WDVE's Memorial Day 500 returns again this weekend
A pandemic can’t stop WDVE’s Memorial Day 500.
The massive music countdown of the top 500 rock tunes of all time begins at 1 p.m. Friday and ends around 6 p.m. Monday, said John Moschitta, program director for WDVE/WXDX iHeartMedia Pittsburgh. (Update: The countdown began at No. 500 with “Everlong” by Foo Fighters.)
The popular WDVE-FM 102.5 countdown returned to the airwaves last year for the first time in more than two decades. Pittsburgh Twitter couldn’t get enough.
The station brought the countdown back last year as part of the 50th anniversary of the station said Moschitta.
“It was something the station used to do all the time and it felt like a perfect time to bring it back,” he said.
This year it can help take a person’s mind off the pandemic if just for a little while, he said. They decide on songs based on listener feedback on the website, the amount of spins a song has received over the years and some research, he said.
Thank you, @DVERADIO, for bringing back the Memorial Day 500. I’m so into it. I remember taping the top 10 in 1985.
— Jonathan Bombulie (@BombulieTrib) May 25, 2019
One person who can’t wait to tune in is Paul Petroskey. He’s known to many as “Weird Paul” for his YouTube videos. He was creating this kind of internet content before the platform became commonplace.
Petroskey, 49, of Brookline, said he happened upon WDVE at 14 years old when he wanted to listen to new music genres. It was May 1985, the first year the countdown was on.
“I was tired of hearing all the same songs on other radio stations,” he said. “It was just luck that I tuned in. For me, hearing that countdown was the best music education I ever had. I heard 500 songs I had never heard before in my life.”
He became obsessed and has maintained lists of all the Memorial Day 500 shows, comparing position changes of the songs.
“I love listening to DVE because the music is timeless and it’s not disposable,” he said. “It is music that has been passed down for generations.”
He said this year can be a great time to listen because people will probably be at home and will have time to tune in.
“I think listeners like the 500 because it stirs up a nice debate, such as why a song is where it is or isn’t on the list or why a song is on the list and another one they may like isn’t,” Moschitta said. “Plus, folks love their lists.”
Petroskey will be interviewed by the radio station on Thursday. His big prediction?
“WDVE has me on to do a pregame, like they do in sports,” he said. “I give my analysis and a prediction. I believe ‘Stairway to Heaven’ will reclaim No. 1 this year.”
The timeless Led Zeppelin hit was upset last year by Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall.”
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a TribLive reporter covering the region's diverse culinary scene and unique homes. She writes features about interesting people. The Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist began her career as a sports reporter. She has been with the Trib for 26 years and is the author of "A Daughter's Promise." She can be reached at jharrop@triblive.com.
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