It was quite a few years ago when I first heard of the mad daddy, aka Pete Myers. it was a wee boxout in Uncut magazine, probably between articles about Bob Dylan and Pink Floyd. Or the Who and the Stones. or, well you get the idea. A diamond in the rough is essentially what I mean.

Pete Myers was a DJ in the late 1950s, and broadcast on WHK in Cleveland. He created a persona for himself, The Mad Daddy, a good natured ghoul with his own far out rhyming patter.

The Mad Daddy show was one wild ride, with Daddy riffing his way through sound effects, distortion and the craziest music of the day. Daddy played the kind of Rock n Roll seldom heard by white ears and this helped him tap into the Ohioan teenage psyche. His off the cuff riffs and rhymes and advertising ad libs are what I think of when I think of American Rock n Roll Radio. Crazy shit done at 100mph, and with a real enthusiasm that few in the UK seem to have done (As far as I know anyway) And Pete was pretty mad away from the studio too, whilst on a contractually enforced 2 week sabbatical he was worried that Cleveland’s throttle jammers and mellow muffins may lose interest, so he arranged a publicity stunt; parachuting into a harbour full of Jello whilst dressed as Zorro, flinging records out on his descent. Lets forget the costume, records and dessertification of a working harbour were kyboshed by the authorities, Pete actually did the jump. His first ever! Mad? you better believe it…

Like all the best stories, this one has a tragic ending. Pete got the chance of going out on a New York station, and jumped at it. However those east coast morons just didn’t get Daddy, and the gig was cancelled after one show. The Mad Daddy flitted about a few other stations after that, and even transmogrified back into plain old Pete, but it seems he became depressed and disillusioned by his New York experience. Pete Myers committed suicide on October 4th 1968.

So long, Daddy. Let me pay a small salute by airing his 2nd last show on WHK ( I think), and lastly how about The Cramps own tribute. Lux Interior was one of Oobladi’s most fervent Mad Minions