Doc Rock AKA Dave Hill was a cultural renegade. A lifelong music and literary fanatic who could blind quote Shakespeare or the bible, seemed to love Emily Dickenson above all else and knew what color socks Carl Perkins was wearing under his blue suede shoes. I met him late in his long and interesting life. When you do radio it is usually a bad idea to meet with people who call you a lot. This time I’m really glad I did. This blog will feature as many of the radio shows we did together as I can find.

RIP David Hill aka Doc Rock 1936 – 2010

Early Black American recordings.
An amazing show of very early gospel, minstrel, sacred and show music from the late 1890’s thru the early 1930’s.

Hillbilly humor on 78RPM.  Another weird and great collection of Hillbilly humor records from the 1920’s & 30’s. Weird epic country and back-wood tales, some that spanned multiple 78 RPM record sides. Early examples of Talking blues and cheap thrills on the farm.

The weird world of Yodeling.
Yodeling from many times and places, traditional and experimental. Pygmies, Swiss, instructional, techno yodeling(!?) and early US country tunes.

Western Swing
In 1932, two young talented musicians named Milton Brown and Bob Wills were performing together in a radio band called The Light Crust Doughboys…

The music of George Jones
Recorded on September 21, 2006, this radio show features the earliest recordings made in his producers living room, then spanning a 50 + year recording career.

The following was Doc’s facebook (So you know it is true) bio in his own words, in his own way.

Rockabilly rules!!

Kinda short, fat, old – GREAT hair, beautiful plastic teeth, accomplished tattoos by Don Nolan at Acme. Lousy childhood, booze, divorce, many schools in several states, a dozen foster homes by 13. Began jail career at 14 with a robbery the day my Dad married his third wife. ( I think I didn’t like her.) By 16 Oregon (where I lived for a while) kicked me out of the state until I was 21. (Long story.) Back in Minnesota I left both my homes (Mom’s & Dad’s) and hitchiked to Mexico & back, sleeping in small town jails, in the days before freeways. (Try that today kids.)More adventures and then I ended up in jail for 18 months. But, the summer Iwas 17 I discovered sex.!!It involved me hitchiking near Zumbrota, a ride with a very hairy woman older than my Mom, condoms, and she paid me $5 and took my sperm into the Mayo Clinic. How could you make that up? (Did I memntion I had escaped the night before?) I began my prison careerat 18 and managed to spend 10 of the next 12 years behind bars, only getting out long enough to do crazy-ass (non-violent) nonsense to get me back in my cozy cell. But I had a typewriter and I became a writer. – for the juvenile/religious press.(That market has followed the death of so much print media) I wrote kid’s moralisitic novels (Welfare Kid, Ramon’s World) books of Lenten devotions, Bible puzzles, collected biography, and many hundreds of magazine pieces – stories, verse, profiles, adventure serials, ad infinitum. This I parlayed into a parole at 30 and a job as a newspaper reporter/editor. Became a Citizen, wife, 3 kids, many adventures as a newsman. (Had kunch with Desi Arnez, Played Santa at the Mall, lotsa celebrity interviews, backstage at many concerets.}Founded an ex-con Advocacy group – Focus – and did a lot of travelling, public speaking,etc. Did some TV too. Was poised to become home-town “Name” journalist and a career beckoned. Instead, I became Dr. Rock & Roll, began career as certified lunatic Be Bop Daddio. Began 10-year speed run, sprinkled with many Psychedlic interludes. Ended up single (of course – it only took one marriage to cure me of that notion) and spent 24 years in a taxi. Gee You must meet a lot of interesting people. NOT!! 24 years of mind-numbing boredom ensued and all I have to show for it is an encyclopediac knowledge of the greater metro area. I know where everything is. And so??? But I did get to do all my drunk-driving in a taxi. Retired now and essentially a hermit. I don’t participate in America’s culture, No TV, no sports (Couldn’t name a Twin or Viking), don’t read pop fiction never seen “American Idol”. Connected to the modern world (most of which I despise) by the thin wire of my internet. Ultimately a grouchy old coot with an evil sense of humor.