WEES-FM DJ Dino ‘the Dean of Doo-Wop’ Fradelos educates his listeners on the finer points of doo-wop.
Visiting Dino Fradelos in the WEES-FM radio studio is a combination of education about music — particularly doo-wop — and spending time with a friend.
Laughing when a recent guest in the studio asked if listening to doo-wop made it easier to get through the Blizzard of 2026, Fradelos said that, at the very least, a snowstorm is a good time to say inside and enjoy music.
It’s been at least 20 years since Fradelos, known as “the Dean of Doo-Wop,” started volunteering at WEES, chatting with listeners who call him, effortlessly inserting CDs into the console, reading from handwritten scripts and sharing details about singers — all on Friday afternoons in the little glass-enclosed studio at Gold Coast Mall in Ocean City, Md.
Other disc jockeys on WEES include Bob Murphy, who plays music from the late 1960s and 1970s; Denis Jenkins, who has a comedy show and takes request for songs; and Bill Freedman, who plays rare music.
“I think it’s been 20 years since I started doing this. Maybe 21,” Fradelos said on a recent afternoon, between songs, but the number of years matters less to him than sharing the music he loves, songs he sings along with, sometimes waiting for a particular high note then pointing and saying, “Listen to this.”
Retired from work as a representative who sold hotel amenities — such as the little soaps in hotel room bathrooms — Fradelos is reminded of malt shops and happy days when he hears doo-wop and songs like “Unchained Melody,” which was not originally recorded by the Righteous Brothers, as many believe, though that is the most popular version.
A widower who was married to his wife, Shirley, for 46 years and who has a son, a grandchild and three great-grandchildren, he said he is attracted to the harmonies and lyrics of doo-wop and also listens to it at home. Among his favorites are “Deserie,” the Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” (a song he said has a “great vocal background”) and “Unchained Melody.”
“Good afternoon. This is Dino Fradelos, ‘the Dean of Doo Wop,’ coming to you from cloudy Ocean City, Md. We’re going to be with you until 4:30, and we’re going to be featuring the great music genre of doo-wop. The first half-hour will feature Herb’s Favorites. He was my neighbor, and we used to talk about a lot of these songs. At 3 o’clock, we will be doing doo-wop,” he said, preparing to play a Jay & the Americans song.
“Jay Black, the lead singer, had a background in opera, and when I play this song you can see the resemblance in his music. It’s called ‘Cara Mia.’ This had a good description of America back in the late ’60s, I believe, and this one is called ‘Only In America.’ I would listen to the words. See how things are,” he advised.
He was referring to lyrics that state, in part, “Only in America could a dream like this come true. Could a guy like me start with nothing and end up with you. Only in America, land of opportunity, would a classy girl like you fall for a poor boy like me.”
The most-played slow-dance song, “Unchained Melody,” prompts “everyone to jump up and dance when we do our sock-hops,” he said.
“It’s a one-of-a-kind song, and it’s considered the most played slow-dance song. … A lot of people have done it, but I think this guy owns this song,” he said, playing the 1965 version recorded by The Righteous Brothers with Bobby Hatfield.
Among those in the music industry Fradelos said he most admires for his contributions to the field is the late (and controversial) Harvey Phillip “Phil” Spector. The American record producer and songwriter, who died in 2021, is known for innovative recording.
“Phil Spector was one of the leaders in the doo-wop movement. He had a wall of sound, which was phenomenal. He brought in a full-blown orchestra, with oboes, cellos, and had some kind of echo chamber. Some of his early songs were very unique, with drum rolls where they didn’t exist in the past.
“Oh, yes, I’m a fan of his,” Fradelos acknowledges, “but he was a nutcase. He was convicted of murder. He shot his girlfriend, and he was in prison. Musically, he was way ahead of his time, but he died in prison,” Fradelos said.
During each show, starting at 2:30 p.m. on Fridays at 107.9-FM, the Fenwick Island resident repeats his trademark sayings, “Oh, how it used to be” and “Keep the music alive.”
“I like the music. I like harmony. And I enjoy being on the air because of the interaction with the listeners. People call and request a song. They might request ‘The Great Pretender.’ They really know their stuff. You can’t fool them,” he said, adding that they listen from Ocean View, Fenwick Island, Selbyville, Bethany Beach and Lewes, as well as towns in Maryland. A Crownsville, Md., native who moved to the Eastern Shore in the early 1990s, Fradelos also poses trivia questions and awards CDs.
His favorite music was popular because, in that era, he said, songs weren’t vulgar.
“They were love stories and girls breaking up, songs like ‘You Lost That Loving Feeling.’ They weren’t controversial. The vocal groups’ vocal harmony was awesome. There was no smut,” he said.
“They wanted people to listen to the music and enjoy it for many years to come. That really was the way it used to be.”
