Losing Legends and Finding Classic R&B on the Radio

Major artist passings are inherently sad, but some resonate personally, especially Classic R&B acts. My first major promotion at the then-WGCI (Dustyradio 1390) Chicago was a listener cruise headlined by Jerry Butler. By then, he was “the commissioner” for his career in local politics, but he was a consistent friend of our underdog AM music station. Doing R&B Oldies in Chicago also gave me an extra appreciation of his catalog, particularly the Curtis Mayfield-penned Butler hits that had been before my time as a listener.