WYSO mourns loss of longtime blues host Shakin’ Dave Hussong

"Shakin'" Dave Hussong was the host of the WYSO radio program Hall of Fame Blues for 37 years. CONTRIBUTED BY JULIET FROMHOLT

Credit: CONTRIBUTED

Credit: CONTRIBUTED

"Shakin'" Dave Hussong was the host of the WYSO radio program Hall of Fame Blues for 37 years. CONTRIBUTED BY JULIET FROMHOLT

Longtime WYSO radio host “Shakin’” Dave Hussong died Sunday, April 24. He was 76.

At the helm of Hall of Fame Blues for 37 years, Hussong became a WYSO host in 1982, following then-blues host Art Snyder. He hosted blues programming until his on-air retirement in 2019.

“I was trying to contribute something and not just take from it,” he told the Dayton Daily News, reflecting on his legacy upon retirement. “I was properly and improperly talking about the artists. The more obscure, the better.”

Hussong was also a musician who performed with such bands as Low Rent Blues All-Stars and Shake and the Senders. He’s also remembered for being a trained visual artist, a dealer of vintage electric and acoustic guitars in Centerville, and a writer for Vintage Guitar Magazine.

“Shakin’ Dave Hussong approached music and the act of making and sharing it with such reverence, something I know WYSO listeners felt when he was on the air,” said Juliet Fromholt, WYSO music director. “He spent nearly four decades introducing our community to hall-of-fame-worthy blues artists, all of that time as a volunteer. His show was an education about the blues and its far-ranging influence perfect for longtime fans and brand-new listeners. Dave was incredibly generous with his talent and his vast musical knowledge, and he genuinely cared for our local music community and the people in it.”

WYSO will pay tribute to Hussong on the Sunday, May 1 edition of The Blues Revival from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

There are no plans at the moment for a public memorial service, but this story will be updated as news arises.

For more information about WYSO, visit wyso.org.

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