Dave Dixon
Dave Dixon was the Culture Czar – broadcasting from the “Tesla Center in beautiful downtown Southfield.” When he died last summer at the age of 60 he left as a legacy of his reign a continuing undercurrent of radio that can be heard across college and (the few remaining) underground radio frequencies that defies the now firmly entrenched corporate hold on the radio dial. As lead pilot of the legendary “Air Aces” on Detroit’s freeform rock station WABX (once heard at 99.5 FM where now “Young Country” rules), Dixon played an integral role in Detroit’s FM revolution in the late 1960s. He unveiled the revolutionary sounds of Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Iron Butterfly, the Grateful Dead and many other artists we now take for granted. (He also shared co-writing credit on Peter, Paul and Mary’s hit “I Dig Rock & Roll Music.”)

Dixon left WABX in 1974 and, after a 10-year gig hosting an overnight movie program on Miami, Fla., TV landed at Detroit public radio station WDET where his wildly diverse playlist and trademark gruff, cynical radio persona won him a loyal audience. Not long after he left WDET, in 1996, AM talk station WXYT hired him to host “Dave Dixon’s Radio Magazine” where, though flying without music, he opened the airwaves to Detroit’s arts community and often shared the air with friends, fellow former-Air Ace Jerry Lubin and acclaimed rock scribe Ben Edmonds.

Simply, Dave Dixon lived to prove there was another way to do radio than by following conventional wisdom.

The Contours
“The road to a Motown recording contract was a rough one for The Contours. Berry Gordy wasn’t very impressed with them following a three-song audition in 1959 and sent them on their way.

Hubert Johnson, one of the original members of the group, thought his cousin, Jackie Wilson, might be able to help with some much-needed advice. Wilson, a rock and roll legend by this time, asked the group to perform some of their material for him. Once he was satisfied, Wilson called his old friend Gordy back at the Motown offices. The very next day, The Contours had a seven-year recording contract with the label.

In the summer of 1962, The Contours hit the jackpot with the Berry Gordy penned classic, “Do You Love Me?” This tune became the No. 2 record in the nation as well as the group’s first gold record. The ensuing years brought forth such Contours’ hits as “Shake Sherrie,” “Can You Do It?,” “Can You Jerk Like Me?,” “Just a Little Misunderstanding” and “First I Look At The Purse.”

Today, under the leadership of original members Joe Billingslea and Sylvester Potts, The Contours are center stage once again. Their high-energy Motown show encompasses all of the spirit that made those wonderful Motown Revues so popular back in the ’60s.

Much of the resurgence in The Contours’ popularity has to do with the 1988 Academy Award-winning film, “Dirty Dancing”. Their hit “Do You Love Me?” was featured in the film and became so popular that it gave birth to an international tour entitled “The Dirty Dancing Tour” starring The Contours, Bill Medley, Merry Clayton and Eric Carmen. That tour lasted ten months and played to more than 10 million fans in eight countries before ceasing production.” – From the Contours offical web site

The Frost
With their performances at the legendary Grande Ballroom, electrifying live performances and virtuosic musicianship, the Frost were the very definition of Midwest power rock ‘n’ roll. In that fertile late-’60s-early ’70s period of rock music in Michigan, the Frost were, indeed, a force with which to be reckoned.

“The legendary Frost were, in the late 1960s and early 70s, the most progressive and creative rock and roll band of that historic period in Michigan music. They not only had the biggest selling albums of any Detroit-based rock band, but also held attendance records all over the state and region. A powerful guitar-based quartet featuring the highly influential songwriting and lead guitar of Dick Wagner, the powerful vocals and showmanship of Donny Hartman, and the classic double-bass drum virtuosity of Bobby Rigg propelled The Frost to legendary status.

Taking the stage again thirty years later, The Frost have lost none of their musical power and showmanship, but have only aged like fine wine.” — From the Frost’s official bio

Diversified Management Agency
Much of what you need to know about the impact and legacy of the Southfield-based Diversified Management Agency can be found in a reading of the company’s partial list of clients: Ted Nugent, the Romantics, Sammy Hagar, Hawkwind, Motorhead, Krokus, the Scorpions, Savoy Brown, Alvin Lee Ten Years Later, Mick Taylor, Rex Smith, Triumph. It’s a veritable hit parade from the days when rock ‘n’ roll was shaggy, wild and free. Centered around owner Nick Caris, and associates Troy Blakely and Dave Leone, the DMA represented a business force to be reckoned with and boasted a decidedly Detroit-centric core and acted as the nexus for many of the names and faces that went on to be associated with Detroit rock city. Leone, one of the core personnel in DMA’s success, died this year. He had kept himself firmly entrenched in the Detroit music scene and was, at the time of his death, managing Detroit funk-blues-rock juggernaut, the Howling Diablos (appropriately, the house band for this year’s Detroit Music Awards).