Walter de Paduwa (aka Dr Boogie, born 1 February 1953) is a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

radio DJ, musician and rock'n'roll historian best known for his association with

Canned Heat Canned Heat is an American band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1965. The group is noted for its efforts to promote interest in blues music and its original artists and rock music. It was founded by two blues enthusiasts Alan Wilson and Bob ...

Rock career

Walter de Paduwa was active in the Belgian rock scene of the early 1970s, forming the band T.U.S.H. in 1976 with

Dany Lademacher Dany Lademacher (born Daniël Germain Jean Lademacher, also Danny; 17 June 1950) is a Belgian guitar player. Born in Etterbeek, he played in a number of Belgian bands before joining prominent Dutch band Herman Brood and his Wild Romance. He was al ...

and Charles Deraedemaecker (Charlie Maker) of the classic Brussels group Klepto. The band was originally named Toxic Cow-Dung, then Squeeze, and was to be renamed Tush after the

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top developed a signature sound ...

song of that name, but on their album ''We're Just Boys'' (September 1977) the recording company (EMI) put full-stops between each letter creating the name that stuck as T.U.S.H. The album had limited success though the December 1977 single "No No No" was belatedly rediscovered as an example of classic glam-punk.

Radio career

Dr Boogie

Walter de Paduwa's show ''Doctor Boogie'' features up-beat blues, boogie, groove and

zydeco Zydeco ( or , french: Zarico) is a music genre that evolved in southwest Louisiana by French Creole speakers which blends blues, rhythm and blues, and music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles and the Native American people of Louisiana. Al ...

music. It has aired weekly since 30 October 1994 on Belgium's

RTBF The ''Radio-télévision belge de la Communauté française'' (RTBF, ''Belgian Radio-television of the French Community'', branded as rtbf.be) is a public service broadcaster delivering radio and television services to the French-speaking Commu ...

Radio 21 and its successor station

Classic 21 Classic 21 is a Belgian public FM radio station, part of the RTBF broadcasting organisation. The station, based in Mons, was the only Classic rock radio in Belgium until 2008 when they switched to adult-contemporary and pop. The station plays predo ...

and was cited in Mark Elliott's book ''Culture Shock! Belgium'' as demonstrating the unusual creativity and openmindedness of Belgium's radio scene. During the 20th anniversary show of 31 October 2014, De Paduwa revealed that the name Dr Boogie, while partially inspired by the Flamin Groovies'

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

, was in fact a nickname given to him by B J Scott. The show was initially intended to run for three months but never looked back. After 15 years airing on Sunday early-evenings, the show was shifted four times, via a Friday late-night slot to the current Monday evening billing, but de Paduwa claims he'd keep making the show with the same passion 'even if it were at 4am on a Tuesday'. June 26, 2015 marked the 1000th edition of the Dr Boogie radio show, and was celebrated with a three-hour Canned Heat special. In 2018, when the show moved to its Monday night slot, it was also extended to three hours, incorporating a final Blues hour nicknamed the "Black Betty". De Paduwa has a penchant for playing rare vinyl recordings from his extensive personal collection. In conjunction with his shows, several ''Dr Boogie'' compilation albums have been released celebrating these genres of music.

Other Shows

De Paduwa has also presented ''Cool Cats'', a late night show featuring mainly

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

music, and from 2016 to 2019 he ran what he called a three hour 'Blues Train' in the relaunched ''Classic 21 Blues'' show. This was later reduced to a one hour addendum to the Dr Boogie show.

Canned Heat historian

For decades, De Paduwa has been a supporter of the American

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...

