'''Bill Gavin''' (November 6, 1907 – January 27, 1985)<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://death-records.mooseroots.com/l/213539947/William-Slocum-Gavin |title=William Slocum Gavin SSN: 534107350 - Death Records |access-date=2016-03-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171228215042/http://death-records.mooseroots.com/l/213539947/William-Slocum-Gavin |archive-date=2017-12-28 |url-status=dead }}</ref> was an American radio personality and publisher of the influential ''Gavin Report''.
==Life and education== Gavin was born in Chetek, Wisconsin in 1907. He attended the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and the University of California-Berkeley.<ref name="autogenerated0030">{{cite web|url=http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/UW/UW-idx?type=turn&id=UW.UWECHist&entity=UW.UWECHist.p0030&q1=gavin |title=The University of Wisconsin Collection: The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire: a history, 1916-1976: Chapter I: "That you, the sons and daughters of the commonowealth, might have better educational service" |publisher=Digicoll.library.wisc.edu |access-date=2012-02-04}}</ref><ref name="nytimes1985">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/01/30/arts/bill-gavin-the-founder-in-58-of-list-on-air-play-of-records.html |title=Bill Gavin, the Founder in '58 of List on Air Play of Records - Obituary |work=The New York Times |date=1985-01-30 |access-date=2012-02-04}}</ref> Before his radio career, he was a teacher, pianist and singer. He briefly traveled with an all-male vocal group called ''The Blenders.''<ref name="google1">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8qreFRzhjyIC&q=bill+gavin+radio&pg=PA59 |title=The Hits Just Keep on Coming: The History of Top 40 Radio - Ben Fong-Torres - Google Books |isbn=9780879306649 |access-date=2012-02-04|last1=Fong-Torres |first1=Ben |year=2001 |publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation }}</ref> He died of cancer in 1985 at the age of 77.<ref name="autogenerated0030"/><ref name="nytimes1985"/>
==Career== He created the ''Lucky Lager Dance Time'' radio show in 1955 with the McCann-Erickson advertising agency.<ref name=varobit>{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|date=6 February 1985|page=134|title=Obituaries}}</ref> Gavin founded the Gavin Report in 1958 with information from the show. It was a publication that "monitored air play for Top 40 records, and later expanded to other categories; it [was] used as a programming aid by radio stations and record companies."<ref name="nytimes1985"/> The publication gathered information from various radio stations and was used to measure song popularity. Gavin was called the "most powerful man in the business." It was also said that "every record company subscribed to and quoted the Gavin Report...Everybody copied him, but he originated the thing."<ref name="google1"/> In 1983, after being diagnosed with cancer, he sold the Gavin Report to the staff and became publisher emeritus.<ref name=varobit/>
Gavin is also noted for his progressive stance in regards to race relations. He worked to help African-Americans break into the radio business by playing black artists and hiring black Disc-Jockeys at a time when it was unpopular to do so.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1aAYI_gRFqYC&q=bill+gavin+radio&pg=PA264 |title=No Static: A Guide to Creative Radio Programming - Quincy McCoy, Stanley Crouch - Google Books |isbn=9781617744907 |access-date=2012-02-04|last1=Stanley Crouch |first1=Quincy Mccoy |publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation }}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gavin, Bill}} Category:American radio personalities Category:1985 deaths Category:1907 births Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni Category:University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire alumni Category:People from Chetek, Wisconsin Category:20th-century American publishers (people)