Vin Scelsa, a master of free-form radio who has been a standby on New York radio stations for nearly 50 years, will retire on May 2 with the last installment of his long-running show, “Idiot’s Delight,” on WFUV, he announced on the air Saturday night.
Mr. Scelsa, 67, is one of the pioneers of free-form radio, the style of loosely structured, highly personal programming that became associated with rock D.J.s on FM stations in the 1960s and ’70s. In defiance of commercial radio’s development of narrowly defined playlists and audience research, Mr. Scelsa had his playlists meander in sometimes whimsical fashion, mixing underground rock, folksy singer-songwriters, even show tunes. Between songs, he spoke passionately and at great length about the music he loved.
“The kind of programming autonomy I’ve enjoyed, on both commercial and public radio over all these years, is unique,” Mr. Scelsa said in a statement provided by WFUV (90.7 FM). “I am grateful to all the stations I’ve worked on for the privilege of being allowed to wander through their airwaves wherever my interests have taken me.”
Mr. Scelsa began his radio career in 1967 at WFMU, then the station of Upsala College in East Orange, N.J., which he attended as a student. (WFMU, still proudly free-form, is now independent.) He has since been heard on WBAI, WABC, WNEW and WXRK, where, during the 1980s, his show took the name “Idiot’s Delight.” After his contract at WNEW was not renewed in 2001, he moved to WFUV, where has remained a fixture each Saturday night.
WFUV also announced on Saturday that Mr. Scelsa’s final show on SiriusXM’s channel “The Loft” would be April 30. A “Fare Thee Well Concert for Vin Scelsa” is scheduled for City Winery in Manhattan on June 8.