He made a one-day guest appearance alongside WIND-AM’s Big John Howell on Wednesday morning. Later that same day, it was announceed that Garry Meier will be on WGN-AM next week for three days. It’s not officially being called an audition, but by all accounts, that’s what it is. Aside from the regular news and traffic contributors, Meier will be hosting the show solo.

The 1-4pm slot that Meier will be filling has been without a permanent host since John Williams vacated the shift late last year to take over morning drive from the retiring Spike O’Dell. Since then, a variety of WGN regulars and out-of-towners have filled the slot. There’s no word on a timeline for finding a permanent host.

Meier’s last regular on-air stint came in 2007, when he hosted the 8-11am shift on WCKG-FM until that station flipped formats in November of 2007. Prior to that, Meier had been sitting out since he broke with longtime partner Roe Conn in early 2004.  Meier refused a contract that had been offered to him by the ABC/Disney-owned WLS  in June of 2004. Conn took the contract, thereby ending a partnership that enjoyed eight years of success on WLS.

From 1979 until 1993, Meier teamed with Steve Dahl on several outlets, gaining great notoriety in Chicago. That partnership ended badly and the two didn’t speak until August of 2006 when Garry dropped by Dahl’s remote broadcast at Oak Street Beach.

The big question surround Meier’s future is his ability to carry a show by himself. Outside of his partnerships with Dahl and Conn, Meier has found little success as a solo act. Some consider Meier the best radio partner in the business, but his several attempts at going it along have left something to be desired. This week of auditions at WGN will reveal much about Meier’s potential future with the station and elsewhere.

LISTEN to Meier sitting in with WIND’s Big John Howell from this past Wednesday:

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UPDATE: Listen to some of Garry’s work from WGN this week:

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