John Erling was inducted into the Tulsa Hall of Fame in 2024
John Erling has spent a lifetime sharing the experience of real, heartfelt, challenging, fun and funny conversations with Oklahomans. He has placed some of the most original and fascinating voices of our time in the spotlight.
It all started in tiny Thief River Falls, Minnesota and later Grand Forks, North Dakota where Erling was raised on a farm. Even as a boy, he seemed destined for broadcasting. “They tell me as a child I would stand on a tree stump in the woods on the farm with my mother’s bible and preach to the chickens. And then I would complain to my mother that the chickens are running in and out of my church. So, I was apparently born to do some public speaking.”
Erling moved from chickens to humans in 1961, taking his first radio job in North Dakota and continuing to hone his skills in Minnesota and Nebraska before settling in Tulsa.
For nearly 30 years, from 1976 to 2005, John Erling entertained Tulsans as the host of Erling in the Morning on KRMG radio. Known for his interviews with people of all walks of life—from politicians to celebrities to everyday people—John’s talk show provided the perfect forum to deliberate the hottest local and national topics. In the days before the internet and social media, John’s radio show was where Tulsans turned for everything from entertainment to finding their lost dog.
As a well-respected community leader and member of both the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame and Oklahoma Historians Hall of Fame, Erling now devotes his energy and enthusiasm to Voices of Oklahoma, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the oral histories of influential Oklahomans and empowering future generations with the lessons imparted from their legacies. It started by accident.
When he retired from KRMG in 2005, Erling started lunching regularly with his friend, Tulsa businessman and community leader, Walt Helmerich. During these lunches, Erling realized he was learning fascinating new stories about the state and its people–stories that needed to be shared. A few years later, he started recording and has since produced nearly 300 interviews with figures like Roy Clark, Tommy Allsup, Senator Jim Inhofe, Walt and Peggy Dow Helmerich and Oral Roberts. At voicesofoklahoma.com, listeners can hear the voices of those who stood witness to history as well as those who helped shape its direction.
Erling deeply believes that preserving the stories of Oklahomans will reveal the depth of emotion and pride that built our great state. By introducing inspirational stories in an accessible, lively format he hopes to educate and motivate future generations.
John has two children, David and Michelle, and two grandchildren, Emma and Lars. He and his wife, Margaret, cherish their time on the lake or at baseball games with family. And, of course, the occasional chat with one of the many Tulsans who feel radio’s John Erling is part of their own family.