back to the radio

In the late ‘90s, Courtney of OutboundMusic was the local director for a national songwriter’s organization.  One of her duties was hosting a monthly meeting.  Dan Park wasn’t really a songwriter, but he liked the music and attended most meetings.  Dan had always wanted to work in radio.  In college he even served on the college FM station for two years, but after college, a “show biz” career path never opened up.  Instead he worked for a major company as an IT specialist until his retirement. 

OutboundMusic.com was launched in 2001, and from the very beginning we streamed Internet Radio channels of our artist’s music.  And almost from that very beginning “Mister Dan” hosted our easy mix channel.  Through the years he enjoyed listening to the music, learning about the artists, meeting many of them and recording his clips.

Mr. Dan passed away February 1, 2007.  He died quietly in his sleep.  We will miss him.   

Mister Dan's Bio

You may have wondered "Who's the guy on your radio channels that introduces the music?" We're glad you asked; but even if you didn't, we're going to tell you!

His name is R. Dan Park, but many refer to him as "Mister Dan." We asked him why... and he said:

"After I came to Houston, I joined a small church where there were many young children whose parents naturally had them addressing me as 'Mr. Park'. My father was still living at that time, though nowhere nearby, but I had always considered him to be 'Mr. Park'. Also, I remembered my two difficult years as a public school teacher where I was addressed in that manner, and wanted something less formal. I knew that some would object to having their kids call me Dan - so that was when 'Mr. Dan' came into being. In fact, this pseudonym has gone on to appear on my personal website as 'Mr. Dan's Neighborhood' and now it's also my 'on-air personna', if you will."

Some of Dan's lifelong acquaintances, though, are uncomfortable even referring to him as Dan - since that is a nickname he assumed following high school - but for more on that, visit:

http://www.hal-pc.org/~rdpark/

Dan graduated from college in the field of Speech and served on the college FM station for two years during the 60's (yes, now we've 'dated' him!) Then, as he says, "Similar to Moses, I spent the next 40 years in the wilderness, completely out of my field of study, teaching school and then pursuing computer technologies. Now, I've returned to my first love, media communications, to finally begin what turns out to be my third career and, thanks to the Internet, I still find myself on the cutting edge of technology; Internet Radio has been called 'the FM of today'."

Mr. Dan's 'on-air personna' has already been likened by some to that of Kasey Kasem, and that's certainly all right with him! Dan's a student of interpretive speech, Reader's Theatre and stage production; he's also the son of a vaudeville performer, the late R. Keith Park, who worked as a singer, dancer, actor and entertainer for some twenty years as a youth, and was always in demand for related work during the rest of his life. Dan's mom is also now home with Jesus Christ in Heaven; his siblings consist of three sisters. According to Dan, "We weren't encouraged to become a family circus, but some things we inherit stick with us nevertheless." Dan also has a son with a wife and Dan's 2 grandchildren.