Blogpost #6

Greetings from Chicago, home of The Second City! This week's show is a collection of highlights from the Second City archives. From the first opening night in 1959, every show has been taped and transcribed for copyright purposes. For those who wished they could've been there to see history being made on stage, this show is the next best thing.

I've chosen to focus on the performers that I idolized as a kid. You may recognize their names; Belushi, Ackroyd, Murray, Candy, Ramis, and Flaherty. I watched them faithfully every week on Saturday Night Live and SCTV in the seventies, and I had no idea at the time that they had all performed live here in Chicago.

All of the clips used in this week's show come from Sheldon Patinkin's anecdotal history book on the theatre as published in 2000. Visit Amazon.com to get your own copy.

Is anyone interested in a followup show covering the eighties and nineties? I think there's enough material from the likes of Mike Myers, Bonnie Hunt, Chris Farley and Tina Fey to fill an hour. How about a retrospective on Saturday Night Live in the 70's or SCTV?

Next week: our first repeat show of the year. The Dick Biondi tribute is back by popular demand, and you can read all about it in Blogpost #4 below.

Thanks for listening in. Check in next Sunday to find out what's coming up on May 10. If you have a favorite episode of my show you'd like to hear again, let me know.

Blogpost #5

Welcome back, Dick Biondi fans! Greetings to fans and collectors of Bill Buchanan and Dickie Goodman break-in comedy singles!

Your enthusiastic response to my tribute last Sunday has reaffirmed my belief that Mr. Biondi is still the most beloved deejay in Chicago radio today, just as I said on the air. I've received many requests for CD copies, and I know there's a lot of others who want copies but haven't told me yet.

Here's my solution... a rebroadcast of the Dick Biondi tribute on Sunday, May 3, 2009. If you have any requests for specially selected repeats, let me know. Some of my early favorites were the tributes to George Harrison, Chicago Eddie Schwartz and 70's TV kids shows.

Today is the birthday of the late great comedy recording artist Richard 'Dickie' Goodman. He is revered among record collectors for his cleverly edited montages of comedy sketch dialogue, sound effects and sound bites from current hit songs. He was unappreciated in his own time, and he suffered the pain and humiliation that only a truly dedicated artist can feel.

These are the featured selections in the Dickie Goodman tribute. Included are some of the many hundreds of break-in singles that were inspired by his work, including two by his former partner Bill Buchanan.

Mr. Jaws (1975); The Flying Saucer (1956); On Trial (1956); The Answer To The Flying Saucer by Syd Lawrence (1957); The Space Man by Steve Allen, Alan Freed & Al 'Jazzbo' Collins (1956); Flying Saucer The Second (1957); The Creature by Bill Buchanan (1957); Santa & The Satellite (1957); The Thing by Bill Buchanan; Flying Saucer Goes West (1958); Frankenstein of '59 (1958); Flying Saucer The Third (1959); The Touchables (1961).

Listen next week for a fun-filled romp through the Second City archives. You'll hear some of the funniest sketches from their many live stage shows dating back to the late fifties.

Blogpost #4

Welcome, Dick Biondi fans!

First, let's give credit where credit is due. Thanks to Annette for suggesting the long-overdue Dick Biondi tribute for Easter Sunday, 2009. She's a super Beatles fan and an intern for Dick Biondi's Friday Night request party. His podcast page on the WLS-FM web site is the best place to hear the complete original version of his hard-to-find 1962 single "The Pizza Song".

The panel above is the cover art for Dick Biondi's 1970 LP which was edited down for my broadcast. The complete LP with the original song lineup can be heard on the REELRADIO website along with the other twelve volumes in the series. Avoid the poorly re-edited versions available on CD.

The WLS and WCFL airchecks are available unedited on CD on Ebay's highly rated Rockit Radio online store. Years ago, they were available on cassette from Tom Konard's Aircheck Factory mail-order service, but Tom was forced to close up shop due to family health concerns. My co-producer Wayne Bryman not only supplied the cassette, but also his personal memories of his friendship with Dick Biondi. Thanks, Wayne.

The May 2, 1962 clips came from the first edition of Programmer's Digest on LP, which is currently available on Ebay if you can afford the asking price. Audiophiles should note that the LP was mastered from a tape with annoying low-level hum. The version I played was digitally cleaned for broadcast.

Next Sunday is the birthday of Dickie Goodman, best remembered for his break-in comedy singles. I'll be playing his 1956 smash hit "Flying Saucer Parts One and Two", of course, but I'll also be playing some of the rip-off versions by other troublemakers from the late fifties.

See you next Sunday!

Blogpost #3

For those of you who enjoyed listening to the 1971 Cubs documentary narrated by the late Jack Brickhouse, I am providing a link to Amazon.com, where you will find original copies on vinyl for sale.*

I miss Jack so much. He was a class act, a rarity in sports broadcasting even back then. He was a mature, positive father figure for young Cubs fans like myself. If he ever said an unkind word about a player on any team, I didn't hear it.

As a Cubs announcer, he suffered more than his share of losing seasons, but it was his upbeat sense of humor combined with his undying faith in the team that endeared him to his listeners. He was fond of saying "Any team can have a bad century" and that was just one of the many things he said that brought smiles to the faces of Cubs fans for over three decades.

For my April 12, 2009 show, I'll be paying tribute to another broadcaster who is genuinely talented and genuinely nice, and still active in broadcasting: Mr. Dick Biondi. Over the next few months, I'll be taking the time to recognize more of the living legends that influenced me as a child, because I want to pay tribute to them while they're still living.

Earlier this year, I paid tribute to late-night radio legend Eddie Schwartz with a memorial program of clips from his WIND talk show in the late 1970's. It received quite a few comments, including this one posted on an AlphaWomen.com blog.

Although I was happy to be able to honor him with an hour of my favorite clips, I realize now that it came a little too late to make a positive difference in Ed's life. I can't help thinking how it might have brought him some pride if he had only been able to hear that someone had taken the time to archive his legacy in broadcasting.

Don't wait until the funeral to praise your hero. Do it today.


*Turntable, needle, amplifier and speakers sold separately, of course.