“I came to Dayton in 1980,” McGill said. “But I was raised an ‘Army brat,’ mostly in Germany.”
During his time in Germany in the late 1960′s, McGill began performing with three others in the band “Crosstown Traffic.” It was there he discovered he loved writing music as well as performing.
After returning to the states, he finished high school in 1973 in Tennessee and graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1978 with a degree in communications with a specialty in broadcast performance.
“My first job out of college was with WPEG in Charlotte,” McGill said. “I was there for about a year and a half and then was offered a job in Cincinnati.”
In Cincinnati, McGill worked for WBLZ – the first FM urban station in the city. He continued writing music and began managing artists.
“I got my first cover for one of my songs in 1983,” McGill said. “It was performed by The Spinners,” a R&B group.
In those days, McGill worked mostly as an on-air personality, but eventually became a production director. He also discovered that his voice was perfect for doing other work, like voiceovers for corporate promotions and commercials.
“I left WBLZ to concentrate on my music while I did the voiceover work,” McGill said. “Then in 1987 I decided that it might not be a bad idea to get back into radio.”
His next radio job was with Q102 (WKRQ) in Cincinnati, and he became the full-time midday personality within a month of starting there. He also worked as creative services director. After two years, he landed his first job with Dayton radio stations, WGTZ (Z93) and WING-AM, where he was creative services director and also did promos and voice work.
In 1997, McGill was recognized by the National Association of Broadcasters with the Mercury Award.
“The ceremony was in New York, and I was given the award by Dick Clark for best radio commercial,” McGill said.
In 2008, McGill decided to start his own company. Named Maxvox after his on-air moniker, “Max,” he began transitioning out of local radio completely to become a full-time voice actor. His career began to grow exponentially as he was represented by Abrams Artists Agency.
“That same year my wife Pam and I started investing in art and I became interested in European art specifically,” McGill said. “I decided it might be interesting to go back to Europe.”
While driving through Germany, McGill was listening to the Armed Forces Network (AFN) on the radio.
I thought they had a good sound,” McGill said. “But I also thought they could use some help with their signature voice.”
He emailed the AFN and Gary Bautell, the recognized “voice” of the U.S. military in Europe, responded, telling McGill that they would love to work with him.
Bautell hired McGill on the spot, and he quickly became the “voice” of the AFN in their contemporary music format. Over the years, he was invited to host workshops for broadcast personnel in Germany and Italy.
“It’s been 15 years since then and out of the blue a few months ago, they notified me that I was being considered for a citation of some sort,” McGill said. “I had no idea what it was.”
Bautell died tragically in a traffic accident in November of 2022 and the AFN planned to honor him at their 80th anniversary event this year. McGill was invited to receive a “commendation.” He did not know the details until he and wife Pam were at the ceremony on July 15.
“I was the final honoree, and I knew it was going to be a big deal at that point,” McGill said. “I was in total shock because I knew I was joining the ranks of people like former Presidents Obama and Carter, Bob Hope and Steven Spielberg.”
Back home now and continuing his voice work for companies ranging from McDonald’s to CNN to Merck, McGill sees voice artistry as something he can do for as long as he’s living, breathing and of course, speaking.
“Don Pardo was the voice of Saturday Night Live until he was in his 90′s,” McGill said. “I don’t know if I’m going to be working that long but it’s certainly something I can do long term, for as long as I’m able.”
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