‘Cousin Brucie’ Leaving Sirius Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio has many different artists in their contract, but it seems that the legendary classic rock artist, DJ Bruce Morrow, better known as “Cousin Brucie” has taken himself off the air. The move came as something of a surprise, given wide speculation that Morrow would return to his traditional radio roots in New York once his contract with Sirius expired. The loquacious Morrow, who calls himself Cousin Brucie and regularly refers to his listeners as “cousins,” will continue hosting two shows playing music from the 1950s and 1960s for Sirius, “Cousin Brucie’s Saturday Night Party” and “Rockin’ with the Cuz.”
Morrow worked for oldies station WCBS-FM in New York from 1982 to 2005. In June 2005, WCBS changed the station format to adult hits. Morrow joined Sirius within weeks of the switch to continue his shows. When WCBS switched its format back to oldies this year, many thought Morrow’s return to the station was inevitable, but Morrow said in an interview his reason for joining and staying with Sirius was simple: “Commitment to a generation of music and a commitment to me.”
Morrow has been a radio host since the 1950s, working at stations like WCBS, WINS and WABC in New York. His career has taken him from introducing the Beatles with Ed Sullivan at one of their first U.S. concerts in New York to working as a music consultant and appearing in the movie “Dirty Dancing.” With the dwindling number of oldies-dedicated stations, much of Morrow’s work these days is aimed at keeping the music he helped bring to American homes in the ’50s and ’60s on the air and opening it up to new generations.
The music of the youth in the ’50s and ’60s is now the music of parents and grandparents, Morrow said, “and they still want to hear their music.” Morrow’s role at Sirius will expand as part of the new deal as well. He will host special live broadcasts from events in New York and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, and also highlight local New York events and facts on Sirius’s New York traffic channel. The financial terms and length of the deal were not disclosed. Morrow acknowledged he was approached about a return to WCBS before signing the deal, but said ultimately he was content at Sirius. “I’m happier here than anytime in my life,” Morrow said.