During World War II, musicians went on strike against record companies as they were being shorted on royalty payments.

While most of America would not hear Bing Crosby, Perry Como and Frank Sinatra, one group heard new music and music tailored for them — the American soldiers.

Records were made on V-Discs during the two-year strike and sent to the armed forces all over the world fighting in World War II. The musician union told the artists to stop, but they refused. The union backed down.

When you turn the radio to 88.7 FM, there was one man in the nation who had those V-Discs and still played them for listeners in the Lafayette studio —   Lee Kleinpeter.

On Sunday, he passed away unexpectedly at the age of 73 at home.

Friday night, Kleinpeter was on the air with another great show, commercials and songs about Lucky Strike cigarettes and the beautiful sounds of the Big Bang Swings and his nostalgia. His deep, rich, soothing voice introduced songs, skits and commercials seamlessly.

That was the beauty of Lee, you could never tell if you were listening to a show from 1922 or 2022, his voice was perfect.

Lee Thomas Kleinpeter, Jr., was born in 1949 along the banks of the Bayou Teche at Iberia General Hospital. He graduated from Catholic High School in 1967. He started his career on KRVS and KANE radio. Over the years, his shows were can’t-miss, from the Breakfast Club, Old Gold, Dirty Rice, Born on the Bayou and most recently, Big Band Swings on Friday night.

For 56 years, his family, wife Margaret, and his sons, Thomas and Paul, supported Lee making radio his life.

As a result, Lee became part of our family each week. In an era where commercial radio on the dial between 92.0 and 108.0 is the most listened, the NPR station 88.7 remained a giant thanks to Lee and other talented on-air personalities.

Being a not-for-profit, that was also the pay scale. The work was done for the love of music and the love of entertaining listeners in our region.

“This was not a job-job for Lee, and it’s the same for most of our program hosts and producers — they might as well be volunteers,” said Cheryl Devall, the General Manager for KRVS Public Media, 88.7 Radio Acadie. “There’s no real money in it. They do it for the love of the music.”

NPR stations usually are filled with news. Because of the incredible shows, the airwaves are filled with music.

Fighting back tears, Devall talked about listening to Lee Kleinpeter through the speakers.

“He had a delivery style that harkens back to the golden age of radio that you almost don’t hear anymore,” she said. “He had great comfort to his voice. His two-hour Friday night program with Big Band would evoke a whole setting. For example, he would say, ‘Coming to you from the Avocado room of the well-built hotel built-well.’ There was no such place but he would take you there. And the way he would frame certain programs with vintage radio ads was like no one else had ever done.”

Colleagues say Lee had over 10,000 albums and recordings. So many of them were unlisted or vintage. Collectors had no idea they existed until they heard his show. Over the years, his fame spread nationwide thanks to the Internet. KRVS has a website and his shows are archived.

A tribute on the KRVS website said, Lee’s depth of knowledge and aural imagination were as rich as his incomparable announcing style. Week in and week out, he produced and hosted Big Band Swings, Old Gold, Born on the Bayou, and, with Bill Boelens, Dirty Rice — “the longest-running Louisiana music program in the known universe,” as the tagline goes.

“Lee was already here when I started 30 years ago,” said veteran program host Cecil Doyle. “I have never known KRVS without him.”

Neither have many of his fans. When they visited the station, or in random conversations around Lafayette, listeners singled Lee out for praise. We will miss his humor, his presence and his dedication to crafting great radio.

A gathering for family and friends will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 18 at the Pellerin Funeral Home at 502 Jefferson Terrace, New Iberia. Visitation will be from noon to 2 p.m. The service begins at 2 p.m.

His obituary read, “Of the many interests that he had, it would be said that he loved cars almost as much as broadcasting. He was a car collector, self-taught automotive technician and restorer — even becoming a Member of the Model “A” Restorers Club of Michigan. He also loved to perform for The Shadows on the Teche in his hometown of New Iberia as Weeks Hall and various other notable local figures. He was an avid supporter of public radio and always had the radio on. While working at KLFY, he and his friends created a character called Dr. Brain to host Saturday night horror films.

