Pete Fornatale, pioneering NY rock DJ, dies at 66

"It's a very sad day for radio," said songwriter Paul Simon. "New York has lost one of its most acclaimed and wonderful radio personalities. ... He really knew his era and his music."

At New York's Fordham University, the DJ's alma mater, president Joseph McShane called Fornatale "the voice of several generations" who conducted soul-searching interviews with the hottest musicians and played their work.

As a DJ on WNEW-FM in the 1970s, he established a loyal following by spinning records by lesser-known artists and album cuts beyond the hit singles.

One of his favorites was Poco, a country-rock band he championed.

He helped launch the careers of singer-songwriters like Suzanne Vega, John Gorka and Christine Lavin. Grammy winner Shawn Colvin told The New York Times in 2001, "Pete helped pave the way for so many of us. He was a rare guy in radio then."


http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap...odH3ZQ?docId=367e6102507b4ca2a77688a16ab2c790

Jacie Estes said:

"It's a very sad day for radio," said songwriter Paul Simon. "New York has lost one of its most acclaimed and wonderful radio personalities. ... He really knew his era and his music."

At New York's Fordham University, the DJ's alma mater, president Joseph McShane called Fornatale "the voice of several generations" who conducted soul-searching interviews with the hottest musicians and played their work.

As a DJ on WNEW-FM in the 1970s, he established a loyal following by spinning records by lesser-known artists and album cuts beyond the hit singles.

One of his favorites was Poco, a country-rock band he championed.

He helped launch the careers of singer-songwriters like Suzanne Vega, John Gorka and Christine Lavin. Grammy winner Shawn Colvin told The New York Times in 2001, "Pete helped pave the way for so many of us. He was a rare guy in radio then."


http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap...odH3ZQ?docId=367e6102507b4ca2a77688a16ab2c790

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Loved listening to him. Gone too soon.

RR0004 said:

Loved listening to him. Gone too soon.

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I never heard him but I am a big radio fan; I listen all the time. This morning on our station in SD I heard the news and searched for info. From the time I was a kid, I had a radio on at night whether it was listening to baseball games in Oklahoma or music when I was older.

http://www.petefornatale.com/remembering-pete---a-blog.html