-renowned boogie band

and to this day he starts almost every regular edition of his ''Doctor Boogie'' radio show with a Canned Heat song. Long-standing Canned Heat drummer

Fito de la Parra A unit prefix is a specifier or mnemonic that is prepended to units of measurement to indicate multiples or fractions of the units. Units of various sizes are commonly formed by the use of such prefixes. The prefixes of the metric system, such a ...

described de Paduwa as "a total blues and boogie freak" and noted that de Paduwa had "turned his home in Belgium into a museum for Canned Heat. I never knew a guy like that would exist. I've met fans who collect passes or records or pictures – maybe they covered one wall in their house with Canned Heat material. With this guy, it's been a complete obsession." The band thereupon appointed him as their unofficial historian, de la Parra giving de Paduwa many of the old tapes that he had lying around his Los Angeles garage that had been destined to be thrown away. De Paduwa and de la Parra have since issued CD archives known as ''Canned Heat The Boogie House Tapes'' in three volumes (named after de Paduwa's house museum) and ''Rarities from the Bob Hite Vaults'', in honour of the band's original singer Bob 'The Bear' Hite. On the ''Dr Boogie'' radio show of 29 November 2013, De Paduwa revealed that his all time favourite Canned Heat track was the song "Canned Heat Mamma" from the band's 1969 fourth album, ''

Hallelujah ''Hallelujah'' ( ; he, ''haləlū-Yāh'', meaning "praise Yah") is an interjection used as an expression of gratitude to God. The term is used 24 times in the Hebrew Bible (in the book of Psalms), twice in deuterocanonical books, and four tim ...

''. De Paduwa is the owner of the 1954 Les Paul gold top guitar originally played by 'Blind Owl' Alan Wilson on Canned Heat's classic 1960s albums. The opportunity to play this classic 'Boogie Machine' is an added incentive for certain guests to appear on the Dr Boogie show.

Personal life

De Paduwa's daughter, Sara, is herself a journalist within RTBF, Belgium's French-speaking state radio and TV. She presented the early morning slot on

Vivacité VivaCité is a Belgian public service radio station operated by RTBF. The station launched on 29 February 2004 from the merger of regional network ''Fréquence Wallonie'' and Brussels station ''Bruxelles Capitale''. VivaCité is the French-langua ...

and since 2015 became the main anchor on ''6-8'', the morning programme of

La Une La Une () is a Belgian national television channel, owned and operated by the French-language public-service broadcasting organization RTBF. La Une is the equivalent of Flemish station Eén, of the Flemish broadcaster VRT. History INR Expe ...

. In 2015, 2016 and 2017 she was voted the most popular presenter amongst Francophone-Belgians.

Tastes & Influences

According to his RTBF bio, de Paduwa cites as his three most formative influences, Canned Heat's

Henry Vestine Henry Charles Vestine (December 25, 1944 – October 20, 1997) a.k.a. "The Sunflower", was an American guitar player primarily known as a member of the band Canned Heat. He was with the group from its start in 1966 to July 1969. In later years ...

, the Rolling Stones star

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

and Belgian cycling legend

Eddy Merckx Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (, ; born 17 June 1945), better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional road and track bicycle racer who is among the most successful riders in the history of competitive cycling. His victorie ...

. He lists his favourite albums as

Boogie With Canned Heat ''Boogie with Canned Heat'' is the second studio album by American blues and rock band Canned Heat. Released in 1968, it contains mostly original material, unlike their debut album. It was the band's most commercially successful album, reaching ...

Electric Ladyland ''Electric Ladyland'' is the third and final studio album by the Jimi Hendrix Experience and the final studio album released before Hendrix's death in 1970. A double album, it was the only record from the Experience produced by Hendrix. The ban ...

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

Elmore James Elmore James ( Brooks; January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963) was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader. Noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice, James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fam ...

' ''Fire Fury Recordings'', Steppenwolf's ''At Your Birthday Party'' and the live Rolling Stones' recording, Get Your Ya-Ya's Out.RTBF bio (in French)
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External links

DR Boogie, 1000th edition show partly on video from the Boogie House

Classic 21 web site

Walter de Paduwa's self introduction on RTBF

''We're Only Boys'' Album

* Sara De Paduwa

Literature

, ''Living The Blues''. Little Big Beat, Lindewerra 2001, .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paduwa, Walter de 1953 births Belgian male singers Belgian radio personalities Belgian radio presenters Living people