Bill Lawson, known to his huge radio audience as, “Dollar Bill”, is one-half of the top-rated morning team of “The Dollar Bill & Madison Show”, heard on Birmingham’s 102.5 THE BULL.
Dollar Bill Lawson grew up in the Birmingham area, went to public schools there, and due to his self-described “maximum attention to teenage boy priorities” then graduated high school, as well as earning an Associate Degree in Arts and Science at The Marion Military Institute. During his college years at MMI, Bill took many courses and participated strongly in the theatre program at Judson College. Leading in productions of Tartuffe, Charlie’s Aunt, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, Cyrano de Bergerac and others. Bill gives major credit to M.M.I. for building a solid foundation of Truth, Honor and Service in his life. Bill then received his BA degree in Communications in 1976, at the University of Alabama, While attending the University of Alabama Bill worked in local and educational television, as well as radio, and local community theatre. After graduation, he worked at radio stations in Selma, Alabama and Florence, Alabama, then moved back home to Birmingham in 1979. For years Bill was a “Rock Jock” on WERC and KICKS106, had a popular talk show in the early 1980’s, and even spent several years, flying mornings and afternoons as a live helicopter traffic reporter!
Bill Lawson became “Dollar Bill” in 1984, as he began his almost twenty years with Birmingham powerhouse WZZK radio. Dollar Bill stayed there, working in promotions as well as on the air, finishing up in 2002, after almost 10 years in mornings, 9 of those years as the top-rated morning show in Birmingham. Since 2002, Dollar Bill has been on iHeart Media’s amazingly successful FM country giant WDXB – FM, known as “102.5 THE BULL”. Dollar Bill can also be heard doing afternoons on WTXT-FM in Tuscaloosa, and all over the nation with a Classic Country show weekends on iHeart radio stations. Dollar Bill was the in-house voice announcer for WBRC-TV Fox 6 for almost 15 years.
Dollar Bill has worked with just about every country music artist for 40 years, and attended the Country Music Association’s shows and the CMA Awards Shows. He worked for several years for the Legendary Sam Phillips, of Sun Records fame. Bill also speaks regularly to large groups, organizations and at public and private functions all year long.
During the last 30 years, Dollar Bill has worked tirelessly for charities, schools and social organizations. He has been a telethon host every year since 1979 for United Cerebral Palsy’s UCP Telethon, or the Muscular Dystrophy (Jerry’s Kids) Telethon, and The Children’s Hospital of Alabama Telethon and Radiothon. Bill has worked with hundreds of fundraising events for the Cancer Society, Head Injury Foundation, Easter Seals, The Diabetes Association, and many more. For about 20 years, Dollar Bill has worked tirelessly to help support St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, raising several million dollars, to find better treatments and cures for childhood cancer. And catastrophic diseases.
Bill Lawson loves his wife Mary, his family and his country. Bill’s wife Mary was a V.P. in banking, having worked for the same banking institution for over 51 years. Their son, Jason, earned his PhD in biophysics at Harvard, and lives in Boston, Massachusetts with his wife and their two sons Reilly and Zachary. Their daughter Angela, lives in Florence, Alabama. Bill and Mary reside in Alabaster, Alabama. Dollar Bill enjoys all types of music, airplanes and flying, woodworking, theatre, photography, traveling and most of all flying, and has been a professional air-show announcer for over 35 years.
Since 1979 Dollar Bill has received many awards, both locally and nationally for his commercial production and voice work. You’ve probably heard his voice on many radio and television commercials that have aired all over the state and country.
Dollar Bill Lawson has received many awards over the years, including commercial production awards, ABBY Awards, and he was awarded the Humanitarian of the Year award nationally in Nashville in 2019, and inducted into the Alabama Broadcasters Hall of Fame.