WDON...The First Real Rock Station in Montgomery County. This photo was taken at the funeral of Don Dillard. Thats me on the right with the gray hair and beard and Barry Richards on the left with the sunglasses. This was taken at the funeral of former disc jockey, Don Dillard. Don was the first DJ on radio in the DC area to play rock and roll--the real stuff. A lot of people grew up listening to Don on WDON radio--a 250 Watt AM station in Wheaton, Maryland. Thanks to my brother, Ron, who was 12 (I was 8 years old)--my brother built a kit transistor radio and began listening to rock and roll, rockabilly and rhythm and blues. My brother and I both ended up in the music buiness thanks to the sounds of WDON. Barry Richards was 14 years old when he ducked into the radio station to hide from the police...who were chasing him for hitchhiking. Don Dillard hid Barry under the turntables. Barry became Dons helper and eventually became an incredible disc jockey on rock, rhythm and blues and free form stations. He flew in from Los Angeles for the funeral. Celebrities such as Ben Stein, Goldie Hawn and Carl Bernstein sent their condolences--they, too, grew up listening to Don Dillard. We are holding an enlarged copy of my brothers original Don Dillard Record Club Card over the wooden box containing Dons ashes.
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 23:23:48 +0000