John R., Date of Birth, Date of Death

John R.

American DJ

Date of Birth: 20-Aug-1910

Date of Death: 15-Feb-1986

Profession: disc jockey, record producer

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Leo

John R.
(born John Richbourg, August 20, 1910, Manning, South Carolina; died February 15, 1986, Nashville, Tennessee) was an American radio disc jockey who attained fame in the 1950s and 1960s for playing rhythm and blues music on Nashville radio station WLAC.
He was also a notable record producer and artist manager. Richbourg was arguably the most popular and charismatic of the four announcers at WLAC who showcased popular African-American music in nightly programs from the late 1940s to the early 1970s.
(The other three were Gene Nobles, Herman Grizzard, and Bill "Hoss" Allen.) Later rock music disc jockeys such as Alan Freed, Wolfman Jack, and others mimicked Richbourg's practice of using speech that simulated African-American street language of the mid-twentieth century. Richbourg's highly stylized approach to on-air presentation of both music and advertising earned him popularity, but it also created identity confusion.
Because Richbourg and fellow disc jockey Allen used African-American speech patterns, many listeners thought that both announcers were actually African-Americans.
The disc jockeys used the mystique to their commercial and personal advantages until the mid-1960s, when the fact that they were actually white became public knowledge.