Nothing But Net For Dr. D

After 40 years on the air waves, Dr. Demento is discontinuing his syndicated radio show and moving it to the Internet this summer.
A decline in radio stations carrying the good Doctor’s show is the reason for the switch.

“With the increasingly narrow casting, as they call it, of radio where stations will pick one relatively restricted format and stick with it 24 hours a day, especially in the music area, my show just got perhaps a little too odd of a duck to fit,” Demento, whose given name is Barry Hansen, explained.

Demento, a recent Radio Hall of Fame inductee, is credited with breaking “Weird Al” Yankovic to an unsuspecting world by debuting his first hit, “My Bologna,” on the show. Yankovic, Tom Lehrer, Stan Freberg, The Fanatics, Spike Jones & His City Slickers and many other eclectic acts became household names thanks to the Doctor’s playlists.

“Fish Heads,” “Dead Puppies,” “The Purple People Eater” and “Monster Mash” are just a few of the many hits the show created throughout the years.

But the move isn’t as drastic as it sounds. Demento has already been broadcasting on the web for several years, so it’s not end to an era, it’s a transition.