Remembering Dusty Street
• We were saddened to learn that Ms. Dusty Street, one of the pioneers of rock radio as we know it, has died in Eugene, OR on Saturday, Oct. 21 at the age of 77. Ms. Street started her successful career in San Francisco during 1967’s seminal “Summer of Love” before moving to Los Angeles, where she ruled nights on KROQ for more than a decade, as “a member of KROQ’s greatest generation,” as described by former longtime KROQ morning co-host Gene “Bean” Baxter.
For the past 20 years Dusty had been a fixture on SiriusXM, where her distinctive voice graced the Deep Tracks and Classic Vinyl channels, based at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
A post on the SiriusXM Deep Tracks Facebook page reads: “We have lost one of our own. Dusty Street has passed away after 77 joyous trips around the sun. And yes, Dusty Street was her real name.”
The post continues, “Dusty was one of the first female rock jocks on the west coast working at KMPX and KSAN in San Francisco from 1967 through 1978 before heading to Los Angeles where she held court in the evenings from 1979 through 1996 on KROQ. That’s Dusty, left, at KSAN in 1972. “Earlier this year, she was one of the main contributors to the documentary, San Francisco Sounds: A Place In Time. The two-part series focuses on the rise Bay Area artists including The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, Sly and the Family Stone, Santana, CCR, Steve Miller Band, and more.” The trailer is posted here. Dusty was also a 2023 inductee into the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame.
In closing, the post reads, “We are heartbroken. Fly Low Dear Friend and Avoid the Radar.”
• Dusty’s longtime friend Geno Michellini was with her when she passed, and he shared his thoughts in a lovely and heartfelt Facebook post, which is also where we found this beautiful color photo of Dusty above.
