Who was Art Laboe? Tributes pour in as legendary DJ who coined the term "Oldies but goodies" dies aged 97

Well-known DJ Art Laboe passed away on October 7, 2022, at the age of 97. He was a part of the radio for 79 years and was mostly known as the creator of the phrase "Oldies but Goodies."

Production company Dart Entertainment's spokesperson Joanna Morones said that Laboe died at his residence in Palm Springs following a battle with pneumonia.

Laboe recorded his final show last week. The show aired on Sunday, October 9.

According to the Associated Press, Laboe's syndicated show, The Art Laboe Connection, earned him a strong following among Mexican-Americans. His radio shows were particularly noted for allowing messages and dedications from inmates in California and Arizona.

---

Art Laboe's radio career began during World War II

Born on August 7, 1925, Art Laboe's parents were of Armenian descent. They shifted to Los Angeles when Laboe was attending high school. After graduating from Washington High School at the age of 16, he joined the United States Navy, and was posted on San Francisco Bay's Naval Station Treasure Island.

He eventually pursued radio engineering and studied at Los Angeles City College, San Mateo Junior College, and Stanford University.

Laboe started his radio career in 1943. He debuted on KSAN in San Francisco during World War II. He is credited with pioneering the dedication concept at KSAN, and was known for accepting song requests and dedication phone calls from listeners on-air.

Art Laboe was a DJ, songwriter, record producer and radio station owner (Image via Paul Redmond/Getty Images)

He briefly stepped away from his radio career to help the US military transmit the Morse Code and send messages to ships traveling in the South Pacific.

Later, when he joined KCMJ in Palm Springs, he was the only broadcaster in town. He started working at KPOP in Los Angeles and this is where he decided to broadcast his show live from Scrivner's Drive-In.

His live broadcasts began attracting young crowds, and teenagers soon began coming to the drive-in and giving on-air dedications. Heartbroken youngsters would also often call him with requests for love songs. Gradually, Art began to put together a list of the songs that were requested the most. He later turned it into an album called Oldies But Goodies, a phrase that he also trademarked.

Owing to police harassment at Scrivner's, Laboe soon shifted to the El Monte Legion Stadium. His dance shows were mostly attended by teenagers from the local area, and attracted youngsters from all communities and age groups, irrespective of skin color or ethnicity.

He is therefore often credited with helping to stop segregation in Southern California, particularly in Los Angeles.

In 1959, Art established a record label called Original Sound Records. It released two hits – Sandy Nelson's Teen Beat and Preston Epps' Bongo Rock. Laboe received credit as a writer for both songs. Laboe then joined KXLA and worked there for a long time. This was followed by KGGI in the 90s.

In 2006, Laboe started another radio show called The Art Laboe Connection, on KDES-FM in Palm Springs and KOKO-FM in Fresno. The show also became a popular on KHHT in Los Angeles, KAJM in Phoenix, and other stations in Bakersfield and Santa Maria.

Art also appeared in two more radio shows that were broadcast around the American Southwest.

---

Netizens pay tribute on Twitter

Given Art Laboe's popularity, it is needless to say that Twitter was flooded with tributes when people heard about his demise.

By 2018, Art Laboe had featured in around 14 radio markets. He continued to DJ right up until his demise on October 7, when he succumbed to pneumonia.