Died On This Date (April 27, 2008) Big Ron O’Brien / Legendary FM Disc Jockey
themusicsover Ron O’Brien
October 24, 1951 – April 27, 2008
Big Ron O’Brien was a popular disc jockey who in recent years could be heard in the afternoons on Philadelphia rock station, WOGL 98.1. O’Brien’s love for radio began in high school where he worked at the school’s station, and soon thereafter, he was spinning records at Kansas City’s KUDL. Over the rest of his career, O’Brien worked at such stations as KISS in Los Angeles, WRKO in Boston, WCAR in Detroit, and WNBC in New York where he worked alongside Howard Stern. Ron O’Brien died of complications from pneumonia on April 27, 2008. He was 56.
Al Hirt was given his first trumpet at six and by sixteen, he and friend Pete Fountain were already playing professionally around New Orleans. After a tour of duty as a bugler in WWII, went to work in various swing bands, backing the likes of 
Vicki Sue Robinson had many accomplishments in music, theater and film, but it would be her smash it “Turn The Beat Around” that would forever make her a disco queen. Her life as an entertainer began at age six when she joined her mother on stage at the storied Philadelphia Folk Festival. At sixteen she was on Broadway as a cast member of Hair. She landed a couple of film roles, most notably Going Home and To Find A Man and by 1973, she was performing in the Broadway production of Jesus Christ Superstar. Then in 1975, while singing backing vocals on a friend’s album, she was offered a contract with RCA Records. 1976 saw the release of her debut, Never Gonna Let You Go, that included the smash hit, “Turn The Beat Around.” The album went to number one on the Billboard pop charts and earned Robinson a Grammy nomination. Robinson’s career continued to flourish through early 2000, but she never matched the success of that first album. Besides making her own records, her later years found her doing plenty of session work as well as acting on film and stage. And of course, “Turn The Beat Around” continued to find new audiences thanks to a popular cover by Gloria Estefan and from Robinson’s live appearances on the disco revival circuit. Robinson died from cancer on April 27, 2000 at just 46.
