Gene Shay (born Ivan Shaner; March 4, 1935 – April 17, 2020) was an American radio personality. Shay was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to a Jewish family and was a representative of the city's folk music scene. Beginning in 1962, he produced a weekly folk radio shows on WXPN, which was last broadcast on February 1, 2015. He previously hosted shows on WDAS-FM, WMMR, WIOQ and WHYY-FM.

A founder of the annual Philadelphia Folk Festival and its emcee since its inception, he has been called the "Dean of American folk DJs" by the Philadelphia Daily News and "The Grandfather of Philadelphia Folk Music"

References

  • (archived)
  • Gene Shay on Facebook
  • Gene Shay's secrets of magic (Running Press), 1977,