I know we all have our favorites. People we grew up listening to and loving. As we grow older, we leave behind childish things but hold on to the memories. Some of us are lucky enough to actually meet those legends in the fall of their lives. Sometimes we find bitter old men, angry that they are no longer appreciated for their genius. Others are grateful to have been held in high esteem for those brief moments and accept their fate gracefully.
That said, I believe that the greatest Top 40 jock I ever heard was Dan Ingram, who passed Sunday in Florida. WABC was home to the All Americans and Dan certainly was the epitome of that. A super smooth masculine voice that so many businesses valued as their commercial spokesman. Not as gruff as Scottso or as ebullient as Cousin Brucie, Dan managed to sound both mature and boyishly playful.
He was a master at double entendres, many of which my adolescent ears didn’t understand at the time. He could be wacky or serious, often in the same sentence. Playing the same hits over and over as the format dictated, he made every repetition of Satisfaction or Yesterday sound fresh. Never sounded bored or anything less than completely engaged, loving what he was doing.
Later in life as I gravitated to his profession, partly in admiration of him, I realized the technical skill he possessed –the ability to talk up the post, keep the momentum forward, the humor current, the idiom appropriate. He pushed the boundaries as much as allowed in the day, the sexy stuff always bubbling under the surface.
The other thing I grew to appreciate was his lack of gimmickry. He used phrases like ‘kemo sabe’ and the like, but never used them as a crutch. Always tuned into pop culture and the politics of the day, he never hit you over the head with his views. Big Dan’s afternoon shift was a pleasure cruise. Fun, Fun. Fun, whether you had a T-Bird or merely dreamed of one. He was a top-down summer day in New York City. Always.
