Dick Pike (November 7, 1924August 16, 2003) was a

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...

and general manager who turned WNOP (740) into a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

station.

Career

Pike worked most of his career at WNOP, a jazz station with studios in

Newport, KY Newport is a home rule-class city at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking rivers in Campbell County, Kentucky. The population was 15,273 at the 2010 census. Historically, it was one of four county seats of Campbell County. Newport is a major ...

. When Pike returned to the station in 1961 - as General Manager - he instituted the Jazz format with his personal record collection.
Dick Pike Obituary Pike also spent time at television station WJW, in Cleveland, before returning to WNOP as general manager. Billboard, Dec 28, 1959, page 17 https://books.google.com/books?id=0QoEAAAAMBAJ&dq=dick+pike+WNOP&pg=PA14 Pike also introduced acts at the

Newport Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hire ...

in 1964 for George Wein

Death

Pike died August 16, 2003, in

Elsmere, Kentucky Elsmere is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, Kenton County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 8,451 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Geography Elsmere is located in western K ...

References

External links

The Search For The Tuner That Will Bring Back WNOP
Radio personalities from Chicago 1924 births 2003 deaths {{jazz-stub