Scott Muni Passed Away

[musicradio77]

Here is an article from wnbc.com. This is just sad news.

DJ SCOTT MUNI, "THE PROFESSOR" OF ROCK & ROLL, DEAD AT 74

NEW YORK -- Disc jockey Scott Muni, the gravelly-voiced radio host whose encyclopedic knowledge of rock & roll made him "The Professor" to three generations of New York listeners, died Tuesday night. He was 74.

Muni, who spent nearly 50 years on air in the nation's #1 radio market, had suffered a stroke earlier this year. But the cause of his death was not immediately known, said Josefa Paganuzzi, spokeswoman for Clear Channel New York.

Muni's last gig was an hour-long afternoon show on ew York classic rock station Q104.3, where he landed in 1988. He also hosted many nationally syndicated programs during his career, including "Scott Muni's World of Rock" and the Beatle-oriented "Ticket to Ride".

His acclaimed work and lifelong devotion to music eventually led to Muni's inclusion in an exhibit on radio personalities at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.

Muni's voice was instantly recognizable, a low rumble announcing the latest tunes from the Beatles to Bruce Springsteen to PEarl Jam. As the program director at WNEW-FM, he was one of the leading acolytes of the freeform radio movement and became a major inluence on the next wave of DJ's.

Known to his listeners as "The Professor" or "Scottso", Muni was renowned for his interviews with artists like Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Pete Townsend and Bruce Springsteen.

In one of his more memorable encounters, Muni was speaking with Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page when the musician suddenly collasped to the floor in mid-sentence, wiped out by days of partying. The unflappable Muni simply put on a record, woke Page up, and conducted the rest of the interview with the guitarist lying on the studio floor.

Muni was a die-hard fan of Bob Dylan and the Beatles; after the December 1980 murder of John Lennon, the DJ began opening his shows with a Beatles song.

"I did it all," Muni once said when asked about the one thing he wanted to do before dying. "Some I did more than once".

Muni was born in Wichita, Kan., and raised in New Orleans. His broadcasting career started in the Marines, where he could be heard on "Radio Guam" reading "Dear John" letters sent to his fellow servicemen.

Back in the US, he replaced Alan Freed in Akron before arriving in New York City in the late 50's as one of WMCA-AM's "Good Guys", serving up Top 40 fare. He switched to rival WABC-AM in 1960, spending four years during the heart of Beatlemania.

But it was when he switched over to the new world of FM that Muni found his perfect place on the radio dial. He arrived at WNEW in 1967, helping create one of the nation's first and longest-lasting alternative stations.

In addition to his radio work, the distinctive Muni voice asked "How do you spell relef?" in a memorable Rolaids commercial; he also did promotional announcements for ABC's Monday Night Football."

There was no immediate word on a memorial service, but Clear Channel-owned Q104.3 planned a weekend-long tribute to Muni featuring the music of the Beatles. He is survived by his second wife and five children.