Dave Dixon (August 26, 1926 – September 19, 1964) was an American DJ and program director at the St. Louis radio station

KATZ Katz or KATZ may refer to: Fiction * Katz Kobayashi, a character in Japanese anime * "Katz", a 1947 Nelson Algren story in '' The Neon Wilderness'' * Katz, a character in ''Courage the Cowardly Dog'' Other uses * Katz (surname) * Katz, British C ...

. In addition to being a local

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

and promoter of live music shows, Dixon was also the president of the National Association of Radio Broadcasters (NARA).

Career

David Bernard Dixon was a native of St. Louis, Missouri. In 1951, he began working at WTMV. He later had a radio show that aired live from the Birdcage Lounge on KSTL. He started working at

as a disc jockey in 1958. He became the host of KATZ's "Night Beat Down Rhythm Street," which originated from various lounges in the St. Louis area. Dixon was the first African-American vice president of Laclede Broadcasting. He was also the first African-American promoter for Regal Sports, a concert and sports production agency. In 1960, Dixon heard a demo that local bandleader Ike Turner had recorded with his vocalist Ann Bullock (soon to be

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...

). Dixon urged Turner to send the demo to

Juggy Murray Juggy Murray (November 24, 1923 – February 8, 2005) was an American record label owner, producer and singer-songwriter. He co-founded Sue Records which launched the career of Ike & Tina Turner. Subsidiary labels under the Sue were Symbol, ...

, president of R&B label Sue Records. The song, " A Fool In Love," became a national hit and launched the career of Ike & Tina Turner. In 1962, Dixon began serving as president of National Association of Radio Broadcasters(NARA), the African-American organization of television and radio announcers. Dixon was involved in a head-on auto collision on August 28, 1964. While he was in critical condition at Homer Phillips Hospital in St. Louis, a Dave Dixon Hospital Fund was set up. Another passenger in the car was also seriously injured. Dixon died from his injures on September 19, 1964. He was 38. After Dixon's death, his brother Jerome Dixon took over his position at KATZ. In June 1965, a musical memorial tribute to Dixon was held at

Kiel Auditorium Kiel Auditorium was an indoor arena located in St. Louis, Missouri. It was the home of the St. Louis University basketball team and hosted the NBA's St. Louis Hawks, from 1955 to 1968. The site was home to Charles H. Turpin's Booker T. Wash ...

in St. Louis. The show was sponsored by NARA and featured musical acts such as

the Miracles The Miracles (also known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965 to 1972) were an American vocal group that was the first successful recording act for Berry Gordy's Motown Records, and one of the most important and most influential groups ...

, King Curtis, Grover Mitchell, and

Mary Love Mary Love (born Mary Ann Varney; July 27, 1943 – June 21, 2013) was an American soul and gospel singer, and Christian evangelist. After the 1980s she was known as Mary Love Comer. Life Love was born as Mary Ann Varney (or Mary Ann Allen, acc ...

References

External links

Dave Dixon
on St. Louis Media History African-American DJs American radio personalities Radio personalities from St. Louis Road incident deaths in Missouri 1964 deaths 1926 births {{US-radio-bio-stub