Lloyd Moss

Lloyd Moss was American children’s book author and WQXR radio host. Moss published his first children’s book, Zin! Zin! Zin! (1995), at the age of 69. It uses the instruments in an orchestra to demonstrate the concept of counting and the parallel concepts of solos, duets, trios, etc. Illustrated by Marjorie Priceman, the book received the 1996 Caldecott Honor.

Moss went on to write two other music-themed books. Our Marching Band (2001) is a story of young instrument-toting hopefuls who transform themselves into an energetic, smartly uniform band. Music Is (2003) uses rhymes to talk about the importance of music.

Lloyd Moss was born in Brooklyn. His father owned a beauty parlor where the radio was always tuned to WQXR (the same station where Moss would later make his career in broadcasting).

As a child, he frequented a second-hand bookshop, where he found Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs, as well as adventure stories by Jack London, James Oliver Curwood, and Zane Grey. At seventeen he joined the Army, and after World War II, he entered the field of radio.

Lloyd Moss worked at WQXR radio for 53 years as a staff announcer, interviewer, and program host. He was a classical-music radio announcer who amused listeners with cheeky humor.

Moss has a long list of TV and film appearances and voice-overs to his credit. He also hosted “This is My Music,” a popular show in which celebrities, artists, academics, and politicians talked about their favorite music (1979–1987).

Lloyd Moss died at 86 at his home in Croton-on-Hudson, NY. He had Parkinson’s disease, said his wife, Anne Moss.