Dave Herman (1936 – May 28, 2014) 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 personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...

, popular in the

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from 1972 to 1998. Herman was born in

Huntington, New York Huntington is one of ten Administrative divisions of New York#Town, towns in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States. The town's population was 204,127 at the time of the 2020 census, making it the 11 ...

and was the son of an

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

rabbi. Herman began his career at 1410 WHTG in

Asbury Park, New Jersey Asbury Park () is a beachfront city located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 15,188, a decr ...

, and then moved to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

to become

WMMR WMMR (93.3 FM, "93-3 WMMR") is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by the Beasley Broadcast Group through licensee Beasley Media Group, LLC and broadcasts an active rock radio format. ...

's first rock DJ. His show, dubbed 'The

Marconi Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi, 1st Marquess of Marconi ( ; ; 25 April 1874 – 20 July 1937) was an Italian electrical engineer, inventor, and politician known for his creation of a practical radio wave-based wireless telegraph system. This ...

Experiment', debuted on April 29, 1968. The first song played on the show was "

Flying Flying may refer to: * Flight, the process of flying * Aviation, the creation and operation of aircraft Music Albums * '' Flying (Cody Fry album)'', 2017 * ''Flying'' (Grammatrain album), 1997 * ''Flying'' (Jonathan Fagerlund album), 2008 * ...

" by

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

over the intro of which Herman recited these words: "Arise my heart, and fill your voice with music. For he who shares not dawn with his song, is one of the sons of ever darkness". He then moved to 95.5 WABC-FM in New York, which would later become

WPLJ WPLJ (95.5 FM) is a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station, licensed to New York, New York. Owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF), based in Franklin, Tennessee, it broadcasts EMF's Christian adult contemporary formatted p ...

. In 1970, Herman was the emcee for a live recording of

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

in the A&R Studios in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The recording was later released as the album "

11-17-70 ''17-11-70'' (titled ''11-17-70'' in the United States) is the fifth official album release for English musician Elton John and his first live album. Background The recording was taken from a live WABC-FM radio broadcast on 17 November 1970, ...

". Most notably, he later became the morning

drive time Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this c ...

host on

WNEW-FM WNEW-FM (102.7 FM broadcasting, FM, ''NEW 102.7'') is a hot adult contemporary-Radio format, formatted radio station, City of license, licensed to New York, New York and owned by Audacy, Inc. The station's studios are located at the Audacy faci ...

, where he was on the air from 1972 to 1982, 1986 to 1991 and then again from 1996 until the station ended its rock

format Format may refer to: Printing and visual media * Text formatting, the typesetting of text elements * Paper formats, or paper size standards * Newspaper format, the size of the paper page Computing * File format, particular way that informatio ...

in 1998. He was one of the station's best-known voices. Herman was also heard on New York

classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

station 92.3 WXRK (now

WINS-FM WINS-FM (92.3 MHz) is a radio station City of license, licensed to New York, New York, and owned by Audacy, Inc. WINS-FM simulcasts all-news radio station WINS (AM) (1010 kHz), with the station referred to on air as "1010 WINS at 92.3 FM". The ...

). He was included on the

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's list of notable disc jockeys. During the early to mid 1990's, he worked for the same station as

Howard Stern Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American broadcaster and media personality. He is best known for his radio show, ''The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from 1 ...

in New York, and would sporadically call into Howard's show. Herman also played the Narrator for several

ZBS Foundation ZBS Foundation, a small Non-profit organization, non-profit audio production company, was founded by Thomas Lopez (aka "Meatball Fulton") in 1970 with a grant from Robert E. Durand as a Art Commune, working commune, located on a donated farm in Up ...

radio dramas, starting with '' The Fourth Tower of Inverness'' in 1972, and continuing through '' Moon Over Morocco'' (1973), '' The Ah-Ha Phenomenon'' (1977), ''

The Incredible Adventures of Jack Flanders The Incredible Adventures of Jack Flanders is a radio drama produced by the ZBS Foundation and Meatball Fulton. It is the fourth of the Jack Flanders adventure series. Plot The series begins with the unexpected late-night delivery of an overst ...

'' (1978), '' Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe'' (1982), ''Ruby 2'' (1985) ''

Dreams of Rio ''Dreams of Rio'' is a radio drama, produced by the ZBS Foundation.ZBS.orglink (Dreams of Rio) It is the fifth of the Jack Flanders adventure series, and combines elements of American culture and Old-time radio with themes of lost cities, jungle ...

'' (1987), '' The Mystery of Jaguar Reef'' (1996), and ''Ruby 8: The Good King Kapoor'' (2009). In October, 2013, Herman was arrested by federal authorities at the airport in

Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands Saint Croix ( ; ; ; ; Danish and ; ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincorporated territory of the United States. St. Croix is the largest of the terr ...

, after going there from his vacation home in the area. The criminal complaint stated he expected to meet a woman and her six-year-old daughter, whom he allegedly believed was being brought for a sexual encounter with him. The 36-year-old woman who was "willing to let him have sex with her daughter 'Lexi'" at his St. Croix home was actually a

Homeland Security Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" to ...

agent who'd been "chatting him up online since November. ... 'I find girls that age incredibly sexy, soft, and their innocence is also a huge turn-on for me,' investigators said the 77-year-old Airmont, Rockland County, resident unwittingly told investigators who set up the sting. 'Age 6 is the perfect time to start her being loved that way.' ...

erman Erman may refer to: Given name * Erman Bulucu (born 1989), Turkish footballer * Erman Eltemur (born 1993), Turkish karateka * Erman Güraçar (born 1974), Turkish footballer * Erman Kılıç (born 1983), Turkish footballer * Erman Kunter (born ...

also promised not to hurt

he girl He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter call ...

though he admitted he might have to be 'forceful,' investigators said." After Herman also allegedly "bought a pair of plane tickets for the mother and daughter" he was charged with transportation with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. His unnamed attorney claimed Herman was sexually interested in the mother, not the girl, it was reported after Herman's death. Herman died of an

aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward :wikt:bulge, bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also b ...

on May 28, 2014, in the Essex County Jail in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, while awaiting trial. He was 78.Alexander, Dan
"Lawyer Says DJ Dave Herman Dies in Jail"
New Jersey 101.5, May 29, 2014. "7-year-old girl": Alternative age of 'Lexi' - report. Retrieved 2024-02-06.

References

External links

DJ Legend Busted in Kiddie Sex Sting
''heavy.com'', 2013/10. {{DEFAULTSORT:Herman, Dave 1936 births 2014 deaths American people who died in prison custody American radio DJs Deaths from aneurysm Radio personalities from New York City People charged with sex crimes Prisoners who died in New Jersey detention WMMR people