Nathaniel "Magnificent" Montague (born in New Jersey, January 11, 1928), is an American R&B

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 ...

notable not only for the

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American culture, African-American African-American neighborhood, communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps ...

records he helped promote on KGFJ

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and

WWRL WWRL (1600 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to New York, New York, owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The station airs an all-news radio format as an network affiliate, affiliate of the Black Information Network (BIN). Founded in 1926, WW ...

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 ...

, but also his trademark catch-phrase, "Burn, baby! Burn!" that became the rallying cry of the 1965

Watts riots The Watts riots, sometimes referred to as the Watts Rebellion or Watts Uprising, took place in the Watts neighborhood and its surrounding areas of Los Angeles from August 11 to 16, 1965. The riots were motivated by anger at the racist and abus ...

. Following criticism that this phrase had inadvertently stirred up rioters, Montague advocated non-violence and urged young listeners to pursue their education, coining the new phrase "Learn, baby! Learn!" Semi-retired by the mid-1970s, Montague relocated to

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

, where he was instrumental in the launch of easy listening

KPLM KPLM (106.1 FM) is a radio station in Palm Springs, California. The station broadcasts a country music format. The station is owned by Marker Broadcasting. The station, then called KPAL, was founded in 1974 by Los Angeles radio personality M ...

, today a successful

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

station. His was the first radio station construction permit issued to an

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

in four decades. Montague's catchphrase was referenced in the

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 was a spaceflight conducted from July 16 to 24, 1969, by the United States and launched by NASA. It marked the first time that humans Moon landing, landed on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin l ...

software code that took

Neil Armstrong Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and aerospace engineering, aeronautical engineer who, in 1969, became the Apollo 11#Lunar surface operations, first person to walk on the Moon. He was al ...

and

Buzz Aldrin Buzz Aldrin ( ; born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.; January 20, 1930) is an American former astronaut, engineer and fighter pilot. He made three extravehicular activity, spacewalks as pilot of the 1966 Gemini 12 mission, and was the Lunar Module Eag ...

to the Moon in 1969: "BURN, BABY, BURN – MASTER IGNITION ROUTINE". In 2009, on the 40th anniversary of the first moonwalk, Don Eyles attributed this code reference to Montague. The catchphrase would also be referenced in the 1976 hit " Disco Inferno" by the Trammps. His

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

, ''Burn, Baby! Burn!'' () was published in October 2003 by the

University of Illinois Press The University of Illinois Press (UIP) is an American university press and is part of the University of Illinois System. Founded in 1918, the press publishes some 120 new books each year, thirty-three scholarly journals, and several electroni ...

African-American memory collector

For 50 years, Montague and his wife Rose Thaddeus Casalan (known as Rose Catalon as songwriter) acquired a collection of African-American visual culture, historical artifacts and documents, known as the Montague Collection, on display at the Meek-Eaton Black Archives Research Center and Museum of the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, in Tallahassee, since February 14, 2017.

Personal life

Montague retired with his wife Rose to Las Vegas, Nevada. He is a convert to Judaism.

References

External links

Official home page
American autobiographers American radio DJs 1928 births Living people African-American radio personalities African-American writers People from Palm Springs, California African-American Jews Jewish American writers 21st-century African-American people 21st-century American Jews 20th-century African-American people {{US-radio-bio-stub