Jim Ladd (born January 17, 1948 - died December 17, 2023) was an American disc jockey, radio producer and writer.

He served as the inspiration for the 2002 Tom Petty album “[m=143901]” and it’s title track. In his career, he had become friends with many rock legends such as Roger Waters, Tom Petty, John Lennon, and Jackson Browne, along with filmmaker Cameron Crowe (he played an all-night DJ in Crowe’s 1989 film “Say Anything”). Ladd appeared on Roger Waters’ second solo album [m=50004]. As “DJ Jim”, he joined Waters on the tour that followed and appeared in the three music videos for the album.

Ladd began his career in 1969 at KNAC, a small Long Beach, CA rock station, but he moved in 1974 to KMET, known to its legions of listeners as “The Mighty Met”, where he would remain for the rest of the 1970s and most of the 1980s while also hosting and producing [l84415] an hour-long nationally syndicated interview program. On May 6, 2005 Jim Ladd received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, where Jackson Browne made the induction speech.