<p>A beloved Hong Kong radio host dubbed the "world's most durable DJ" by Guinness World Records has died aged 98 after more than seven decades on the air.</p>.<p>Reinaldo Maria Cordeiro, known to fans as "Uncle Ray", was hailed as an industry powerhouse who jump-started the careers of numerous local musicians and introduced pop trends to generations of Hong Kong fans on his long-running radio shows.</p>.<p>He interviewed scores of pop icons over the years including the Beatles, the Bee Gees, Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra.</p>.<p>Cordeiro died on Friday in Hong Kong surrounded by family and friends, who sang "You'll Never Walk Alone" as a farewell, a committee organising his funeral said.</p>.<p>The veteran DJ was "a prominent figure in Hong Kong popular culture" who made "considerable contributions to the Hong Kong music scene", the city's culture minister Kevin Yeung said Saturday.</p>.<p>Born in Hong Kong in 1924, Cordeiro was the fifth of six children in a family descended from Portuguese immigrants.</p>.<p>He worked as a prison warden and bank clerk before turning to music, hosting his first show "Progressive Jazz" at Radio Rediffusion in 1949.</p>.<p>Cordeiro became a household name in the 1960s by hosting easy listening shows for Hong Kong's public broadcaster RTHK that became a hit with teenagers.</p>.<p>His signature late-night programme <em>All The Way With Ray</em> launched in 1970 and became the station's longest-running radio show.</p>.<p>He was named the "world's most durable DJ" by Guinness World Records in 2000.</p>.<p>Cordeiro retired in 2021, telling <em>RTHK</em> that "I've had the best in life and I've had everything I wanted to be, everything I wanted to do".</p>.<p>He reportedly had heart troubles over the past decade and was hospitalised last January after suffering a stroke.</p>.<p>He wrote in his autobiography that "by sharing good music with my fans, I am in my element".</p>.<p>"I refuse to countenance a world without music."</p>
<p>A beloved Hong Kong radio host dubbed the "world's most durable DJ" by Guinness World Records has died aged 98 after more than seven decades on the air.</p>.<p>Reinaldo Maria Cordeiro, known to fans as "Uncle Ray", was hailed as an industry powerhouse who jump-started the careers of numerous local musicians and introduced pop trends to generations of Hong Kong fans on his long-running radio shows.</p>.<p>He interviewed scores of pop icons over the years including the Beatles, the Bee Gees, Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra.</p>.<p>Cordeiro died on Friday in Hong Kong surrounded by family and friends, who sang "You'll Never Walk Alone" as a farewell, a committee organising his funeral said.</p>.<p>The veteran DJ was "a prominent figure in Hong Kong popular culture" who made "considerable contributions to the Hong Kong music scene", the city's culture minister Kevin Yeung said Saturday.</p>.<p>Born in Hong Kong in 1924, Cordeiro was the fifth of six children in a family descended from Portuguese immigrants.</p>.<p>He worked as a prison warden and bank clerk before turning to music, hosting his first show "Progressive Jazz" at Radio Rediffusion in 1949.</p>.<p>Cordeiro became a household name in the 1960s by hosting easy listening shows for Hong Kong's public broadcaster RTHK that became a hit with teenagers.</p>.<p>His signature late-night programme <em>All The Way With Ray</em> launched in 1970 and became the station's longest-running radio show.</p>.<p>He was named the "world's most durable DJ" by Guinness World Records in 2000.</p>.<p>Cordeiro retired in 2021, telling <em>RTHK</em> that "I've had the best in life and I've had everything I wanted to be, everything I wanted to do".</p>.<p>He reportedly had heart troubles over the past decade and was hospitalised last January after suffering a stroke.</p>.<p>He wrote in his autobiography that "by sharing good music with my fans, I am in my element".</p>.<p>"I refuse to countenance a world without music."</p>