The Farm House Collective will host Art Laboe's 100th Birthday Bash this Saturday, celebrating the radio pioneer who would have turned 100 on Aug. 7. The event, featuring Angel Baby Rodriguez, who now hosts "The Art Laboe Connection," honors a man whose dedication shows bridged generations and cultures across the Southwest.
Rodriguez, who took over the syndicated program after Laboe's death in October 2022, emphasizes his role isn't replacement but preservation. "You cannot take over for Art Laboe," Rodriguez said during a recent interview. "I'm just helping keep his legacy alive."
The choice of Riverside for the centennial celebration carries special significance. "Riverside is where Art Laboe started the Sunday night special on KGGI about 30 years ago," Rodriguez explained. "Having his 100th birthday party right there in the city of Riverside makes more sense because right down the street was the station that he actually started when he came back for the third time."
The venue itself reflects the era Laboe helped define. Farm House Collective, housed in a restored 1953 motel that's now a Riverside historic landmark, transforms the mid-century setting where many classic oldies were first recorded into a community gathering space. With only 500 tickets available for the intimate celebration, the event mirrors Laboe's original drive-in shows and dance halls.
For many listeners, Laboe's voice provided companionship during solitary hours. As a pizza delivery driver for Marcello Pizza in Rubidoux in the late 1990s, working weekend shifts until 3 a.m., the author found comfort in Rodriguez's overnight show on KUCR starting at midnight. Those late-night hours, filled with dedications and oldies, created lasting connections between DJ and audience.
Laboe's cultural impact extended far beyond entertainment. He helped desegregate Los Angeles radio, becoming one of the first DJs to play rock and roll on the West Coast and to feature Black, white and Latino artists together. His "oldies but goodies" format created intergenerational bonds through simple melodies and straightforward lyrics about love and heartbreak.
Rodriguez continues one of Laboe's most meaningful traditions: prison dedications. "Being incarcerated, especially nowadays with mental health issues, there's a lot of these inmates who take their lives," Rodriguez said. "Us being able to help them connect with their families through music and through their dedications and requests, it helps save a life."
But Laboe's legacy extended beyond radio waves to physical community gatherings. He helped break down racial barriers "through his dances in LA back in the days when they wouldn't let the blacks and whites together, he was the first one," Rodriguez explained. Those dance halls became spaces where all communities could come together around shared love of music.
Rodriguez embraces this tradition of in-person connection. "That's one of the things I love doing," he said. "Being on the radio, talking to them, playing the songs, being right there on stage and bringing them to sing that song, and just a vibe and energy. I really know it's already in my mindset to give everybody a really good vibe and honor our legacy."
The Saturday celebration continues this dual tradition, not just playing the music over airwaves but creating physical spaces where communities gather, sing along and celebrate together, just as Laboe did at El Monte Legion Stadium and his other dance venues decades ago.
The dedication service creates powerful connections. "Every night we're there taking dedications. I'm literally reading the letters that are sent in from prison," Rodriguez said. "And then I'm getting a call from the family telling me, 'Thank you, we heard the dedication.'"
Rodriguez describes his audience demographics the same way Laboe did: "from the cradle to the grave, and there ain't no color lines." The format's enduring appeal lies in its celebration of universal human experiences, the joy of love and the pain of loss.
These songs endure not as bubble gum music but as emotional compasses helping navigate life's most intense feelings. They remind listeners what it feels like to be enamored and that we aren't alone in heartbreak. To celebrate love and hurt is to celebrate being human.
The 100th birthday celebration ensures Laboe's legacy of connection continues, honoring a man who understood that music could heal, unite and sustain communities across generations.
Rodriguez currently hosts "The Art Laboe Connection" on Sundays from 6 p.m. to midnight on 93.5 KDAY. For the most current schedule and updates, follow Rodriguez on Instagram @mr_angel_baby.
