R.I.P.: Peter C Cavanaugh, Former Flint Personality, Station Manager

Peter C Cavanaugh

Radio personality and station manager Peter C. Cavanaugh, awho brought rock and roll to Flint’s airwaves in the 1960s, has died, reports mlive.com citing a family Facebook post.

Cavanaugh influenced Flint radio for decades, working at WTAC 600 AM beginning in 1964 and also as station manager for WWCK 105.5 in the 80s. He started his career as a 16-year-old at WNDR in his hometown of Syracuse, New York.

The Flint Journal once called Cavanaugh “the godfather of local rock ‘n’ rollers,” an energetic, sometimes provocative broadcaster who greeted listeners by telling them to “get up and boogie!”

He was “a loyal man and creative soul,” wrote his daughter Colleen Pyron in the Facebook post.

“He inspired others to dream big, believe in themselves, and ‘take no prisoners,’” she wrote. “He would want you to remember that ‘It is all in how you look at it; it’s all in how you study it.’ Here is to peace after a full and interesting life.”

Cavanaugh was featured at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum as part of an exhibit on influential rock and roll DJs. His platform helped The Who reach a national audience, and he expanded the reach of Michigan acts like Bob Seger, Ted Nugent and Alice Cooper, according to his book “Local DJ.”

Cavanaugh had a “big heart and soul” and engaged heavily with all his listeners and fans, said Jim Baade, a friend and former radio colleague. Baade made the documentary “Flint’s Best Rock: The Movie” about his time at WWCK under Cavanaugh.

“Peter Cavanaugh was bigger than life,” Baade said. “Radio was his calling and he was a maestro. He was professional, but loved to have fun. He had empathy and he cared.”

“He just was in love with radio, and it showed through and through.’