The accompanying article extolled the fact that he had built his own working transmitter in the attic of his home the year before, using a "souped-up" wireless broadcasting kit with a hundred-foot antenna.

During his high school years, he obtained a full-time shift at the station as a host of the Mister Midnight program, where he developed his now-famous "slow 'n low" style of speaking.

In the spring of 1970, he moved to Southern California to another Drake outlet, KHJ, as one of the last true "Boss Jocks", where his big baritone and energetic enthusiasm soon gained a following.

Before long, he gained significant popularity on radio and became the announcer and sidekick on the nationally syndicated television series The Steve Allen Show.

Attaining status as a programmer, he was hired to make a success of KMET-FM and then to create the programming for a new radio format on a new Los Angeles station, KROQ-FM ("K-Rock"), where he remained for five years.

These ads were so popular that they were the subject of a two-page spread in Time Magazine and led to a movie deal, television shows, and American Top 40.

He also became known for playing Kenny Beckett on the sitcom Dave's World (1993–1997) and serving as announcer for the Fender Bender 500 segments of Wake, Rattle, and Roll.

In 1999, he had a cameo in a season 9 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210, playing Sonny Sharp, a former top radio DJ who befriends David Silver.

In July 2015, Stevens became the primary continuity announcer for Tribune Media's television network Antenna TV, replacing Gary Owens, who died in February.

Stevens' brother Richard, who occasionally filled in for him on the 1986–89 version of Hollywood Squares, is a disc jockey on Citadel Media's Hits & Favorites format.