After a stint as an electronics technician at Western Electric in Syracuse, Ballou began his radio career as disc jockey at WOLF in 1962.
[2] With Ballou's help WOLF enjoyed a majority share of Syracuse radio listeners in 1963 and 1964.
He also hosted a black-and-white television version of "The Bud Ballou Show" on WNYS-TV, channel 9, originating from the station's Shoppingtown studios in DeWitt, which premiered on February 8, 1965.
Ballou left the Syracuse area for KBTR in Denver, Colorado, in 1966, and in 1967 he moved to WKBW in Buffalo, New York, to replace Joey Reynolds.
Ballou died April 15, 1977, at age 34 of a massive stroke at Leonard Morse Hospital in South Natick.