June 28, 2020
Boston DJ Arnie 'Woo Woo' Ginsburg Dies at 93
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Boston disc jockey Arnie "Woo Woo" Ginsburg died Friday night at his home in Maine, "No disc jockey of the 1950s or " 60s="" was="" more="" popular="" in="" Boston="" than="" Ginsburg,="" according="" to="" the="" Massachusetts="" Broadcasters="" Hall="" of="" Fame,="" in="" which="" he="" was="" inducted="" in="" 2008,"="" wrote="" the="" newspaper.
In the 1950s, Ginsburg began work as an engineer at WBOS in Boston. According Carlos Alberto Vega, his partner for 44 years a husband since 2016, he was working as engineer at the Boston station WBOS in the 1950s when he was asked him to start rock and roll programming.
"The offer was that Arnie host a morning show to be called 'Get Up With GINSBURG,'" Vega said. "Arnie refused, claiming morning was not his best time of day, and suggested doing an evening show and calling it 'Go To Bed With GINSBURG.' In the end, Arnie won, and the show began – but not with the title Ginsburg suggested."
When he moved to WMEX, Ginsburg became New England's #1 DJ with his show "The Night Train," with its distinctive train whistle whos sound gave him his nickname, Woo Woo.
Ginsburg's years at WMEX coincided with the growing emergence of rock and roll and the British Invasion, and he introduced The Beatles at both their Boston concerts at the time, as well as the first concert in New England by the Rolling Stones, Vega said.
In the 1970s he was part of the team that created WXKS-FM, Boston's first disco station. He also collaborated on a show called "'The Music of Your Life,' which was devoted to memorable easy-listening songs from the 1930s and onwards, on the WXKS's AM station.
He was inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall Of Fame in 2008.
"Since 1986 ARNIE has devoted a great deal of his time enjoying life, keeping up with long-time friends, and travel. He sold his properties in BOSTON and moved full-time to his beloved OGUNQUIT, MAINE," writes Vega in a post on the music website
"One final thing to point out in this very personal text is to note just how positive and up-beat ARNIE has been throughout his life. As he has commented on several occasions, he shuns negativity and seems to 'get over things' quickly. Perhaps that is one of the important keys to living a long, beautiful life."
