[September 23, 2011] Historic rock 'n' roll DJ Tweet Sep 22, 2011 (Sierra Star - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio recently unveiled a new redesign, which includes interactive kiosks titled "On the Air: Rock and Roll and Radio" and Oakhurst resident Peter Cavanaugh, 70, has been recognized in the exhibit for his impact on Rock and Roll as a disc jockey. "Guys like Peter Cavanaugh are the reason rock 'n' roll continued to gain popularity," said Howard Kramer, exhibit curator. The committee that selected Cavanaugh included Kramer and Gene Sculatti, a former Rolling Stone writer and Radio & Records editor. "We came up with a list of people we felt deserved to be added to this exhibit," Kramer said. "The thing about DJs, they made it exciting." Kramer said a DJ could hype-up "The Beatles" or any other artist and say to tune in at 7 p.m., and at 7 p.m. people were listening. "The personality had an incredible part to do with the local identity," Kramer said. Cavanaugh said he never even dreamed of receiving such an honor. "It's a wonderful honor to have been selected for such prominent inclusion -- completely unexpected and absolutely astounding," he said. "Perhaps second only to meeting and interviewing 'The Beatles' at Olympia Stadium in Detroit in 1964." Cavanaugh's career began at a young age. What began as just "hanging out" at his local radio station, WNDR in Syracuse, turned into a job. At age 14 he began answering phones -- then began editing news and giving five minute newscasts. At just 16 years old his lifetime dream came true and he was an on-air DJ. By his senior year in high school, he had a 58% total audience share. "I was singularly blessed being in the right place at the right time with the right crowd in 1957 at WNDR," Cavanaugh said. Cavanaugh was playing artists such as Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and Little Richard. "Can you imagine how cool it was to be playing such early pioneers on the radio for mass audience as a junior in high school?" Cavanaugh said. Cavanaugh's success continued when he moved to Michigan where he went on to play many new, but soon to be historical, names in rock 'n' roll. Cavanaugh said he was lucky enough to be documented as the first disc jockey in America to play "The Who" and "AC/DC," as well as dozens of major Midwest groups, including Bob Seger, Ted Nugent, Alice Cooper, REO Speedwagon, the MC5 and dozens of others -- "Most of whom I also had the pleasure of promoting at 'record hops' and in live concerts," he said. Cavanaugh enjoyed unequaled market dominance for years at WTAC in Flint, Mich. before leaving the airwaves to become president of the station in 1977. That is when he said he got a "real job" after being on-air for 20 years. "The best thing about that, though, was being able to mentor a whole new generation of radio performers, many of whom are now leading air personalities in major markets," Cavanaugh said. His book, "Local DJ," tracks his radio adventures through time -- as well as promoting and producing literally hundreds of early concerts with the likes of Chuck Berry, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and Kiss. As executive vice president of Reams Broadcasting, Cavanaugh ran a seven-station radio group which included the top-rated rock 'n' roll stations in America -- WWCK in Flint (Spring 1984) and WIOT in Toledo (Winter 1991). Cavanaugh is former chairman of the NBC Source Board, president of the ABC Radio Affiliates Board and president of the Flint Area Advertising Federation. Cavanaugh moved to Oakhurst five years ago with his wife, Eileen, to be near their daughter, Susan Seiling and her family. The "On the Air: Rock and Roll and Radio" kiosks are located in the museum's Ahmet Ertegun Hall in the Cities and Sounds gallery. Details: wildwednesday.com ___ (c)2011 the Sierra Star (Oakhurst, Calif.) Visit the Sierra Star (Oakhurst, Calif.) at www.sierrastar.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]