By Rahman Dukes
The music industry suffered a major blow last Thursday (March 11) with the passing of radio pioneer Ricky Leigh Mensh. The man was responsible for inventing the DJ radio call, a conference call where some of the music's biggest record spinners get together to discuss the next big hit artist or record (a tactic used heavily by record labels worldwide and spawned coalitions such as the Mix Show Power Summit), died from an apparent heart attack. He was 49 years old.
After making the transition from the East coast to the West (settling in Sacramento), Mensh made a name for himself when he got involved with a local radio station. It was at that station where Ricky came across a tag-team duo who were making major noise for themselves courtesy of their own signature show, "The Wake Up Show with Sway and King Tech." Up until his death, Sway (who went on to join the crew here at MTV News) and Tech remained good friends with Leigh, who considered the pair two of his closest friends.
"Ricky Leigh was a very close friend of Sway and Tech that championed 'The Wake Up Show' from its early beginnings," Sway said. "He was the first to mobilize mixshow DJs on a national level and gave us the power and recognition that we deserved. There was a point where radio stations and record companies didn't value the role of the mixshow DJ until Ricky Leigh gave us a platform and voice. Ricky Leigh was a visionary with his Mixshow column in Hits magazine and made a path for future DJ organizations like the Technicians, Core DJs and the Mixshow Power Summit. He was a great friend of mine. R.I.P Ricky Leigh."
Sway's partner King Tech also chimed in, saluting the man who would eventually introduce him to his wife.
"Ricky, thank you for being such a great friend over the years," Tech wrote to MTV News. "Thank you for being such a a good friend to me and Sway. Thank you for introducing me to my wife. I'll see you in heaven soon, my friend."
Rest in peace, Ricky Leigh Mensh. Your legacy will live on.