Tom Donahue (DJ): Difference between revisions

| name = Tom "Big Daddy" Donahue

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| birth_name = Thomas Coman

| birth_date = {{birth date|1928|5|21}}

| birth_place = [[South Bend, Indiana]]

| death_date = {{death date and age|1975|4|28|1928|5|21}}

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| nationality = American

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| known_for = [[Freeform|Free-form radio]]

| occupation = Rock 'n' Roll DJ, Record Producer, Concert Promoter

While a disc jockey at [[Top Forty]] station [[KYA Radio|KYA]] (now [[KOIT-FM|KOIT]]) in [[San Francisco]], Donahue and Mitchell formed a [[record label]]. [[Autumn Records]] had subsequent hits with [[Bobby Freeman]] and [[The Mojo Men]], and [[Sly Stone]] was a staff producer. But Autumn's biggest act was one that Donahue discovered, produced, recorded, and managed, [[The Beau Brummels]], which he later sold to [[Warner Bros. Records]]. He also opened a [[psychedelia|psychedelic]] nightclub (Mothers on Broadway in San Francisco), and produced concerts at the [[Cow Palace]], [[Kaiser Convention Center|the Oakland Auditorium]] and [[Candlestick Park]] with his partner Mitchell (later known as Bobby Tripp in [[L.A.]] radio; real name Michael Guerra, d. 1968). Together, they produced the last public appearance of [[The Beatles]] on August 29, 1966 at [[Candlestick Park]].

Donahue wrote a 1967 ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' article titled "[[Am radio|AM Radio]] Is Dead and Its Rotting Corpse Is Stinking Up the Airwaves", which also lambasted the [[Top 40|Top Forty]] format. He subsequently took over programming for a foreign-language station [[KFRC-FM#History|KMPX]] and changed it into what is considered to be America's first alternative "free-form" radio station. The station played album tracks chosen by the DJs on the largely ignored [[FM radio|FM]] band. This one move introduced progressive radio to the U.S.

In 1969, besides his roles as a DJ, station manager, and live show producer, he also managed [[Leigh Stephens]] (former lead guitarist of the San Francisco [[psychedelic rock]] group [[Blue Cheer]]), [[Micky Waller]] (a British drummer who played in the [[Steampacket]], [[Brian Auger]], [[Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger and the Trinity|Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity]], the[[The Jeff Beck Group]], 1968-69), and [[Pete Sears]] in the band Silver Metre, and in 1970 [[Stoneground]]. Donahue, and his DJ wife [[Raechel Donahue|Raechel]] also took over programming of free-form radio stations [[KMET (FM)|KMET]] and [[KPPC (defunct)|KPPC-FM]] in [[Los Angeles]]. In 1972, he moved to the role of general manager at [[KYLD#KSAN_and_the_rock_era|KSAN]], where he encouraged DJs to play music from different eras and genres interspersed with interesting commentary.

Donahue died from a [[heart attack]] in 1975. He was inducted into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] in 1996 as a non-performer, one of only three [[disc jockeys]] to receive that honor.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/tom-donahue|title=Tom Donahue|website=Rock & Roll Hall of Fame|language=en|access-date=2018-06-21}}</ref> In 2006, Donahue was inducted into the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame as a member of the first class of broadcasters enshrined.<ref>[http://bayarearadio.org/hof/2006/index.shtml ''Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame: The Class of 2006'']</ref>