Dave Dixon was known as the Culture Czar. His last job was broadcasting
from the "Tesla Center in beautiful downtown Southfield." He was once
the lead DJ of the legendary "Air Aces" on Detroit's rock station WABX.
Dixon was a major influence on Detroit's FM revolution in the late
1960s. Dixon was a radio pioneer in Detroit who was among the first to
play The Doors, Hendrix, Blind Faith, Iron Butterfly, Led Zeppelin,
Black Sabbath and many other artists now taken for granted in pop
culture. Dixon also had a co-writing credit on Peter, Paul and Mary's
hit tune "I Dig Rock & Roll Music."
Dixon left WABX in 1974. He spent ten years in Miami; where he hosted a
popular overnight movie program (The Dave Dixon Show). His television
show was on Channel 51 which broadcast from Hollywood, Florida. Dixon
would introduce the movies each night (usually two movies and one
fill-in episode of any number of old television shows) with a little
critique of what he saw as the highlights and the flaws of the
particular movie. Then he would take phone calls after the commercial
breaks and he would discuss the movies with the callers. Often he would
have some animated discussions with the callers regarding the movies or
almost any other issue that came up. In effect, Dixon was hosting a
talk show about movies! Sometimes callers would receive prizes such at
radios, television sets, or other merchandise from The Dave Dixon
Show's sponsors.
In 1985, he landed at the Detroit public radio station (WDET) where his
gruff, cynical radio persona won him a loyal audience. However, his
frequent confrontations with management led to his eventual firing.
In 1996, AM talk station WXYT hired him to host "Dave Dixon's Radio
Magazine" where he talked about Detroit's arts community. He
transferred his gruff, no-nonsense attitude to a good-vibes community
forum, where he often reminisced with his friends from the 1960s rock
music scene. Dave Dixon died of a heart attack on Memorial Day in
1999.
