From being a singer in a hit band to becoming the voice of a generation of wrestling fans, Mean Gene Okerlund lived quite a surprising life!
Mean Gene Okerlund – Early Life and Music
Before finding his voice on the stick in professional wrestling, he formed a band called Gene Carroll and The Shades when he was in his late teens. He was the singer and songwriter in the group.
His band Gene Carroll and The Shades released two singles, one in 1959 with the tracks “Red Devil” and “Do You Remember” and again in 1962 with the songs “Is It Ever Gonna Happen” and “Holly.”
Gene Okerlund studied broadcast journalism and landed his first job on-air on the popular Omaha radio station, KOIL. He later moved to Minneapolis, where he worked for a local television station’s front office.
Being the true gentleman that he was, Okerlund always kept a spare suit in his locker room or dressing room at the studio where he worked, and when he got the call from Verne Gagne in 1970, he was ready to go.