Sacramento has lost one of its most beloved voices. Tristen Mayes, the radio personality celebrated for his silky smooth tone and matching charisma, passed away on Feb. 26 at the age of 63.

Mayes was born Frontis Abney on July 23, 1962, in Camden, New Jersey. As a young man, he excelled in school and sports, He played high school football before enjoying a brief stint in the NFL. A knee injury cut short his professional career and would set him on a much different path — playing music rather than making plays.

Mayes spent time in Los Angeles, working behind the scenes on several television sitcoms. He also worked in radio in Philadelphia. Before dedicating himself to KDEE, Mayes spent 11 years in Sacramento with iHeart Media Inc. as on-air talent and executive producer, and also worked at CBS Radio Sacramento as a sports producer and on-air talent.

At KDEE, he entertained and made a name for himself with his morning show and also chopped it up with co-host Lady Charmaine, sharing laughs and offering the male perspective as they discussed “Hot Topics.” Behind the scenes, he also was the program director.

Fellow radio host Lee Perkins took to social media to pay tribute to Mayes’ legacy, recalling how Mayes and late program director Marvell Reed put in countless hours to create “a very special station.”

“Their vision has given us something that continued to grow,” Perkins said.

Mayes is credited with helping to develop and elevate the station, run by the California Black Chamber of Commerce, into a community favorite. 

“He helped Mr. [Aubry] Stone build the radio station from the ground up,” Mayes’ wife Barbara said of the chamber’s late former president and CEO. “He was so proud. That was his baby.”

Stone’s successor, music producer and entrepreneur Jay King, said Mayes revolutionized Black radio in Sacramento.

In addition to cultivating a fan base with his easygoing nature and love of soul music, King said Mayes wore many other hats at the Arden-area station. Mayes’ behind the scenes contributions included making sure KDEE was FCC compliant and calibrating sound equipment to ensure audio for all the radio programs ran smoothly.

Mayes’ voice and voracity will be remembered for years to come, King said.

“You’ll always hear his voice on our radio station, whether it’s in a commercial or something,” he said. “He built something strong and we’re going to really present him with his flowers every chance we get.”

Mayes has been described as a “passionate community advocate” who “touched countless lives.” Barbara “Bobbie” Abney calls him a loving husband who was encouraging and enjoyed life.

“I want him to be remembered the way he wants to be remembered,” she said. “As the smooth voice, although he didn’t think his voice was all that smooth, but for the personality that he has, the friendships he made with his listeners, with his radio family, as a person whose passion was music, soul music, who really enjoyed his job.”

In recent years, Mayes was slowed by health issues stemming from a 2019 heart attack. His hopes for a heart transplant were complicated by an addiction to nicotine, his loved ones said.

“It was tough to watch him struggle with trying to quit,” Barbara Abney said.

Days before his passing, Mayes’ colleagues at KDEE launched an online fundraiser to help his family with mounting medical and rehabilitation bills resulting from frequent hospitalizations. Mayes was living with a device to help his heart pump blood, which, according to the fundraiser post, had “sustained his life” but also “led to multiple infections and frequent hospitalizations.”

Donations will be accepted to support Mayes’ family in covering funeral and medical expenses. A funeral service is set for 11 a.m. Tuesday, March 24, at the St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church, 3996 14th Ave. A community tribute is scheduled from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, March 26, at the Guild Theatre, 2828 35th St.

Mayes is survived by his wife, three children, siblings, several grandchildren and a host of other loving family members.

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