Gene Shay (born Ivan Shaner; March 4, 1935 – April 17, 2020) was an American radio personality.
Shay was born in
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 ...
, Pennsylvania, to a
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
family and was a representative of the city's
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...
scene. Beginning in 1962, he produced a weekly folk radio shows on
WXPN
WXPN (88.5 FM) is a non-commercial, public radio station licensed to the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that broadcasts an adult album alternative (AAA) radio format, along with many other format sh ...
, which was last broadcast on February 1, 2015. He previously hosted shows on
WDAS-FM,
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. ...
,
WIOQ and
WHYY-FM.
A founder of the annual
Philadelphia Folk Festival
The Philadelphia Folk Festival is a folk music festival held annually at Old Pool Farm in Upper Salford, Pennsylvania, just outside of Philadelphia.
The four-night, three-day festival is produced and run by the non-profit Philadelphia Folkson ...
and its emcee since its inception, he has been called the "Dean of American folk DJs"
by the ''
Philadelphia Daily News
''Philadelphia Daily News'' is a tabloid newspaper that serves Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper is owned by The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC, which also owns ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', a daily newspaper in Philadelphia.
The ''Dail ...
'' and "The Grandfather of Philadelphia Folk Music"
by ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...
''. Shay also served as a host for the online "Folk Alley" stream originating at
Kent State University
Kent State University (KSU) is a Public university, public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Kent State University at Ashtabula, Ashtabula, Kent State ...
station
WKSU
WKSU (89.7 FM broadcasting, FM) is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to serve Kent, Ohio, featuring a public radio format. Owned by Kent State University and operated by Ideastream, Ideastream Public Media, WKSU's primary s ...
and carried on WXPN's website.
Career
Some of his early recorded interviews with
Joni Mitchell
Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...
,
Jackson Browne
Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American rock musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 30 million albums in the United States.
Emerging as a teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he had his ...
,
John Denver
Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American Country music, country and Folk music, folk singer, songwriter, and actor. He was one of the most popular acoustic m ...
,
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...
,
Phil Ochs
Philip David Ochs (; December 19, 1940 – April 9, 1976) was an American songwriter, protest song, protest singer (or, as he preferred, "topical singer"), and Political Activist, political activist. Ochs was known for his sharp wit, sardonic h ...
,
Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In 1971, Raitt released her Bonnie Raitt (album), self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed Americana (mu ...
, and
Judy Collins
Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning nearly seven decades. An Academy Awards, Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Awards, Grammy Award-winning rec ...
were
bootlegged.
Shay was the first to bring
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
to Philadelphia in 1963 for his debut concert. As an advertising writer and producer, he wrote the original
radio commercials
In the United States, commercial radio stations make most of their revenue by selling airtime to be used for running radio advertisements. These advertisements are the result of a business or a service providing a valuable consideration, usually ...
for
Woodstock
The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...
. He helped design the famous "smiling banjo" logo for the
Philadelphia Folk Festival
The Philadelphia Folk Festival is a folk music festival held annually at Old Pool Farm in Upper Salford, Pennsylvania, just outside of Philadelphia.
The four-night, three-day festival is produced and run by the non-profit Philadelphia Folkson ...
and years later came up with the name ''
World Cafe'' for the nationally syndicated series produced by
WXPN
WXPN (88.5 FM) is a non-commercial, public radio station licensed to the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that broadcasts an adult album alternative (AAA) radio format, along with many other format sh ...
and distributed by
National Public Radio
National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
.
For a few years he edited and published ''Singer-Songwriter'', a newsletter that had subscribers in the United States, Canada, and Japan.
Awards and achievements
He received a lifetime achievement award from the Delaware Valley Music Poll in 1994 and was inducted into
Temple University
Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...
's Radio, TV & Theater Hall of Fame on October 25, 2005.
He was a partner in Sliced Bread Records and produced a number of folk music collections for that label. The most notable may have been ''What's That I Hear, The Songs Of Phil Ochs'', a
tribute album
An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century a ...
featuring
Phil Ochs
Philip David Ochs (; December 19, 1940 – April 9, 1976) was an American songwriter, protest song, protest singer (or, as he preferred, "topical singer"), and Political Activist, political activist. Ochs was known for his sharp wit, sardonic h ...
songs interpreted by more than a score of popular folksingers, and the ''Philadelphia Folk Festival 40th Anniversary Anthology'', a historic four CD collection of recorded Festival performances from
Pete Seeger
Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weav ...
,
Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In 1971, Raitt released her Bonnie Raitt (album), self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed Americana (mu ...
,
Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention are an English British folk rock, folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson (musician), Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Marti ...
,
John Prine
John Edward Prine (; October 10, 1946 – April 7, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. Widely cited as one of the most influential songwriters of his generation, Prine was known for his signature blend of humoro ...
,
Arlo Guthrie
Arlo Davy Guthrie (born July 10, 1947) is an American folk music, folk singer-songwriter. He is known for singing protest song, songs of protest against social injustice, and storytelling while performing songs, following the tradition of his fa ...
and many others. The ''Moses Rascoe Blues'' album he produced for
Flying Fish Records
Flying Fish Records was a record label founded in Chicago in 1974 that specialized in folk, blues, and country music. In the 1990s the label was sold to Rounder Records.
Bruce Kaplan, the label's founder, was a native of Chicago and the son of ...
was considered for a
Grammy
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
nomination.
Shay served as a Charter Board Member of the
North American Folk Alliance
Folk Alliance International (previously the ''North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance'') is a non-profit organization that produces an annual conference that is the world's largest gathering of the folk music industry and community. Founde ...
, served on the Board of ''
Sing Out! Magazine'', the national folk music quarterly founded by
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer, songwriter, and composer widely considered to be one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American Left, A ...
and
Pete Seeger
Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weav ...
in the late 1940s, and he was a voting member on the Board of Governors of
NARAS
National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS), doing business as The Recording Academy, is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely kno ...
in Philadelphia.
Death
Shay died from
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
in
Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania
Lower Merion Township is a Township (Pennsylvania), township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Philadelphia Main Line. The township's name originates with the county of Merionethshire, Merioneth in north Wales ...
, on April 17, 2020, at the age of 85.
References
External links
* (archived)
Gene Shay on Facebook*
* ''Gene Shay's secrets of magic'' (
Running Press
Running Press is an American publishing company and member of the Perseus Books Group, a division of the Hachette Book Group. The publisher's offices are located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with many of the corporate functions taking place in ...
), 1977,
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shay, Gene
1935 births
2020 deaths
American Jews
American radio personalities
Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Pennsylvania
Radio personalities from Philadelphia
Temple University alumni
WMMR people