Did you know that Dick Summer died?

[exitseven]

Dick Summer was a popular radio personality in the northeast, mostly Boston and New York City in the 60s and 70s and beyond. He did the overnight shifts on many radio stations. The Beatles. Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra and Ray Charles were all heard on his show. But also more lesser known performers like Leonard Cohen, Joan Baez, Jose Feliciano, Jaime Brockett and my fave , Tom Rush. He really had a big influence on my musical tastes. He read stories and some poetry and had a cast of characters including a pet Venus Fly Trap named Irving the 2nd. He did voiceovers for many commercials as well. He retired from radio many years ago but I found his website https://dicksummer.com/ a couple of years ago and listened to his weekly podcast. It was like finding a long lost friend. He had been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

[AviatorTom]

When I was much younger, one of my hobbies was radio DXing. From my bedroom in Western New York State, I listened to radio stations from around the world, typically late at night. One of them was WBZ-AM in Boston. I don't recall if Dick Summer was on the air then but I loved WBZ... it was one of my favorites.

I googled him and found lots of info about him, including a mention in Wikipedia's WBZ article. Another of the great radio hosts has passed. May he be remembered, and rest in peace.

[exitseven]

He had the overnight shift so if you picked up BZ after midnight you probably heard him. When he moved from WBZ to WNEW in New York I used to be able to DX the signal. WBZ was a 50,000 watt clear channel station that could be heard in 38 states.

[exitseven]

I used to do the same thing. I remember Jefferson Kaye on WKBW

[Red_Arrow]

Never heard of him. Of course, being on the west coast I never heard him on any shows coming from the east coast. But I never consider greats like Joan Baez and Jose Feliciano as lesser known performers (who does not know Feliz Navidad as one of the greatest Christmas songs, written and performed by Jose Feliciano, and recognize his rendition of Light My Fire as great?)

[exitseven]

There was a little place in Boston called the Unicorn Coffee House where Feliciano and others often performed.

[Daniela1982]

Never heard of him.

[exitseven]

He was probably retired when you were still kicking slats out of your crib.

[Daniela1982]

Every state has their own radio stations and DJs. You can't know them if you never heard them. Not sure too many people even listen to the radio anymore except for news.

[exitseven]

@daniela1982 It was a different world. The DJs did a lot more than play music, you can get a computer to do that. They ran contests, they championed causes, they were real entertainers. There are not many of those guys left.

[OlderAndWiser]

I had never heard of him before reading this post.

[exitseven]

Back in the 70s , radio announcers were part of the shared experiences that everyone had. There were not the infinite options of entertainment that we have today. There might be two radio stations that kids might like and that was your choice. If there was something interesting that happened on somebody's show, all the kids would be talking about it the next day at school.

[Jammaa]

Honestly had no clue

[Wiredone]

No I didn't know