Rick Shaw (born James Harold Hummel; October 24, 1938 – September 22, 2017) was an American

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...

and

television personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

, who remains best known for hosting his radio shows on

WQAM WQAM (560 AM, "AM 560 Sports") is a radio station in Miami, Florida. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts a sports talk format carrying a mixture of local and CBS Sports Radio programming. Its studios are located in Audacy's Miami office on No ...

(1963-1975), WAXY (1975-1990), and Majic (1990-2007).

Early life

Shaw was born and raised in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Radio and television career

He started in radio as a high school senior. In 1956, he got his first job in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. He followed that with gigs in Omaha,

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

and then WCKR in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

in 1960, when he got his professional name as Rick Shaw, and where he spent most of his career spinning vinyl and playing

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as ...

, goldies, and

Rock and Roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...

Radio career

By 1963, he was working at

doing a daily 7pm-11pm shift, when in 1964, he recorded a record-shattering 54 share — more than all the other local stations combined. In 1964, at WQAM, Shaw was the first radio disc jockey in South Florida to play

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

songs. He met them later that year in

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

. During a 47-year career in Miami, Shaw finished each program with the 1959

Ray Peterson Ray Peterson (April 23, 1935 – January 25, 2005) was an American pop music, pop singing, singer who is best remembered for singing "Tell Laura I Love Her". He also scored numerous other hits, including "Corrine, Corrina" which was compose ...

classic, '' Goodnight My Love''. When FM stations began to overtake AM stations, WAXY-FM 106, later known as WAXY 105.9 and WBGG 105.9, hired him as program director. His last on-air job before retiring in 2007 was at WMXJ-FM "Majic 102.7". He remained involved with the Majic Children's Fund. On May 11, 2007, Shaw surprised listeners by announcing his retirement midway through a broadcast. When the show ended, he played the Peterson classic, "Goodnight My Love".

Television programs

He hosted two television shows, "Saturday Hop" and "The Rick Shaw Show," both on Channel 10 (

WLBW WLBW is a radio station in the Fenwick Island / Ocean City area of Delaware and Maryland and broadcasting at 92.1 MHz. The station plays a contemporary Christian music format as part of the K-Love network. The station is owned by the Education ...

). In the 1970's and early 1980s, he was a commercial spokesman in national campaigns for products such as NuVinyl furniture cleaner and NuFinish car wax. He also was president of the Majic 102.7 Children's Fund.

Personal life

Shaw spent his retirement doing charity work and hosting events. He video-recorded weddings. He loved ocean cruises and cars, buying a 1955

Thunderbird Thunderbird, thunder bird or thunderbirds may refer to: * Thunderbird (mythology), a legendary creature in certain North American indigenous peoples' history and culture * Ford Thunderbird, a car Birds * Dromornithidae, extinct flightless birds ...

convertible after he retired.

Death

Shaw died on September 22, 2017, at his home in

Cooper City, Florida Cooper City is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. The city is named for Morris Cooper, who founded the community in 1959. The city's population was 34,401 at the 2020 census. In 2006, with the annexation of the Waldrep Dairy F ...

, where he lived for more than 30 years. He was predeceased by his wife, Elaine, who died at age 57 in 2001. He is survived by added his two sons, Rick Hummel and Sean Hummel, from a previous marriage.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Rick 1938 births 2017 deaths American radio personalities Culture of Miami Radio personalities from St. Louis People from Cooper City, Florida Television personalities from Florida