Dale Sommers, aka The Truckin’ Bozo, was perhaps the most-listened-to host in the history of trucking radio. Starting at WLW and other affiliated stations in 1984, his overnight show achieved ratings that were the envy of many top-flight drive-time radio hosts. He continued that when he moved in 2004 to XM Satellite Radio, transitioning after a merger to Sirius XM Satellite Radio, where network leaders said he was among the top-rated program hosts on the entire system (not only on the trucking channel, but on all Sirius XM channels).
He served as a tireless advocate for truck drivers, promoting their causes, advising them and entertaining them. He started his radio career at the young age of 16, dedicating his life to broadcasting. In fact, his name, Bruce Dale Sommers, was not his birth name; he legally changed his name to Bruce Dale Sommers to honor two broadcasters he particularly admired.
Some of his individual shows became legendary: He was on the air live with a trucker who was helping capture the D.C. snipers (by blocking the exit from a rest area where he spotted them) after identifying them and calling police. He counseled a trucker on live radio who was contemplating suicide; the trucker credits Dale with saving his life. He stayed on the radio live with a listener while the convenience store where she worked was being robbed, and contacted police to come to her help. He was perhaps the most public promoter of the Indiana Boycott, which caused the state to back down from enforcing laws that discriminated against truckers.
