Most of us wake up to see Doug McKelway each morning as he provides us with our dose of news as he co-anchors Good Morning Washington on  ABC 7, but many of us don’t know that he is not only an award-winning reporter, but also an accomplished musician. 

Doug was born and raised in Washington, DC.  He grew up on Macarthur Boulevard, is a graduate of the Landon School in Bethesda and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Skidmore College in Saratoga, New York.   

News is in Doug’s blood.  He comes from a long line of journalists.  His grandfather was the editor of Washington’s premier newspaper, “The Evening Star.”  Doug’s brother works in print journalism and Doug is even married to a local journalist.  Doug was definitely bitten by the news bug at an early age but wanted to get into the business in a different manner than his relatives—this is why broadcasting intrigued him.  Broadcasting still provided him with a way to be involved in the “family business” in a sense, but also gave him a way to set himself apart from his family at the same time.

McKelway’s career has taken him to a variety of locales, such as Charlotte, North Carolina as well as Kansas City, Missouri and also to Florida.  In looking back over the places where he has lived and reported, McKelway looks back on Kansas City the most fondly.  He has good reason to look back upon his time there.  Two of his children were born in Kansas City.  He also told me a few interesting facts about the city that I didn’t know, such as, Kansas City has its own mafia, the city (at one time) produced more cars outside of Detroit than any other city in the county and was home to the second biggest rail yard outside of Chicago. 

Even though Doug McKelway has lived in a myriad of places, he always knew that he wanted to return home to Washington.  Doug returned to his native Washington in 2001 and is currently co-anchors of Good Morning Washington and ABC7 at Noon. Returning to Washington would also mean an Emmy Award for McKelway.  Doug won an Emmy Award for covering a human interest story about a local female football player who was a star kicker.  This star kicker was always named prom queen on the same night that she was very successful on the football field and kicked numerous field goals. 

Aside from being an award-winning newscaster and father of four, McKelway is one serious musician.  When I think of instruments, I usually think of the more common instruments like the guitar or the piano, but when I was learned that Doug plays the banjo, this sure threw me for a loop.  I just couldn’t see the person that reports the news to me every day strumming a banjo.  However, McKelway passionately explained to me the genesis of his love for the instrument and his commitment to attaining excellence in his musical skills.

Doug grew up in an era where Washington was a hotbed for bluegrass music.  Bluegrass gained popularity in Washington due to the folk music revival of the early 1960’s.  As more and more people from rural areas migrated to DC in search of better jobs, their music came with them.  People were moving to Washington in search of the elusive “good government job” which provided security and benefits.  As more and more rural whites were moving to the city, they shaped the musical environment of this area. 

Doug grew up in a home where his siblings played instruments.  This also peaked his interest in music.  He recounted that his brother played the guitar and forbid Doug from playing his guitar or listening to his music. What happens when you tell a kid that they can’t do something? They want to do it even more.  So, Doug would sneak into his brother’s room and play his guitar and listen to his brother’s music.  In addition to the changing music scene in Washington, there was a confluence of events that also contributed to Doug’s interest in bluegrass music.  When he was in high school, he saw a banjo performance and was hooked.  Two immensely popular movies came out that prominently featured bluegrass music—Deliverance and Bonnie and Clyde.

I felt that I had an idea of what “bluegrass” music was but didn’t exactly know how to describe it so I had to ask Doug before we went any further.  Doug described it very eloquently.  He remarked that bluegrass music is a combination of Irish fiddle tunes combined with blues of rural areas.  In any event, Doug said it is a very soulful type of music.  Improvisation is an integral component to bluegrass which makes it very similar to the improvisation used in jazz music. 

Fast forward to today—if you are lucky you can find Doug McKelway playing the banjo at Tiffany Tavern in Old Town. The Tiffany Tavern is one of the few places, he noted, that features bluegrass music.  He said that he doesn’t get to play as often as he would like to, but he has been playing at the Tavern on and off for about 10 years.  He said that when he does manage to get some free time that all of it is devoted to practicing his banjo playing.  He said that he “drives everyone crazy at his house” with his practicing.
His musicality has rubbed off on his children as they have displayed an interest in music.  He said that his daughter is a singer, one son is a jazz pianist and his youngest child has shown a real interest in bluegrass.  Maybe like the news business—Doug has started a new McKelway tradition.

I asked Doug if people recognize him when he plays at the Tiffany Tavern.  Let’s not forget that he does co-anchor a major morning news program that airs in quite a few households! He said that he often gets double takes when people look at him.  He said that he does get some perplexed looks as well, but for the most part, people do leave him alone and let him play in peace.

At the end of our conversation, Doug made a powerful statement.  He said that his banjo music is his “raison d’être” (reason for being).  This is not just a hobby for him.  There are few people that know what their path in life is supposed to be. Doug McKelway is clear what his path is and how he will achieve it.  Maybe we can catch a true musician at work at Tiffany Tavern soon.

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