Name Magnificent Montague | Books Burn, baby! burn! | |
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The Magnificent Montague Collection
Nathaniel "Magnificent" Montague (born 1928), is an American R&B disc jockey notable not only for the soul music records he helped promote on KGFJ Los Angeles and WWRL New York City, but whose trademark catch-phrase, "Burn, baby! Burn!" became the rallying cry of the 1965 Watts riots. Following criticism that his trademark phrase had inadvertently stirred up rioters, Montague advocated non-violence and urged young listeners to pursue their education, coining the new phrase "Learn, baby! Learn!"
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Semi-retired by the mid-1970s, Montague relocated to Palm Springs, California, where he was instrumental in the launch of easy listening KPLM, today a successful country music station. His was the first radio station construction permit issued to an African-American in four decades.
He was referenced, by name, in the Apollo 11 software code that took America to the moon in the mid 1960s.
His autobiography, Burn, baby! BURN! (ISBN 978-0252028731) was published in October 2003 by the University of Illinois Press.