“Lee loved music of so many different kinds and he loved the local artists, too many to list. He loved acting, he loved to sing, he loved to draw, he loved photography and he loved to write. Art and music was Lee’s passion, and it expressed itself in so many different ways. To some he was a movie extra, to some he was a choir singer, to others he was a radio personality. Those who knew him might have known him to wear one of many hats, but they all knew Lee K.

“He was raised in a time like no other in South Louisiana. His generation represents the gumbo pot of Cajun Culture mixing with modern pop culture that became known as “Swamp Pop.” Although he may not have been a recording artist, it was his encyclopedic knowledge of these performers that kept their memory alive … Lee K will be forever missed.”

Dave Spizale, the former General Manager at KRVS worked with Lee for years and talked about his wide-range of talents and brilliance.

“Lee was an absolute master of radio, acting, auto mechanics and most especially being a dad to his boys,” Spizale said. “He had a fabulous radio voice. Originating his radio show from the fictitious ‘Avocado Room’ was so convincing, that as GM I received calls requesting tickets. He was funny, smart, and put a smile on many faces. We will all miss his brilliance.”

On the KRVS Facebook page, Doug Daniel wrote from Spartanburg, South Carolina, “I only found your station a little over a year ago. Mr. Kleinpeter’s shows were always among my faves of the week. I would listen to Big Band Swing on Sunday mornings and it always began the day in joy. His enthusiasm for music shined through my speakers. My condolences to his family and friends. He will be missed here in Spartanburg, SC., RIP.”

Bob Aiken had a tribute, as he would build his weekends around Lee’s radio shows.

“We were devoted to listening to the Magliozzi brothers on ‘Car Talk,’ and Friday nights were devoted to doing dinner and listening to ‘Big Band Swings.’ Especially during the autumn and winter, when the days were short, one could easily be transported back in time and distance to the radio that our parents had enjoyed,” Aiken said. “It was magical. For two hours, the sounds we listened to were not from just six miles away, but under the stars seemed to travel from magical locations hundreds of miles distant and from many decades gone. It was that and us in our little trailer in a park just outside of Duson, La., … Lee made it look and sound so easy.”

Aiken had a chance to meet Lee. They had a lot in common and the love for his show grew.

“Part of the Friday night ritual was to set up the cassette recorder and pull the shows off the air so that Joyce and I could listen to them again later, if we wanted,” Aiken said. “When we moved up here to Birch Bay, Washington, we had to scratch to find decent internet, and software that would allow us to do the same thing with a good deal more difficulty … but we managed. Now, we were dealing with real long distances.

“The only comfort that I can find in all of this is that FM signals are line-of-sight and project out of the atmosphere and into space” Aiken continued. “If there is a civilization out there listening for signals from other worlds as we are, the signals that they may discover Lee’s basso profundo voice and some strains of Count Basie’s orchestra knocking out “One o’ Clock Jump.” It may take a while … but it will be worth the wait.”

Anita Ready Begnaud said, “Lee made me smile, laugh, and cry. What an incredibly knowledgeable and talented radio host. He has played the soundtrack to my life for the last decade I’ve been a listener. Big shoes to fill.”

Devall had other high-praises for Lee.

“You would enter this audio landscape and it would take you somewhere else for a few hours on a Friday night,” she said. “He also had a tremendous work ethic. He was in and out of the station and produced four to six hours of programming each week.  He was helping Bill Boelens with the show Dirty Rice on Saturday nights.

“He really liked live hosting. In these days, it’s a lot easier to produce at home or pre-record,” Devall. “But Lee was so consistent with coming to the station, commandeering an edit booth and half of what he did was hosted live and the other he spent a lot of time producing.”

When he was off the air, Lee loved helping people and talking about the great communities in the area.”

It wasn’t just programming with Lee, he would recommend a restaurant in New Iberia or somewhere interesting to visit,” Devall said. “He brought that friendly everywhere.”