HONG KONG – Ray Cordeiro, who interviewed music acts including the Beatles during a six-decade career on Hong Kong radio that earned him the title of the world's longest-working disc jockey, has died, his former employer announced. He was 98.
Cordeiro died Friday, according to Radio Television Hong Kong, where he worked until 2021. It gave no cause of death.
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Cordeiro, who was born in Hong Kong in 1924 of Portuguese descent, was recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's longest-working DJ.
He joined Hong Kong's public broadcaster in 1960 after working as a prison warden and bank clerk. His “All the Way With Ray” show of easy listening music was on RTHK Radio 3 for 51 years until his retirement.
"The audience followed me, grew up with me, and they’re all over the world now,” Cordeiro told The Associated Press in 2021 after his retirement. “They still listened to me on the internet.”
Cordeiro interviewed the Beatles, then the world's biggest music act, in 1964 following a study course in London with the British Broadcasting Corp. He said John Lennon recounted their early days in Hamburg, Germany, where they lived in relative poverty and played in clubs.
Cordeiro said all four members of the Beatles autographed a magazine cover for him.
“It’s probably worth a fortune,” he said.
The broadcast of the Beatles interview on Hong Kong radio made Cordeiro a celebrity. He also interviewed other stars and met Elton John and Tony Bennett.