Ken Batie

News Obituary Article

COVINGTON: Ken Batie, afternoon host on jazz station

By HOLLY CRENSHAW

Ken Batie's genre-hopping approach to music kept listeners tuned into his radio free-for-all for two decades.

As host of "Hot Ice in the Afternoon," Mr. Batie held forth from 2 to 6 p.m. each weekday on WCLK-FM. He'd start with some Kool & the Gang, spice things up with a little Miles Davis and sweeten the mix with a then-unknown India Arie.

"He drew from a wide range of musical influences," said his friend Ken Rye of Atlanta. "Everything from traditional jazz to rock to classic soul to Latin to acid jazz to reggae to house music."

"Radio stations are so formatted these days that you rarely get to hear someone cover such a range," Mr. Rye said. "So his appeal was all that, combined with this genuine jovial spirit. His energy on the air was just incredible, and it was exactly what people needed at the end of a long day in rush hour."

Kenneth A. Batie, 46, of Covington died Monday in a car accident on Memorial Drive at I-285. The funeral is noon today at Martin Street Church of God. Donald Trimble Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.

Mr. Batie knew he'd found his calling when he stumbled across the campus radio station at Jacksonville State University, where he attended college for several years.

In the mid-1980s he joined WCLK and started serving an intoxicating brew of underground sounds, from acid jazz to neo-soul and fusion. He scoured record stores, chatted up industry insiders and imported music from Europe to keep his listeners ahead of the curve.

The only way to describe his CD collection, said his wife, Lisa Batie, was "massive, absolutely massive."

"Ken played and searched out great music, regardless of the marketing," Mr. Edwards said. "So he'd break new artists who were relatively unheard of --- like Incognito and Julie Dexter and India Arie and a whole roster of people --- just because it was good music, not because some trade magazine said, 'This is the hot track to play.' And he took that role very seriously."

"He treated the show the way someone would deejay a party," said his friend Charles Edwards of Covington. "He played songs based on what sounds good with what, not some small circle of music you're forced to play on an hourly rotation."

At WCLK, located on the Clark Atlanta University campus, Mr. Batie was quick to share advice with broadcast students.

"He was just a fun dude," Mr. Edwards said. "He had charisma, that 'it' factor, and everyone wanted to be around him. He was always telling jokes and messing with people, but he was very serious about what he was doing."

After his program went off the air in 2005, Mr. Batie continued to promote music, organize live events and emcee concerts, where his energy was as infectious as it was in the radio booth.

"He had this amazing way of building up the atmosphere and the anticipation and the vibe," said Mr. Rye, "so the audience felt completely connected to the artist before a single note was played on stage."

"Ken thought he could positively affect people through music. To him, that's what it was all about."

Survivors include a son, Kenneth Batie, and daughter, Kennedy Batie, both of Covington; seven sisters, Sandra Simpson of Lithonia, Rose Willingham of Lithonia, Verita Mayes of Winder, Adrienne Daniels of Macon, Jan Andrews of Stone Mountain, Robin Mayes of Atlanta, and Terry Mayes of Norcross; a brother, Jarrell Mayes of Douglasville; three half-brothers, Demetrius Hall of Forest Park, Deraldo Hall of Lexington, Ky., and Lewis Patton Hall of Lilburn; and a half-sister, Kimberly Pierre of Grayson.

ON AJC.COM

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© 2007 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution