Papa Don Schroeder

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Papa Don Schroeder
Birth nameGerald Don Schroeder
Born(1940-12-29)December 29, 1940
Pensacola, Florida, US
DiedNovember 15, 2019(2019-11-15) (aged 78)
Occupation(s)Radio station owner, record producer, songwriter, singer
Years active1959–1970s (as performer, writer and producer)
Websitehttp://talk790.com/

Gerald Don Schroeder (December 29, 1940 – November 15, 2019),[1][2] known professionally as Papa Don Schroeder, was an American radio station owner and former record producer, radio personality, and singer-songwriter, who was responsible for producing hit singles in the 1960s and 1970s by James & Bobby Purify, Carl Carlton, and others.

Biography

He was born in

R&B label's first white artist. Released in 1959, the record became a minor regional hit.[3][4]

Schroeder attended the

music publishing company in Nashville, where he wrote songs with Mel Tillis and Wayne Walker, and produced demos. In 1963 he had his first songwriting success with "Those Wonderful Years", a country music hit for Webb Pierce, but then left to return to Pensacola.[3]

Working for radio station WBSR, he became a local celebrity with the top-rated show in the area (the "Papa Ding-Dong Diddley Daddy Debatably Daring Dig'in Out Dash'n Dip Dig'in Don Schroeder Show"), mainly playing R&B music for a predominantly white audience. Schroeder said:[3]

"I dreamed of bringing white people and black people together... and we did it...and packed it out... and never had a problem. It was phenomenal. That was a phenomenal statement in the '60s.... I played 75 percent black music and about 25 percent white music, and the white music I played was white music that I thought my black audience would put up with. But I was playing the black music I knew the white people would love, if they could just hear it. And that’s why we did the ratings we did."

He formed his own production company, Papa Don Productions, and arranged a record distribution deal with

Oscar Toney, Jr.[7]

In 1968, he built his own studio in Pensacola, but failed to recruit the musicians to make it successful. After disagreements with James Purify, he closed down his record production business in 1969.[3] In 1970, he took ownership of radio station WPNN in Pensacola, and remains the station president.[8] He returned to record production in the mid-1970s, producing Carl Carlton's hit version of "Everlasting Love" as well as further tracks by James and Bobby Purify.[4][6]

Schroeder died from throat cancer in 2019, aged 78.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b "Legendary radio icon, 'Papa Don' Schroeder has died". Pensacola News Journal. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  2. ^ "Register". Ancestry.co.uk. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e Bill Dahl, "Papa Don Schroeder Reminisces....", Sundazed.com Archived June 8, 2014, at archive.today. Retrieved June 8, 2014
  4. ^ a b "James & Bobby Purify – So Many Reasons", The B-side, 30 October 2007. Retrieved June 9, 2014
  5. ^ Don Schroeder Discography. Geocities.jp, Retrieved June 9, 2014
  6. ^ a b Michael Fitzgerald, "Schroeder, 'Papa Don'", North Florida Music Hall of Fame, August 21, 2008 Archived July 16, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 9, 2014
  7. ^ Oscar Toney, Jr., SirShambling.com. Retrieved June 10, 2014
  8. ^ WPNN(AM), FCCInfo.com. Retrieved June 9, 2014

External links

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