MURRAY THE K

Murray Kaufman, professionally known as Murray the K, was an influential New York City disc jockey of the 1950s, '60s and '70s.

Kaufman's big break came in 1958 after he moved to WINS/1010 to do the all-night show. Murray was soon moved into the 7–11 pm time period and remained there for the next seven years. In the mid-1960s when, as the top-rated radio host in New York City, he became an early and ardent supporter and friend of The Beatles.

When the Beatles came to New York on February 7, 1964, Murray was the first DJ they welcomed into their circle, having heard about him from other music artists. The "Fifth Beatle", was given by Harrison during the train ride to the Beatles' first concert in Washington, D.C. or by Ringo Starr at a press conference before that concert. His radio station WINS picked up on the name and billed him as the Fifth Beatle.

He resigned on the air in December 1964 and did his last show on February 27, 1965.

In 1966, Murray became program director and drive time disc jockey on WOR-FM, 98.7, one of the first FM rock stations. Murray played long album cuts rather than singles, often playing groups of songs by one artist, or thematically linked songs, uninterrupted by commercials. WOR-FM switched to the tighter Drake format where DJs weren't allowed to pick the music and talk as much, so Murray the K left New York radio to host programs in Toronto—on CHUM-AM and on WHFS 102.3 FM in Washington D.C. in 1972.  

He returned to New York to host NBC Monitor and as a fill-in morning DJ. In early 1975, he joined Long Island progressive rock station WLIR-FM and his final New York radio show ran later that year on WKTU-FM.