Bob Dearborn Leaving Kixi-Am

Local radio personality Bob Dearborn has retired, according to Suzanne Gregory, assistant to the general manager at 880 KIXI-AM.

Dearborn's sudden departure from his weekday radio show, which aired from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., was precipitated by a family emergency, Gregory said. Dearborn and his family plan to return to Ontario, Canada, to be closer to his parents, who have fallen ill.

"This was a very difficult decision to come to," Gregory said. "This was a job he was very close to, and that he loved."

Before working as a program director, music director and an on-air personality at KIXI-AM, where he has worked since 1994, Dearborn worked in all areas of the news media. He gained wide notoriety for having the first analysis of the 1971 Don McLean hit "American Pie." He also was the voice behind ads for Walgreens, Sears and Columbia Records through the 1970s.

Between 1981 and 1985, Dearborn hosted and produced radio's first live, daily satellite-delivered music show, "Night Time America," and from 1981 to 1982, he hosted the nationally syndicated "Countdown America" program.

Dearborn's assistant, Dan Murphy, is sitting in until a replacement can be found, Gregory said.