SYRACUSE — He hosted “The Sounds of Jazz” on WCNY-FM 91.3 for over 60 years. Leo Rayhill passed away last Thursday at the age of 98, according to an obituary published over the holiday weekend.
Born in Utica in 1928, Rayhill would eventually play football for Hamilton College. That’s where he first fell in love with jazz and radio, hosting his own program on the campus station.
In 1962, Rayhill would begin hosting “The Sounds of Jazz,” producing new episodes for more than 60 years. The show spent ten years on the former WQSR, WPAW, and WHEN before joining the lineup at WCNY in 1972.
Reruns still air to this day on Classic FM on Sundays at 1pm. Archived episodes also air on Community FM (WCNY-HD3) every weekday morning at 10 and Sundays at 9pm. Utica-Rome listeners can hear WCNY on WUNY 89.5. Watertown and the North Country can enjoy WCNY’s programming on WJNY 90.9. Both repeater stations also carry the same HDRadio subchannels including Community FM.
The program earned Rayhill many accolades over his career, including the SAMMY Award for excellence in radio broadcasting and a lifetime achievement award from WCNY.
When he wasn’t in the booth recording his show, he spent 40 years as president of the J. Leo Rayhill Company, which performed residential and commercial construction.
Calling hours will be held Sunday, July 12 from 4:30-6:30pm at Eaton-Tubbs in Fayetteville. A Mass of Christian Burial is set for the following day at 10:30am at Immaculate Conception Church in Fayetteville, with burial to follow in the IC Cemetery.
To honor Rayhill’s lifelong passion for jazz, the family requests any gifts in his memory be directed to WCNY Classic FM at wcny.org.
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