Tom Donahue
| Tom "Big Daddy" Donahue | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Thomas Coman May 21, 1928 South Bend, Indiana |
| Died | April 28, 1975 (aged 46) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Rock 'n' Roll DJ, Record Producer, Concert Promoter |
| Known for | Free-form radio |
Tom "Big Daddy" Donahue (May 21, 1928 – April 28, 1975), was a pioneering rock and roll radio disc jockey, record producer and concert promoter.
Donahue was born Thomas Coman in South Bend, Indiana. His career started in 1949 on the East Coast of the U.S. at WTIP in West Virginia and continued at WIBG in Philadelphia and WINX in Maryland. He moved to San Francisco in 1961 during the payola scandal involving Alan Freed, Dick Clark and several other East Coast DJs. He was brought to San Francisco by Les Crane, former Program Director at WIBG who had been hired to make a winner out of loser station, KYA. Crane also brought in Peter Tripp from WMGM, New York and "Bobby Mitchell" from WIBG.
While a disc jockey at Top Forty station KYA (now KOIT) in San Francisco, Donahue and Mitchell formed a record label. Autumn Records had subsequent hits with Bobby Freeman and The Mojo Men, and Sly Stone was a staff producer. But Autumn's biggest act was one that Donahue discovered, produced, recorded, and managed, The Beau Brummels, which he later sold to Warner Bros. Records. He also opened a psychedelic nightclub (Mothers on Broadway in San Francisco), and produced concerts at the Cow Palace and Candlestick Park with his partner Mitchell (later known as Bobby Tripp in L.A. radio; real name Michael Guerra, d. 1968). Together, they produced the last public appearance of The Beatles on August 29, 1966 at Candlestick Park.
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