Ron Dwyer is a walking encyclopedia of Boston
area music information! We mention Boston area
because, having grown up on the North Shore, Ron
knows the music that was popular here; music popularity
is regional.
Since he can remember (and before, he's been
told) Ron has loved music! When he was in the
8th grade, his best friend was a 10th grader and
the two boys would finish their homework and then
produce a mock radio show in his attic, complete
with news feeds. His friend is still on radio,
too.
Every Friday he would go to the local record
store to spend his hard earned money on records.
He'd often tell the owner which songs he thought
would be hits and to buy extra copies. When the
owner noticed that Ron's "predictions" came true,
the owner started quizzing Ron each week before
placing his order!
Ron also has a photographic memory for musical
facts. He can tell you the 1st day a song was
played in this area, everything on the label including
flip side and song length and tell you if the
song length is correct. (Record companies often
stated shorter that actual times for records in
the hopes that the DJ would play them; programmers
often would skip songs that they thought were
too long.)
His knowledge base isn't only rock & roll; his
happiest days in college were spent in the chorus.
As the "anchor" bass, he sang many classical pieces
even though he does not read music.
His show "Ron Dwyer with Oldies" is formatted
just the way he would want to hear a show if he
was the listener and that has kept him at WATD
for almost 9 years. He plays songs that were hits
in the Boston Market. Heavy 60's, he considers
this the best time for pop music. There were many
creative people involved in producing music; many
influences including doo-wop, Motown, psychedelic,
bubblegum, R&B, English sound (Beatles, Dave Clark
5, Stones …), surf (Jan & Dean, Beach Boys),
folk, folk-rock. With so many artist vying for
the buying dollar, you had to be good to survive.
He likes to give information and trivial facts
about the songs he plays. He also does a lot of
fan requests. But, he won't necessarily play the
song right away; he intuitively places the song
in his lineup where it will sound good in the
music flow. Ron strays slightly from his format
when he plays songs that should have been a hit
but were not promoted by their record companies.
When not hosting his show on WATD, he does voice-overs
for commercials. Ron's quick wit and ability to
ad lib makes him a favorite at WATD! And don't
get him started on movie facts; he's just as knowledgeable
there! |