The Sundial Writers Corner: Tribute To Dave Gallaher

In this special tribute episode, SWC remembers the late, great, “Microwave Dave” Gallaher, who would have turned 80 this week.

Listen to Dave’s 2020 Sundial piece, in which he shared music’s magical way of taking away our loneliness.

Dave Gallaher was a Vietnam Veteran, legendary blues musician and beloved member of the WLRH family. For 37 years, he hosted Talkin’ the Blues on WLRH and WJAB radio stations in Huntsville. Dave formed Microwave Dave & the Nukes in 1989, and the band captivated audiences from North Alabama to Europe, in cafes and dive bars, at festivals and stadiums. In 1996, The Nukes’ rendition of Bo Diddley’s “Road Runner” was used as the anthem for the Paris, St. Germain soccer team.

Author Stephen King famously praised Microwave Dave as “the best slide guitar rock and roll since Lonesome George Thorogood.”

Dave’s career was shaped by decades of playing, traveling, storytelling, and championing the music he loved – always wearing his signature coveralls and newsboy cap. Education, mentorship, and community were at the heart of everything he did. Through the nonprofit Microwave Dave Music Education Foundation, the bluesman brought the joy he found in music to school students across North Alabama. Through the foundation, his legacy continues to this day.

This is our memorial to one of The Tennessee Valley’s greatest: the musician, the writer, and all around amazing human being we knew as “Microwave Dave.”

Happy Birthday, Dave!