((photo by John Vettese for WXPN)) PHILADELPHIA - Gene Shay, a folk DJ who spent a half-century on the Philadelphia airwaves and helped promote the careers of Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and countless others, has died of complications of the coronavirus.
Shay, 85, who had been hospitalized in recent weeks, died Friday, according to WXPN-FM station manager Roger LaMay. His weekly “Folk Show” ran on various stations in the city from 1968 to 2015, the last 20 of them at WXPN. “He was a giant in terms of his impact on artists and the music.
And to do it for close to 60 years is extraordinary,” LaMay said. FULL COVERAGE: CORONAVIRUS Shay, being introduced into the Philadelphia Music Alliance Walk of Fame by David Bromberg in 2013, said he put