Longtime WXPN on-air personality and iconic Philly DJ David Dye — host of Dave’s World on Sunday mornings, and founding host of World Cafe — is one of this year’s inductees in the Philly Music Alliance Walk of Fame. Along with singer-songwriter Janis Ian, rapper Schoolly D, composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, composer David Ludwig, and 60s R&B ensemble The Orlons, Dye will be celebrated this spring with a plaque on South Broad Street.
Dye calls his Walk Of Fame induction “a big surprise and honor of a lifetime,” humorously adding “Now my friends and family can walk all over me!”
Dye has been a warm and familiar voice on the WXPN airwaves since 1992, when he helped develop the station’s NPR-syndicated program World Cafe; he acted as primary host for its first 22 years, interviewing legends like Joni Mitchell, Jeff Buckley, Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen, Herbie Hancock and more. Prior to that, he was a familiar voice on album-oriented rock radio in Philly, notably on WMMR in the 70s and WIOQ in the 80s, where longtime radio listeners got to know him.
“David introduced myself and so many others to so much new music,” says WXPN’s Bruce Warren, who co-produced World Cafe with Dye. “I would not be a fan of The Boss (Springsteen), Richard Thompson, The Meters, Ry Cooder, Taj Mahal and so many others, if it weren’t for David.”
Off the airwaves, Dye was a presence in the DJ booth all around Philly, from his Funky Friday dance parties that brought out XPN members from far and wide, back to his Friday Flashback nights at Chestnut Cabaret in West Philly. Warren called them “super blowout nights of dancing to the classics – so much fun! A big congrats to David who was such a huge influence on my love of music and my professional career here at XPN.”
Dye and the other new names on the Walk of Fame will be inducted on April 30th in a gala at Vie on North Broad Street. The event will also honor The Philadelphia Eagles’ Jordan Mailata for the fundraising holiday albums he sang on with The Philly Specials, as well as Live Aid organizer Bob Geldof, recognizing the event’s 40th anniversary this year. Past inductees The Hooters will perform at the event, and tickets are available here; proceeds will support Philadelphia Music Alliance’s work with an array of educational programs like Musicopia, Project 440, and JazzPhiladelphia.
XPN listeners can still hear Dye every Sunday at 10 a.m., when he hosts his freeform program Dave’s World. Listen to his most recent episode below, along with a vintage aircheck of him DJing at the Chestnut Cabaret in 1982 on WIOQ.