Bill Shapiro, host of radio show ‘Cyprus Avenue’ at KCUR and KC lawyer, dead at 82
Bill Shapiro, who delivered a weekly rock ‘n’ roll radio show for four decades at KCUR, died Tuesday at the age of 82, the radio station has announced.
Shapiro created and hosted the Saturday night show, “Cyprus Avenue,” which recorded its final episode in 2018, ending its 40-year run.
The host, a Kansas City native who worked as a tax and estate planner, recorded the first episode in October 1978 back when the show was just called “Music.” It was later named “Cyprus Avenue” after a song on Van Morrison’s “Astral Weeks” album, and went on to become one of KCUR’s most popular local shows with more than 13,000 dedicated listeners tuning in, according to a 2003 profile written by The Star’s Timothy Finn.
In 2003, Shapiro told The Star he was celebrating the 25th anniversary by holding a live broadcast of “Cyprus Avenue” in front of an audience at Community Christian Church in Kansas City. About 800 tickets to the live show were gone in days.
Then, in June 2006, he launched “Cyprus Avenue Live at the Folly” with music legend Jerry Lee Lewis as the headliner.
According to KCUR’s website, Shapiro’s show has aired on more than 50 stations in the country.
Shapiro told The Star in 2003 at age 66 that he at one point looked into finding a national sponsor who could underwrite the cost of producing “Cyprus Avenue,” but the show, described as “one-hour seminars on rock history,” always remained local.
“... There came a point where I had to decide whether I wanted to continue to practice law or make the show a full-time responsibility. I thought about it, but it wasn’t a hard decision: I like my lifestyle too much,” Shapiro told The Star.
Shapiro attended Southwest High School in Kansas City, and went on to Washington University in St. Louis. He earned his law degree from the University of Michigan and later returned to Kansas City. Help with the station’s fundraising efforts led to Shapiro meeting with the radio station’s management. Not long after pitching his idea for the radio program, the inaugural episode was recorded.
“I really don’t know if I have a specific goal,” Shapiro said of the show in 2003, “but sure, I’d love it if I could get more people to listen to Richard Thompson or more people to realize that Prince is one of the towers of modern music. I enjoy turning people on to guys like Jim White.
“Music has been such a salve and source of rejuvenation, joy and solace in my life. That’s what the show is about — about sharing the passion I’m imbued with.”
This story was originally published January 23, 2020 at 9:09 PM.
