Died On This Date (February 21, 1982) Murray The K / Lendary Disc Jockey
themusicsover Murray “the K” Kaufman
February 14, 1922 – February 21, 1982
Murray Kaufman, or Murray the K, was a famous radio disc jockey during the early days of rock ‘n roll. He got his start in radio during the late ’40s, and by the mid ’60s, he was hosting the popular evening slot on New York City radio powerhouse, WINS. It was there that he created the persona of the “wacky DJ” that would be imitated by thousands of radio personalities to this day. Around this time, Kaufman became one of the first American DJ’s to embrace and promote the Beatles. By doing so, he became a friend of the band and common companion when they came through New York City. He subsequently became the first to be called “the fifth Beatle.” After WINS went to a news format in 1965, Kaufman moved over to the newly growing FM side of radio where he became a pioneer of playing album cuts and blocks of songs by the same artist, or those that followed a theme. It was then that he became one of the first to support Bob Dylan after he went electric. Outside of the radio station, Kaufman was one of the few promoters at the time to put together interracial rock ‘n roll live shows where the likes of Dionne Warwick, the Doors, Cream, the Four Tops and Bobby Vinton could all share the stage. In later years, Kaufman produced several rock ‘n roll compilation albums and also produced and hosted a popular rock ‘n roll TV show. During the ’70s, he consulted the popular Beatlemania stage show. Murray “the K” Kaufman died of cancer on February 21, 1982. He was 60 years old.