Dusty Street, the radio disc jockey arguably best known for her work at Los Angeles’ KROQ-FM, died Saturday (October 21), the Los Angeles Times reports. The news was confirmed by SiriusXM Deep Tracks; Street finished her radio career DJing at the satellite radio station. “We are heartbroken,” the station shared. “Fly Low Dear Friend and Avoid the Radar.” She was 77.
Street began her career at the San Francisco stations KMPX and KSAN from 1967 until 1978, one of the first women to work as an FM disc jockey in the West Coast. She worked at KROQ from the late ’70s through the late ’90s. “I’ve always thought radio should be a combination of entertainment and education,” Street said in a 2009 interview. “I’m living and working in a place where you get to educate people without jamming it down their throat.” She was among the subjects of the this year’s documentary series San Francisco Sounds.
Geno Michellini, the KLOS DJ, shared news of Street’s death on Facebook after spending her last two days at her side in Eugene, Oregon. “She died peacefully, quietly and surrounded by love in a beautifully serene location overlooking the most beautiful lake you could ever want,” he wrote. “There will never be another Dusty Street. The queen is gone, but she’ll never be forgotten.”