Dean Dalton grew up in a musical family in a smallish town in Missouri. Having sung in church and school choirs from early on, he began to study piano at 8, and took up the viola at 11.

Very active in both musical and theatrical activities in high school, he majored in music, graduating with a BA, B. Music, and a Master of Music degree from the University of Arkansas.

He spent 10 years in Washington, D.C., where he worked in both public and commercial classical music radio as host, critic, and interviewer. He also wrote on music and the arts for the Washington Post, the Washingtonian magazine, Musical America, and Opera Magazine. Dean appeared as performing arts critic on several television programs in Washington and lectured on music history and appreciation for the Smithsonian Institution.

In Houston, Dean was director of human rights activities at the Rothko Chapel and produced the performances surrounding the opening of the Menil Collection, before joining KUHF in 1989. He has also written on the arts for Ultra and Houston City magazines. He was music director at the First Unitarian Universalist Church for 20 years.

At KUHF, Dean has recently retired as the producer and host of the daily arts magazine program, The Front Row, yet continues to provide interviews for the show and to host broadcast concerts by the Houston Symphony. Since 1994 he has planned and hosted KUHF's popular music and arts tours.