Neal Schon of Journey performs on stage during San Francisco Fest 2016 at AT&T Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Since 2021, Dave FM had been proudly peddling its brand of “Totally Random Radio” to Bay Area listeners at 105.3 FM on the dial.
And it all came to an end on Monday when Live 105 made its much anticipated return to that spot on the dial after a six-year absence.
Dave wasn’t so random in its last moments, leaning heavily toward classic rock during its final batch of songs. Although there was one surprise in the mix.
Here are the final four songs in descending order:
4. ‘Life in the Fast Lane’
Not sure if programmers were thinking that live-fast-die-young theme served as a good summary for this short-lived radio station. Or perhaps the were just Eagles fans. (Probably the latter.)
3. ‘Glory Days’
Bruce Springsteen’s nostalgic tune is an excellent choice for a last hurrah.
2. ‘So Alive’
Love and Rockets are great. But “So Alive” was definitely a surprising choice for a radio channel that was about to be anything but.
1. ‘Any Way You Want It’
The Journey classic made for a fitting farewell to Dave. Not only does the title serve as a nice summary of the station’s kitchen-sink playlist approach, but Journey is also a Bay Area band. The selection makes even more sense when you contrast it with the first song that Live 105 would play — from another Bay Area act — when it came back on the air.
Note: Those are the last four full songs that were played on Dave FM. They were followed by snippets of “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” by Tony Bennett, “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” by Dionne Warwick,” “We Built This City” by Starship and — best of all — the “Dave’s Not Here” bit from Cheech and Chong.
Read about the first songs that Live 105 played upon its return to the airwaves here.
Originally published at Jim Harrington