Cleveland's Chris Quinn dead at 59

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Dr. Whiplash
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Cleveland's Chris Quinn dead at 59

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DJ Quinn had an ear for music
Alana Baranick, The Plain Dealer
http://www.cleveland.com

Chris "The Mighty" Quinn walked into the WELW radio studio in Willoughby, where he worked in 1969, carrying a record by an unknown rock band. He coaxed fellow disc jockey Ted Alexander into playing the song, "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" by Steam. Listeners within the Lake County station's broadcast range quickly agreed with Quinn's assessment that the tune was catchy.

"It sold over 8,000 copies on the East Side of Cleveland," Alexander said Monday. "He had one of the best ears for new music." Other radio stations in Northeast Ohio, the Midwest and across the country started playing the tune until it became the No. 1 record nationally. The song continues to be a staple at sports contests.

Quinn, who died Saturday of complications from congestive heart failure at age 59, received a Gold Record award from Mercury Records in recognition of his role in breaking "Na Na" as a hit. A short time later, Quinn earned a second award for introducing another chart-topper, Canadian singer Anne Murray's "Snowbird," to American audiences.

He had radio shows, handled programming and/or served as engineer at several Cleveland-area radio stations during his 40-year broadcasting career. Quinn also worked in law enforcement. He investigated aircraft accidents for the Geauga County Sheriff's Department. He served with the Kirtland and Middlefield police departments.

He was born Christopher J. Quinn in Youngstown and grew up in Lyndhurst. After graduating from Gilmour Academy, he attended Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla., where he took broadcasting courses. He handled some weekend shifts on the college station and learned the ropes of Top 40 radio at WLOF in Orlando. Quinn joined WELW, the first time, in 1967. He returned to the station for a second stint in 1999. In between, he worked at such Cleveland stations as WIXY, WMJI, WGAR and WRMR. Quinn became chief engineer at WABQ in 2004.

He was delighted to help radio enthusiasts and historians, who sought information about pop music and performers of the 1960s.

John Gorman, who hired Quinn at WMJI in 1992, said, "He was an encyclopedia of music knowledge and could run down facts and figures about any song in the Top 40 from the '50s through the '70s."
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