Gus Gossert

Back before oldies were "cool", there was Robert "Gus" Gossert. His heyday was the 1970's but folks in New York who tuned in to WCBS-FM, called him Mr. Doo-Wop. During the era of Led Zeppelin and The Beatles, Gossert played the oldies.

In the mid-60s Gossert left his home state of Pennsylvania to study law at the University of Tennessee. Gossert was also a musician, who first caught the bug to be a DJ after making a trip to a broadcasters convention in Nashville. After stops at stations in Hawaii and San Francisco, Gossert was hired by New York's WCBS-FM in 1969 to host a Sunday night oldies show. He was just in his mid 20s.

Gossert's WCBS-FM show, which focused on doo wop music of the 1950s, proved to be immensely popular.

He loved the "oldies" of the era - artists like the Flamingos, the Velvetones and Billy Ward and His Dominoes. Doo-wop featured tight, lush harmonies, mostly performed by black groups with a rhythm and blues feel.

Gossert gained fame among listeners and is credited with helping revive interest in the music form, long pushed aside by the electric pop and rock of groups like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Who. He developed one of the highest-rated Sunday night shows in New York.

He had a strong, deep voice and an easy conversational style. He often opened his program with a greeting from the "curly-headed kid in the second row".

Here's Mr. Doo-Wop at WCBS-FM, New York in 1970. [ LISTEN ] (4:01)...and here's Gus again on July 25, 1971 after he moved on to WPIX. This is a whopping 90 unscoped minutes of Gus at his very best. [ LISTEN ] (1:31:31)

Gossert enjoyed a high-flying life, but he sometimes ran around with the wrong people, and he didn't seem to care.

A former girlfriend said Gossert had a dark side. He dealt drugs, including cocaine, in New York. He was charged and convicted in 1973 and did time in prison.

By 1976, he was out. Looking for a place to start over, he moved back to the Knoxville area and got a part-time job with WOKI in Oak Ridge.

Gus with his girlfriend Harriette and the crime scene 1976

Gossert was found shot dead in his car on August 10, 1976.

Police found white powder in his pockets and in his apartment.

Multiple theories were explored. His history with drugs was an obvious one. A witness suggested the killer could have been there to rip him off. Or, maybe he owed someone money. Gossert was 33. The case was never solved.

Gossert had amassed an impressive list of phone numbers of people, many well-known, Davenport said. He was said to have dated singer Pam Tillis.

Some materials found on this page were originally published by the following: Internet Archive, The Street Corner Radio Show.