Rich Conaty

Who is Rich Conaty?

Richard B. "Rich" Conaty is a New York City disc jockey, who was originally from Astoria, New York. He is an important figure in FM broadcasting of jazz and popular music of the 1920s and 1930s.

Conaty hosts his weekly music radio show, "The Big Broadcast", on Fordham University's FM radio station, WFUV, in the Bronx, New York. The show features jazz and popular music recordings from the 1890s through the 1930s. Conaty founded "The Big Broadcast" when he was a freshman at Fordham University in January 1973. In 1983, he was hired by program director Jim Lowe at WNEW-AM, where he worked weekends, and briefly filled in as the host of the radio show, "Make Believe Ballroom," made famous by William B. Williams. Conaty was Jonathan Schwartz's co-host on "New York Tonight."

Conaty brought "The Big Broadcast" and his Saturday program, "The Big Bandstand," to WQEW in December 1992.

In July 1997, Conaty brought his shows back to WFUV. It airs live every Sunday from 8pm-12midnight and streams live on the internet.