Oedipus (DJ)
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Oedipus (Edward Hyson) is an American radio personality. Oedipus's radio career began in 1975 as a D.J. at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern t ...
’s college station WTBS (today
WMBR WMBR is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's student-run college radio station, licensed to Cambridge, Massachusetts, and broadcasting on 88.1 FM. It is all-volunteer and funded by listener donations and MIT funds. Both students and commun ...
). He gained notoriety as the pink-haired DJ who created the first Punk rock radio show in America, introducing Punk and New Wave to
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
and to the country. He did the first radio interviews with the
Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...
,
Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...
and
The Damned (band) The Damned are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1976 by lead vocalist Dave Vanian, guitarist Brian James, bassist (and later guitarist) Captain Sensible, and drummer Rat Scabies. They were the first punk band from the United Kin ...
, and legendary on-air conversations with
The Clash The Clash were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave music, new wave moveme ...
,
Public Image Ltd Public Image Ltd (abbreviated and stylized as PiL) are an English post-punk band (and incorporated limited company) formed by singer John Lydon (previously known as the singer of Sex Pistols), guitarist Keith Levene, bassist Jah Wobble, and ...
,
Suicide (band) Suicide was an American musical duo composed of vocalist Alan Vega and instrumentalist Martin Rev, intermittently active between 1970 and 2016. The group's pioneering music utilized minimalist electronic instrumentation, including synthesizers an ...
and so many others. In 1977, Oedipus convinced WBCN to hire him as an announcer to bring his cutting edge sounds to the airwaves. In 1981 he was named Program Director, a position he held until he left in 2004. Under his tutelage, the station was recognized as an industry leader in breaking new music and received countless awards for its successes. Multiple ''
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'',
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, and
Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The ...
award recipient for best Program Director of the Year, Oedipus hosted the acclaimed “Nocturnal Emissions” program for over 25 years, playing new tracks every Sunday night. In May 2001 Boston Magazine named Oedipus the third most influential person in the arts in Boston. When
The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Poli ...
were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003, they thanked him personally for their initial support in America. From 1995-2004 he served as Executive Producer of the live Radio broadcast for the
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. Oedipus has his own foundation, The Oedipus Foundation, and is a member of the Board of Directors for The Technology Broadcasting Corporation of MIT, Stop Handgun Violence, and an original member of the Board of Directors for Mobius (an artist-run center for experimental work in all media). He is on the Board of Advisors for Community Servings, an organization that feeds Boston-area families with acute life-threatening illnesses, and a former member of the Board of Overseers for the Huntington Theatre Company, advisory member of The Center for Arts at the Armory in Somerville and the Boston Music Awards. Oedipus also hosts an annual Christmas Eve show featuring rarely heard Christmas songs. It began at WBCN in the late '70s, moved to WFNX (2009–2012), then onto
RadioBDC RadioBDC was a commercial alternative rock music internet radio station based in Boston, Massachusetts. History Shortly before Phoenix Media/Communications Group sold WFNX to Clear Channel Communications, boston.com hired longtime WFNX staff ...
,
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's internet radio station (2013-2014) before moving to WGBH in 2015. In 2018, the Mayor of Boston, ''Marty Walsh'', issued a proclamation declaring December 24, 2018, as “Christmas Eve with Oedipus Day” in the City of Boston in recognition of his annual Christmas Eve broadcast for over 30 years spreading peace, love and understanding throughout Boston and the world. On Saturday, October 5, 2013
RadioBDC RadioBDC was a commercial alternative rock music internet radio station based in Boston, Massachusetts. History Shortly before Phoenix Media/Communications Group sold WFNX to Clear Channel Communications, boston.com hired longtime WFNX staff ...
(no
Indie617
posted on their Facebook page that Oedipus would be hosting "The Oedipus Project" on Saturday mornings from 10AM local to noon featuring all new alternative/indie sounds. In 2016 Oedipus was inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame ( Massachusetts Broadcasters Association). He can be found in the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music an ...
in Cleveland, Ohio, in the exhibit ''Dedicated to the One I Love: Rock and Radio''. Oedipus hosts a website called "The Oedipus Project." The site features new music nearly every day, as well as information and insight on the music industry. It can be found a
Oedipus1


References

:*Milano, Brett (2007), The Sound of Our Town (a History of Boston Rock & Roll), “Oedipus, College Radio, and WBCN: We Want the Airwaves”


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oedipus (Dj) American radio DJs Year of birth missing (living people) Living people