More than five decades after first stepping behind a microphone at one of Houston’s most influential Black radio stations, veteran broadcaster, U.S. Army veteran and legendary music industry executive Paris Eley is being inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame Class of 2026.

The honor celebrates a career that stretches from Houston radio to the national recording industry and back again, while recognizing Eley’s enduring commitment to broadcasting, music, community service and the generations of listeners he has reached along the way.

Eley is among several Houston-area broadcasting professionals being honored by the Texas Radio Hall of Fame in 2026. The Houston honorees also include Dr. J. Thomas Smith, Pam Wells, Doug Abernethy and Joyce King. Their recognition highlights the depth of Houston’s broadcasting legacy and the impact local radio professionals have made both within the industry and throughout their communities.

Eley’s Houston radio story began in 1970 when he arrived in the city and joined historic KCOH Radio 1430 AM, one of Houston’s most important Black radio stations.

Hired by then-Program Director Frank Halison, Eley became part of a celebrated lineup of personalities broadcasting from KCOH’s distinctive “Beautiful Looking Glass” studios under the station’s memorable “The Heart and Soul of Houston” identity.

Eley quickly built a connection with listeners and community leaders, including ministers, elected officials, students, labor leaders and neighborhood organizations. He recognized that radio could be much more than entertainment and embraced its potential as a vehicle for information, education, civic engagement and community advancement.

Using his veterans’ educational benefits, Eley enrolled at Houston Community College’s Kashmere Gardens campus, where he studied English to strengthen his writing, rhetoric and communications skills as an on-air personality and advertising copywriter.

When legendary broadcaster King Hot Dog left KCOH, Eley was promoted to Program Director. In that role, he maintained the station’s popular musical identity while expanding programming and activities that brought KCOH even closer to the community.

One of those efforts was the KCOH Street Festival, a popular annual summer celebration held in Houston neighborhoods that attracted tens of thousands of residents. Eley also partnered with the Houston Parks and Recreation Department to bring music and entertainment to young people participating in the Mayor’s summer programs throughout the city.

His broadcasting talents soon expanded to television. In the early 1970s, Eley was selected by Charles Porter, an African American news anchor at KTRK-TV Channel 13, to co-host a groundbreaking weekly television variety program featuring an all-Black cast. The program showcased Houston radio and television personalities, artists, performers and community leaders.

Eley’s radio experience and management skills opened another door in 1974 when executives at CBS Records, now part of Sony Music, hired him as a Local Promotions Manager representing Columbia, Epic and associated labels.

His responsibilities included securing airplay, advertising and record rotations across markets in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas.

Eley’s ability to develop relationships with radio programmers, personalities, concert venues, clubs and other music outlets helped propel him through the recording industry. His career ultimately grew from local and regional management positions into senior executive leadership.

Over more than three decades in the music industry, Eley helped promote recordings associated with some of the most celebrated artists of their generations, including Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind & Fire, Luther Vandross, Patti LaBelle, Johnny Gill, Boyz II Men, Randy Crawford, Shanice, Another Bad Creation, LeVert, The Isley Brothers, The Temptations, Mark Morrison, The Braxtons, Aaliyah and Brandy, among many others.

The Columbia Records Black Music Promotion team also played a role in helping deliver two landmark platinum-selling singles: The Manhattans’ “Kiss and Say Goodbye” and Johnnie Taylor’s “Disco Lady.”

Eley eventually became head of Black Music Promotions for several national record labels and served as Senior Vice President of Promotions for Motown Records.

Even as his career reached the highest levels of the music industry, Eley maintained his commitment to community service.

Throughout his broadcasting career, he championed the belief that media organizations serving Black audiences also had a responsibility to support nonprofit and volunteer organizations working to strengthen those communities.

KCOH regularly opened its airwaves to community fundraising efforts, including daylong radiothons benefiting organizations in need.

That commitment continued during Eley’s time in the corporate music world. During his tenure at Motown, Billboard writer Janine McAdams highlighted Eley’s community-focused work, including efforts with inner-city youth and initiatives assisting young people orphaned as a result of violent crime.

Today, Eley remains connected to the Houston community and the station where his remarkable journey began.

More than 50 years after first walking into KCOH, he serves as General Manager and hosts the “Morning Magazine” talk show on KCOH 1230 AM The Source, airing Monday through Friday from 9 to 11 a.m.

His 2026 Texas Radio Hall of Fame induction represents a fitting full-circle moment: from the “Beautiful Looking Glass” studios of KCOH in 1970, to executive offices at some of the world’s most influential record companies, and ultimately back behind the microphone serving Houston listeners.

Eley’s career reflects the enduring power of radio and music to connect people, create opportunities, share information, celebrate culture and strengthen communities.

His induction, alongside Houston broadcasters Dr. J. Thomas Smith, Pam Wells, Doug Abernethy and Joyce King, shines a spotlight on the extraordinary legacy of Houston radio and the professionals who have spent their careers informing, entertaining and serving the public.