R.I.P.: Richard Hawk, First KILO PD Dead at 59

Richard David Hawk, who rubbed elbows with many of rock’s greatest musicians and was himself a radio legend, died Thursday in a Colorado Springs hospital.

He was 59, according to gazette.com.

Hawk was the first program director of KILO 94.3 FM, which started in 1978. He carried out the vision to make the station, which had been broadcasting country tunes, into an edgy rock entertainment source that gained national notice.

As program director for 30 years, he was responsible for the sound of the station. He picked the albums, developed the on-air staff and arranged the music lineup, said KILO General Manager Lou Mellini.

Hawk was playing Nirvana and Stevie Ray Vaughn before just about anybody else did. In fact, he put Nirvana on the air even before stations in the grunge band’s hometown of Seattle would.

And through the years there was a steady stream of rockers through the station’s front door — Motley Crue, Steven Tyler, Aerosmith and Ozzy Osbourne to name a few.

Hawk was a mentor to many. “He was brilliant on the air, with smooth delivery and clearness of voice, and he insisted all his jockeys meet that standard,” Mellini said.

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