Congrats to David Dye and Helen Leicht, as they are being inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia, at a gala event. Since the 70s, David and Helen have had a significant impact on the lives of music and radio listening fans growing up in the Philadelphia, not to mention the number of musicians they were early supporters of. Dye, the former host of the nationally syndicated World Cafe, has been hosting a weekly show on WXPN, Dave’s World, on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Leicht, who retired from XPN after a long stint as host of mid-days on WXPN, recently debuted a new weekly online show, Helen Leicht’s Acoustic Sunday, on the Folk Music Notebook.
Dye got his start on commercial radio in Philadelphia at WMMR in the Seventies and was on WIOQ in the Eighties. He hosted the World Cafe from its inception in 1991 until 2017. Leicht, who created and hosted the original Breakfast with the Beatles in 1976 when she was midday host and music director at WIOQ (now known as Q102). She then moved to WMMR, WMGK, and began working at WXPN in 1990 until March of 2022. While at XPN she helped establish the Musicians on Call program to bring the healing power of music to hospitals throughout the Delaware Valley and was a fierce advocate and cheerleader for local musicians.
In a note to WXPN listeners, Helen wrote about her “amazing journey.” “I am honored to have worked with some of the most creative, passionate, and beloved DJ’s and programmers in the city and in the industry, past and present. Philly has a rich radio history of loyalty and perseverance, and I’ve learned a lot. We’ve done some good things together, and I’m so pleased to be a small part of all that.”
David and Helen will be joined in this year’s Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia with additional Hall of Fame inductees Terry Belford, Rodney Byrd, Debbi Calton, Rhonda D. Hibbler, Rob Vaughn, Cathy Yungmann, Marc Zumoff, and the 2023 Person of the Year, Tom Lamaine.