Edward Leon Sciaky (April 2, 1948–January 29, 2004) was an American rock radio disc jockey who spent his broadcasting career in the

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

area.

Early life

He was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

and raised in Philadelphia, where he graduated from Central High School, and then from

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptists, Baptist minister Russell Conwell an ...

where he majored in mathematics.

Career

Sciaky became known for promoting new talent, helping establish the careers of scores of artists, most notably

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the " Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo artist since th ...

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

Janis Ian Janis Ian (born Janis Eddy Fink; April 7, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter who was most commercially successful in the 1960s and 1970s. Her signature songs are the 1966/67 hit " Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)" and the 1975 Top T ...

, and

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talente ...

.Ed Sciaky, a Broadcast Pioneer
/ref> Sciaky can also be heard introducing AC/DC on the

Live from the Atlantic Studios ''Live from the Atlantic Studios'' is a live album by AC/DC released on the ''Bonfire'' box set. The album was recorded live at the Atlantic Recording Studios in New York, on 7 December 1977 and all tracks were remixed by George Young. This w ...

CD off their 1997 boxset,

Bonfire A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used either for informal disposal of burnable waste material or as part of a celebration. Etymology The earliest recorded uses of the word date back to the late 15th century, with the Cath ...

. He was one of the first FM disc jockeys who thrived when given the chance to choose their own music, venturing beyond playing pop hits. Frequently, he would play lesser known songs that had personal meaning for himself or listeners. He was a good friend to many musicians who enjoyed his intelligent interviews and his knowledge of rock-n-roll. One of his best recording artist friends was Billy Joel, who at 23, had just released his ''

Cold Spring Harbor Cold Spring Harbor is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Huntington, in Suffolk County, on the North Shore of Long Island in New York. As of the 2010 United States census, the CDP population was 5,070. History Cold Spri ...

'' album and was trying to promote it. Sciaky subsequently featured it on one his

Sigma Sound Sigma Sound Studios was a recording studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.. It was founded in 1968 by recording engineer Joseph Tarsia. Located at 212 North 12th Street in Philadelphia, it was one of the first studios in the United States ...

broadcasts. Sciaky provided the master tape of

's live version of

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 developm ...

' " I'm Down" for the band's 1992 '' Yesyears'' box set. Sciaky's broadcasting career, all in the Philadelphia area, covered WRTI,

WHAT What or WHAT may refer to: * What, an interrogative pronoun and adverb * "What?", one of the Five Ws used in journalism Film and television * ''What!'' (film) or ''The Whip and the Body'', a 1963 Italian film directed by Mario Bava * '' Wh ...

, WXUR (in Media; unrelated to the modern WXUR), WDAS, WMMR, WIOQ, WYSP, WMMR (again), and finally WMGK. In 2003, Sciaky's "Sunday With Springsteen" specialty show won a "Best Of Philly" award from Philadelphia Magazine. The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphi

posthumously inducted Sciaky into their Hall of Fame in 2005.

Personal life

Sciaky lived on the Main Line, Philadelphia. His house was home to a substantial, well-organized music collection, as well as a rather large iguana, perhaps five feet long. The resting iguana would sometimes startle first time guests when it moved slightly and caught their attention. He was married to Judy (Feldshur) Sciaky from 1969 until his death. They had one child in 1985, Monica, an opera singer with a doctorate in vocal arts, who married Eiki Isomura, who has his doctorate in conducting and is the son of world renowned violist Kazuhide Isomura.

Death

Sciaky died of complications from diabetes on January 29, 2004, at the age of 55. E Street drummer, Max Weinberg, and singer-songwriter, Steve Forbert, served as pallbearers at his funeral, which was attended by 1500 people.

References

1948 births 2004 deaths American radio personalities Radio personalities from Philadelphia {{US-radio-bio-stub