‘This is Dedicated to the One I Love:’ The Under Appreciated Power of Radio Dedications
(Originally published on Unpublished Magazine)
A few nights ago, my mother and I were driving home and we were listening to Old School 104.7 FM, which is our area’s R&B oldies station. Through the speakers of my mom’s Kia Soul rang out the distinct voice of the one and only Art Laboe, host of The Art Laboe Connection. If you are unfamiliar with Art Laboe and Southern California radio, let me catch you up.
Art Laboe was born in 1925 in Salt Lake City and began his career as a radio host for the U.S. Navy in 1943 when he was based out of Treasure Island, Calif. During that period he became known for his on air dedications from navy-men to their loved ones back home. Art Laboe is arguably the first disc jockey to start on-air radio dedications, and that is what he is still most known for today. He recently turned 95 in Aug., and he still records his show six days a week. He’s credited for coining the phrase “oldie but a goodie,” and his show is broadcasted from Oxnard to Palm Springs to almost every city in Southern California. Basically, Art Laboe is pretty amazing, and I am only scratching the surface.
As I sat in the passenger seat of my mother’s car with Heatwave’s “Always and Forever” playing in the background, I kept thinking to myself how beautiful and special radio dedications are. Quite a few of the dedications on the Art Laboe Connection are from incarcerated people in Calif. to their loved ones at home. These on-air messages- with the inclusion of a classic soul ballad, of course- create a connection between couples and families that cannot be together for whatever reason.
However, there is still always the possibility your special person may not even hear your message; take the love story of Maybelle Carter for instance. She was a member of the famous Carter Family country band, and in 1939 she dedicated a song to her long lost true love that lived thousands of miles away during a live radio broadcast. Luckily, Carter’s true love just so happened to be listening that day, and the two were soon reunited and married months later.
The sentiment is unlike any other type of medium, only in radio can someone send a message through a song to a significant other or family member. In movies, TV and books we often see dedications made to people who were associated in the creation of the piece, but only in radio does the listener have that power — which I think is a testament to the importance music has in our relationships; we all have songs we associate with the special people in our lives. For instance, my parents danced to Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon” at their wedding so that’s their song, one of the many songs my partner and I consider to be ours is “Strawberry” by Paul Baribeau, my siblings and I all share an affinity for T-Pain’s 2007 hit “Buy U a Drank”. Music is a key component in our day to day relationships, so the fact that there is still an outlet to send a special song to the person you love on an accessible grand scale like the radio, is spectacular.
I bring this all up, to say that I feel as if radio dedications do not get the praise and the recognition they truly deserve. As someone who has worked in independent and commercial radio for the last three years, broadcast radio is still so important for people due to its unwavering accessibility. I also see radio dedications as being a bridge of sorts, especially in this new COVID-19 world we all have found ourselves in. We all feel a little isolated, and it is especially risky to see elderly relatives and our friends. But who doesn’t love a 70s ballad? Who doesn’t love a disco track? I leave you with the suggestion of tracking down your local oldies station, checking to see if they have a dedication show and trying to send a song to your special person. If you’re feeling stuck on what song to send, I have a little playlist for you full of the best, in my opinion, soul ballads, disco tracks, and more.
