In the Spring of 2021, after 40+ years as a radio broadcaster, Greece resident Dave Kane retired from his job as mid-day host at WCMF. Kane wasn’t off-air for long, “I’m still retired, I’m just indulging a hobby, it’s like a part-time job,” he said.
After much encouragement and requests for his return to radio from dedicated, loyal listeners, social media friends, and a meeting with Michael Black, Radio Program Director at WRUR, Kane resurrected his Breakfast with The Beatles radio show on Labor Day Weekend 2022. “Working at WRUR is the right fit. The focus here is on the music, live and local. Being part of the WXXI family, in partnership with the U of R, I feel flattered by this opportunity. There are a lot of veteran media people working here, and it is an education,” Kane said.
Breakfast with The Beatles, airs on Sunday mornings from 10AM to Noon on WRUR. It is the ultimate, perfect mix of past and present, group and solo Beatles music, on this date facts, history, back stories and accounts, all narratives chronicling the life and times of The Beatles. The main focus of every show is kept on the songs.
The Beatles are a group that Kane knows well, and says their musical meeting, and the resulting accomplishments, were the perfect storm. “They were four incredibly talented individuals that came together creatively. It was a tough time for our country, and they brought a message of peace and love that still resonates today. It is a hard thing to explain.”
Preparation for each week’s Breakfast with The Beatles show is a labor of love for Kane. ”I’m still learning something new in my research. I work about five hours a week prepping the show. It is my only focus, and there is a wealth of information on The Beatles that we now have unlimited access to. I have the time now, and I am re-reading my library of Beatle books and searching the internet for information. Working in a commercial free format gives me more time to broaden out a great deal on the songs I play. The new deluxe box set for the Revolver album has a wealth of notes, song mixes and new information. You really hear Revolver in a different way.”
Kane came to the Rochester area in 1975 to study Journalism at SUNY Brockport. When he found out that he had to write something everyday, he wasn’t so sure of his career choice. “You know how you have great teachers that make a difference? I had a teacher that made a motivating speech in class that prompted me to visit the college radio station. I found what I wanted to do for life.”
Kane grew up in Brooklyn, with a father that enjoyed classical music and opera, in a house where music was always playing. It nurtured, in him, an appreciation for music. “Growing up in the 70s, close to New York City, gave me the opportunity to go to live concerts, at all the classic venues. The great artists and bands all toured through New York City. That’s what it was for me, concerts, concerts, concerts. Being in radio for my entire career was a dream come true. It gave me so many opportunities that I really never thought possible.”
And then there is the instantly recognizable, well acclaimed, gifted voice that Kane says is his everyday voice. “I never tried to develop a radio voice. I just speak in my natural way.” Ironically, Kane’s first job in radio came in 1979 from a small station in Geneva where the program director hired him, not for the sound of his voice, but because he could read copy. “At the beginning of each show I had to read five minutes of news. The program director said he hired me because I could put sentences together, and read in a pleasing way. Radio is really all about your ability to connect with your listeners on the other side.”
Kane’s broadcasting successes have not gone unrecognized. He was honored with a “Special Merit Award” during the induction of WCMF to the Rochester Music Hall of Fame in 2019. He was also nominated for the prestigious “Radio Personality of the Year” Marconi Award. He is a six-time nominee for Billboard Magazine’s “Music Director of the Year.” Kane’s alma mater, SUNY Brockport, recognized him as a “Communicator of the Year” as well as a Communications Department “Alumni of the Year.” In 2018, he received SUNY Brockport’s “Outstanding Service Award,” and in September 2019, he was inducted into the WBSU Hall of Fame at SUNY Brockport.
As Dave Kane has said for years, “What’s better than a Sunday morning, waking up with a cup of coffee and The Beatles. You can listen to Breakfast with The Beatles every Sunday morning from 10am to 12noon on FM 88.5 WRUR/ 90.1 FM WITH, or stream online at wrur.org withradio.org or differentradio.org
Photos by Karen Fien
