I'm going to miss my old friend Rick Murphy. He knew all there was to know about radio in Madison, and the personalities that made this market so memorable. Like me, he collected jingles and radio shows. Our last time together was at WIBA-AM back around 2005.
WSJ: Rick Murphy, one of the most recognizable voices in Madison radio, died Friday after a brief illness. He was 63.
Murphy died from an autoimmune disease that was diagnosed in mid-July, but probably went undiagnosed for a few years, said his wife, Paula Sherman. The couple spent their seventh anniversary Aug. 25 in the hospital.
Murphy is best known for the radio programs he founded or co-founded, including "Radio Free Madison," "Rick's Cafe" and the WORT-FM program "Tropical Riddims."
He started as a student announcer at WHA and on Halloween 1969 introduced "Radio Free Madison" on WIBA-FM. In the late 1990s Murphy resurrected it on WMMM-FM.
He had so much of the history of Madison radio in his head and was happy to share it with others.
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