Blogpost #9

Welcome, Bill Cosby Fans! Betcha never saw him dressed like this before, huh? This is the cover from his rare 1977 musical comedy LP "Disco Bill".

Last week, I featured a memorial tribute to the late great 'Chicago' Eddie Schwartz, and this week I'm bringing him back for a rare unedited 1978 Bill Cosby radio interview as heard on WIND, Chicago. It was a rare live in-studio interview, and Eddie made the most of it by not interrupting him once for a commercial.

After Bill's visit, Eddie played "A Simple Love Affair" from the LP above. It's a slow, romantic spoken-word love ballad from a handsome, sexy man to a beautiful woman who just tried to kill him. Imagine Barry White's worst nightmare: trying to smooth-talk his way out of a relationship with a pistol packin' mama.

I didn't have time to feature any of the tracks from the LP in the broadcast, but there's a blog where you can hear the LP in its entirety or any individual track. It's called I'm Learning To Share, and you can visit by clicking here.

Next week is a treat for Dick Biondi fans: an uncut hour-long broadcast from 1969 on Chicago's WCFL. You'll hear every song, every jingle, every commercial, and every newscast.

Blogpost #8

Happy Mommy Day to you and your mommy, wherever she is today.

In honor of my mom, I'm playing an hour of classic radio clips featuring her second favorite radio announcer, the late 'Chicago' Eddie Schwartz. He passed away after a long illness this past February, and the Chicago Tribune's Trevor Jensen interviewed his old colleagues for his obituary.

My mom started listening to him in 1977. Ed Schwartz was always good company when her insomnia kept her awake. She bought a cassette recorder from Radio Shack just so she could tape his radio shows for me. During the summer months, we'd stay up till 5 am together listening, laughing, and rolling tape. Over the next five years, we managed to save over 200 hours of Ed on cassette.

This hour of clips is not only a tribute to Ed, but also to my mom. She kept the tapes hidden away from me for years because she knew I would've erased them to use them over again. She made this tribute possible, and I only wish that I had thought of sharing these tapes with Ed before he died. He gave one final live phone interview on January 4, 2009 to WIND Radio's Geoff Pinkus, and you can hear an edited version of it on YouTube.

One of the funniest moments on my Ed Schwartz tribute is a clip from a 1976 show featuring a schoolteacher named Charlie who plays harmonica with his nose! You can listen to that show online at talkzone.com along with Ed's interviews with veteran radio entertainers Arthur Godfrey and Mel Blanc. This is the only place on the web to find full-length Ed Schwartz airchecks, and there's more coming up in the months ahead.

If you'd like to hear even more from Ed Schwartz, tune in next week for a rebroadcast of his live 1978 studio interview with Bill Cosby on WIND Radio. There's a sneak preview from the interview in the tribute show.

Blogpost #7

Welcome, Dick Biondi fans!

Chicago's WLS radio just celebrated a major anniversary. It was on May 2, 1960 that the station switched to their highly successful Top 40 format that lasted for over a quarter of a century.

The first deejay at WLS that day was Mort Crowley, and the first tune he played was the Hollywood Argyles' "Alley-Oop", a hipster's affectionate tribute to the caveman comic strip character.

In honor of this anniversary, my show this week is a collection of early recordings featuring Dick Biondi, the only original WLS deejay still on the air today, and still proudly playing "Alley-Oop" after nearly half a century.

You can read all about the history of WLS from its debut in 1924 to the present on Scott Childers' website. For more info on the clips featuring Mr. Biondi, scroll down to Blogpost #4.

Next week's show is a rebroadcast of my heartfelt tribute to the late Chicago Eddie Schwartz, who became the most popular all-night radio host in Chicago history. You'll hear vintage clips from his late-seventies broadcasts on WIND, plus his original theme song from WGN.

Before I forget... a happy 99th birthday to radio legend Norman Corwin, the greatest living writer in the history of radio. Check out his website.

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.