James E. Lowe, Worked in Music, Radio
James Elsworth Lowe, a longtime radio personality, composer, and recording artist who lived his later years in East Hampton, died on Dec. 12 at home after a long illness. He was 93 years old.
Mr. Lowe, who was known as Jim, was a fixture on WNEW radio for about 30 years, beginning in 1964. For his signature show, “Jim Lowe’s New York,” he drew upon his extensive knowledge of the American Songbook, for which he developed a passion as a youth in his grandfather’s record, sheet music, and instrument store in Springfield, Mo., where he was born and raised.
Mr. Lowe was known to listeners as “Mr. Broadway”; his knowledge of lyrics, composers, arrangers, and performers was encyclopedic. He counted among his friends Irving Berlin, Lena Horne, Tony Bennett, Peggy Lee, and Frank Sinatra, who was known to have called his radio show several times to sing “Happy Birthday” to him. Mr. Lowe’s voice was familiar to American music lovers in another way, too. In 1956, he recorded a song called “Green Door,” which became a gold record, selling two-and-a-half million copies and briefly displacing Elvis Presley in Billboard’s top spot. He continued to compose and record original songs, to sing and play the piano, and make frequent club appearances.
In an interview published in June 2004, Mr. Lowe told The East Hampton Star that “after ‘Green Door,’ which was such a big hit, people would ask me, ‘Why didn’t you keep recording?’ And I would say I did, but no one knew it. I belonged in radio.”
He was born on May 7, 1923, to Dr. H.A. Lowe and the former Pearl Lines. He graduated from what is now Central High School and enrolled in the University of Missouri, but his education was interrupted when he was drafted into the Army toward the end of World War II. He was stationed stateside, and returned to the university after the war, graduating in 1948.
Mr. Lowe’s radio work began at the university. He then had short stints on the air in Springfield, Indianapolis, and Chicago before moving to New York City in 1956 to join WBCS. There, he was the featured host of “Jazz Is My Beat” and “Upbeat Saturday Night,” and teamed in 1958 with Florence Henderson, the actress, to lead a CBS-TV audience participation series called “Sing Along.” Mr. Lowe went to WNBC the following year, launching his own daily show, contributing to the program “Monitor,” and appearing several times on “The Today Show.”
Mr. Lowe retired from broadcasting in the 1990s, becoming a founding board member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and hosting many of the annual Lyrics and Lyricists performances at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. He also hosted musical events for Guild Hall in East Hampton, the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons, and the Southampton Cultural Center.
Mr. Lowe loved reading and history and was a vigilant observer of politics. He enjoyed football, golf, and the sports teams of his alma mater. He had a house in East Hampton for about 50 years and moved here full time about 16 years ago, enjoying the company of what his family said were “many creative and wonderful people.”
“Jim’s life, characterized by his abiding interest in friends, family, music, and the world around him, was full and eventful. Beyond those things, he will be equally remembered for his charm, wit, intelligence, good humor, kindness, and his exceedingly good nature,” his family wrote.
He is survived by two nieces, Cindy Lowe Lurvey of Las Cruces, N.M., and Melissa Lowe of Springfield. A brother, Dr. H.A. Lowe Jr., died before him. He will be buried on Tuesday at Maple Park Cemetery in Springfield with the Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home directing a graveside ceremony. Donations in Mr. Lowe’s memory have been suggested to the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons, P.O. Box 901, Wainscott 11975.