Tribute to Richard Pegue

In our lifetime we come across mentors. And I was fortunate enough to have one of the greatest DJ's and radio personalities in front of me. In high school, back in the late 60's and early 70's, the desire to be behind the microphone and playing music was born.

I remember traveling to different high schools trying to get in a "Sock Hop or a High School Dance" because the DJ was this guy who I first heard on the radio weekends on 1450 WVON . I thought he was incredible. When he played music it was as if he was sitting there in the room with you. His voice was different and his command of the language was impeccable. He combined the hipness of the day with an ability to relate and talk to people where they were. He spoke with class.

Late nights on the weekend he would come on and the show sounded like it was in the daytime bright, cheerful, soulful, informative and entertaining. The Quiet Storm did not exist then. It was simply THE BEST MUSIC OF YOUR LIFE. And Richard was so "down for the craft" that his presentation birthed a legion of followers and disciples to which I became one.

As I moved into in my own career, I told people that I came from the School of "Pegueology" The Best Music of Your Life that's all I knew and that's all I wanted to know. As a student, I studied everything Richard did on his radio show. He had a way combining the Golden Age of Radio with the present time. It was excellent the way he combined the old with the new. I loved when he performed celebrity news with the teletype machine sound effect in the background and he would make transitions through different stories by saying BEEP, BEEP, BEEP giving the feel of an old Walter Winchell news cast.

Richard set the standard for jocks playing music and being professionals at their craft. Now I consider myself one of the best but when it came to Pegue I stood down, giving all respect to the man with the music and the knowledge of the music. He is the Doctor. On the radio, Richard did features that you'd wait an entire week for, like the Concert that you'd never hear again, the Midnight Sonata and let's not forget the old Chicago Dances. Richard Pegue had something for Everybody.

Now I was not directly associated with Richard. We came to know each other working in the same industry. I told him of the impact he made in my life. It was amazing that he knew of me and I respectfully called him "Uncle Richard." Mr. Pegue had an impact on the lives of many people in Chicago they really don't realize how much he contributed to their lives through his work as record promoter, retail music seller, music director, teacher, production director, songwriter, and radio personality. Richard was a true professional, a real local hero and a History Maker that always performed radio as the theater of the mind. I last saw him "spinning," with the fire still in his eyes and that warmed my heart.

In studying Richard I came to understand radio, the music industry and being a DJ. His techniques in the art of DJ performance was the standard I set for myself as radio personality, DJ and professor. I thank God for Richard because in him I saw that it is most important to always love what you do.

Professor Reggie Miles