SCOTT MUNI

A fixture of rock & roll radio for nearly 50 years, Scott Muni was born Donald Munoz in 1930 and began his broadcasting career in 1950 as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps. His professional career began in 1953 as a disc jockey at WSMB/New Orleans. Two years later, he took over for Alan Freed at WAKR/Cleveland.

In 1958, Muni moved to WMCA/New York before moving to rival Top 40 station WABC-AM/New York in 1960 for a high-rated five-year run. Muni left WABC in 1965 for a brief stint at WOR-FM before joining the staff of WNEW-FM/New York in 1966.

During his three decades at WNEW, Muni helped usher in progressive, album-oriented rock (AOR) radio, giving vital airplay and exposure to new generations of musicians. During his time at WNEW, Muni was nicknamed “The Professor,” in part because of his encyclopedic knowledge of music and in part because of his propensity to ask verbose questions of his guests. During the 1980s, he hosted the syndicated series Scott Muni’s World of Rock and the Beatles-centric Ticket to Ride.

Muni left WNEW in 1998 and moved to WAXQ/New York, where he was heard until early 2004.

Scott Muni died on September 28, 2004.

He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2015.