for his attraction to the funk of James Brown and The Bar-Kays, Blow remarks that it was “the groove, the ability to turn the airwaves and the party up. Ernie G would always say, ‘You didn’t come to the party to sit down!’”
G facilitated dancing beyond his radio work with events he hosted and promoted. Before undergoing the heart surgery that took him off radio in 2018, he regularly held dances at West Fond du Lac Avenue banquet hall The Comfort Zone. And he continued the tradition of R&B radio personalities hosting concerts to celebrate their birthdays. His beloved Bar-Kays and Enchantment were among the acts he brought in to share his natal day with listeners.
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The way Blow describes the dance moves G made with his wife, Maggie, also fits his presence behind a microphone: “Smooth, sophisticated and funky!”
Apart from his wife, G leaves behind two daughters and two sons and their families. Memorial arrangements have yet to be announced, but in the meanwhile, here’s an aircheck of Mitchell announcing music and voicing commercials on WNOV in 1989 by which to remember him:
