Rita Houston (September 28, 1961 – December 15, 2020) was the Program Director of Fordham University’s public radio station

WFUV WFUV (90.7 FM) is a non–commercial radio station licensed to New York, New York. The station is owned by Fordham University, with studios on its Bronx campus and its antenna atop nearby Montefiore Medical Center. WFUV first went on the air ...

and the host of the show ''The Whole Wide World''. Houston was considered a "tastemaker" in the radio world, helping guide WFUV's musical direction for decades. She was instrumental in the ''Required Listening'' series of shows showcasing new and lesser-well-known artists at The Bottom Line club in Greenwich Village; she also interviewed songwriters for the club’s ''In Their Own Words'' series. She anchored National Public Radio's coverage of the

Newport Folk Festival Newport Folk Festival is an annual American folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the Newport Jazz Festival. It was one of the first modern music festivals in America, and remains a foca ...

for several years and helped NPR with their best-of-the-year lists, as well as sometimes appearing on

Morning Edition ''Morning Edition'' is an American radio news program produced and distributed by NPR. It airs weekday mornings (Monday through Friday) and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 5:00 to 9:00 AM ...

. Houston came to WFUV in 1994 from WXPS, where she had worked since the late 1980s, hosting the program ''Starlight Express''. She was known for showcasing new talent, such as David Gray. She began as a DJ in the midday slot, and launched her own Friday night program, ''The Whole Wide World'', in 2001. On this show she continued to showcase new talent including

Joan Osborne Joan Elizabeth Osborne (born July 8, 1962) is an American singer, songwriter, and interpreter of music, having recorded and performed in various popular American musical genres including rock, pop, soul, R&B, blues, and country. She is best kn ...

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a reco ...

and

Brandi Carlile Brandi Marie Carlile ( ; born June 1, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and producer whose music spans many genres, including folk rock, alternative country, Americana, and classic rock. , Carlile has released seven studio albums. She has ...

who stated "Rita was the very first person to play my music on the radio". She became program director in 2014. Houston died of cancer in December 2020, having stepped down from her role at WFUV earlier in the month. In March 2021, Houston was honored during the

63rd Annual Grammy Awards The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held in and around the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles on March 14, 2021. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from September 1, 201 ...

''in memoriam'' segment.

References

Radio personalities from New York City 1961 births 2020 deaths American radio DJs Women radio directors American women radio presenters {{US-radio-bio-stub WFUV people

Further reading

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