A true pioneer of New York rock radio. I used to listen to him on WNEW-FM and then WFUV. RIP.

Pete Fornatale, a New York deejay, historian and writer who for almost 50 years championed the spirit of musical freedom on the radio airwaves, died Thursday at Beth Israel Medical Center. He was 66.

He suffered a brain hemorrhage on April 15 and been in intensive care for the last week.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainmen ... -1.1068146

Wow.....that's totally awful.

One of the great voices of New York rock radio.

RIP

I was attending Maria Regina High School when Fornatale was teaching there. I didn't have him, but I knew who he was.
He was a big fan of The Beach Boys and Simon & Garfunkel.
He really was a legendary radio man. He would often show up on Mike Francessa's (another MR alum) show on WFAN when a popular music figure passed away and Mike wanted to discuss it.
He was a nice man and a great DJ.
Rest In Peace.

I actually heard the news today of his passing from Mike Francesa.

Me too. Enjoyed many a day of listening to Pete and his love of music. He got to be a DJ back when being a DJ was a fun job.

Damn, much too young. One of the signature voices from the golden age of WNEW, and a big part of my musical education. Rest in peace.

You are so right Jimbo. Pete Fornatale, Scott Muni "The Professor", Alison "the Nightbird" Steele, Dennis Elsas, Jonathan Schwartz, and Rosko on 102.7 WNEW-FM NY provided the best education I ever received. The results of their teachings have provided a lifetime of enjoyment. They were and will always be my friends.

I met Pete Fornatale once when he gave a lecture at the Morris County Community College in N.J. around 1974 where I attended and talked with him afterwards. What a very nice guy, you can tell how much he loved music and the artists that he would talk about, they seemed to be made of the same cloth.

I am so sad to see him pass, I can imagine how much he was looking forward to the new Beach Boy album being a big Brian Wilson which he mentioned when we talked. Well, the new Beach Boy single, "Thats Why God Made the Radio" could be dedicated to you my friend. God Bless you and RIP.

I literally grew up on the WNEW-FM DJs. My parents had the station on since the beginning. This is very sad.

My wife and I were listening to "Mixed Bag" on WFUV last weekend with a fill-in DJ who mentioned that Pete Fornatale was very ill, and listeners should send him good wishes. I was very saddened to hear about his passing today, as he was a major musical influence during my formative years. RIP, Pete.

This is real sad news. Pete was real good guy. He would always stop and chat when I bumped in to him on Arthur Ave. A real neighborhood guy.

A real loss for us all. A radio legend.

I'm playing The Beach Boys now in Pete's honor. He was a big part of my musical education.

WNEW FM was a huge part of my musical education when I was growing up. The knowledge of music and various genres those DJ's had (don't forget Dave Herman) was enormous. It was like hanging out with friends who had great record collections. And Pete was the biggest fan Poco and Richie Furay ever had. They just don't make DJ's (and radio) like that anymore, sad that it's time has passed. RIP Pete.

When I was a kid, it seemed like being a DJ was a fantastic job. You go to paid to play records that you loved. It really did seem they were in the living room spinning records.

That's all gone now as radio went corporate but it was fun while it lasted.