Ron Dwyer is a walking encyclopedia of Boston area music information! We mention Boston area because, having grown up on the North Shore, Ron knows the music that was popular here; music popularity is regional.

Since he can remember (and before, he’s been told) Ron has loved music! When he was in the 8th grade, his best friend was a 10th grader and the two boys would finish their homework and then produce a mock radio show in his attic, complete with news feeds. 

Every Friday he would go to the local record store to spend his hard earned money on records. He’d often tell the owner which songs he thought would be hits and to buy extra copies. When the owner noticed that Ron’s “predictions” came true, the owner started quizzing Ron each week before placing his order!

Ron also has a photographic memory for musical facts. He can tell you the 1st day a song was played in this area, everything on the label including flip side and song length and tell you if the song length is correct. (Record companies often stated shorter that actual times for records in the hopes that the DJ would play them; programmers often would skip songs that they thought were too long.)

His knowledge base isn’t only rock & roll; his happiest days in college were spent in the chorus. As the “anchor” bass, he sang many classical pieces even though he does not read music.

His show is formatted just the way he would want to hear a show if he was the listener and that has kept him at WATD for more than 20 years. He plays songs that were hits in the Boston Market. Heavy 60′s, he considers this the best time for pop music. There were many creative people involved in producing music; many influences including doo-wop, Motown, psychedelic, bubblegum, R&B, English sound (Beatles, Dave Clark 5, Stones …), surf (Jan & Dean, Beach Boys), folk, folk-rock. With so many artist vying for the buying dollar, you had to be good to survive.

He likes to give information and trivial facts about the songs he plays. He also does a lot of fan requests. But, he won’t necessarily play the song right away; he intuitively places the song in his lineup where it will sound good in the music flow. Ron strays slightly from his format when he plays songs that should have been a hit but were not promoted by their record companies.

When not hosting his show on WATD, he does voice-overs for commercials. Ron’s quick wit and ability to ad lib makes him a favorite at WATD! And don’t get him started on movie facts; he’s just as knowledgeable there!