(Above: Dick Biondi - front left - was the last surviving member of the WCFL airstaff in this photo.) 2023 is in the books. As we have seen in recent years, many parts of our pop culture, as they age, leave us each year. This past year saw some big names pass on. As it … Continue reading 2023 rewound: voices we lost last year
radio
Rest in peace, Dick Biondi: “The Pizza Song” (1961)
The longer you stay around radio, the more your friends leave it - either by finding new jobs, or by passing on. I've seen a lot of both over the past few years. Word came to me tonight that Richard O. Biondi passed away on June 26, 2023 at the age of 90. There's a … Continue reading Rest in peace, Dick Biondi: “The Pizza Song” (1961)
The last “summer vacation” begins: The Billboard Hot 100, May 28, 1988
(Above: Some of the management team of WLRA/Lewis University, April 1988, just before summer vacation. The author is on the left in clashing Hawaiian shirt and shorts. We all went back to work that fall, and that was it.) I got a chance to see some family members that I haven't seen in a while … Continue reading The last “summer vacation” begins: The Billboard Hot 100, May 28, 1988
Rest in peace, Ed Ames: “Who Will Answer?” (1968)
Ed Ames passed away on May 21, 2023 at the age of 95. He was the lead singer of the Ames Brothers, who were a force in the pre-rock and roll days. Between 1948 and 1954, before the chart we know as the Hot 100 took form, the Ames Brothers charted 23 hits, including three … Continue reading Rest in peace, Ed Ames: “Who Will Answer?” (1968)
Rest in peace, Burt Bacharach: A celebration of his greatest songs
(Above: Burt with Dusty Springfield on his television show, 1969) In terms of loss to the Great American Songbook, this is a big one. Burt Bacharach passed away yesterday at the age of 94. Just the numbers on Bacharach's career are staggering. He won a Grammy award six times, which was a much lower number … Continue reading Rest in peace, Burt Bacharach: A celebration of his greatest songs
2022 in review: acts that we lost this year
(Above: The Killer, ironically, passed on in October.) 2022 was, by all accounts, a difficult year once again in terms of popular culture. For the last several years we've been seeing more and more of the acts that we grew up with aging and passing on. During more "normal" workload years for me - when … Continue reading 2022 in review: acts that we lost this year
Rest in peace, Ramsey Lewis: “Wade In the Water” (1966)
Jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis, perhaps best known for his take on Dobie Gray's "The In Crowd," passed away at his home in Chicago today. He was 87. Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis was born in Chicago and started his musical career at approximately four years old by taking piano lessons in his neighborhood near Cabrini Green. The … Continue reading Rest in peace, Ramsey Lewis: “Wade In the Water” (1966)
The blog is back: Why haven’t there been any updates?
If you're a follower of this blog, your mailbox has been eerily silent for most of the past year. It's time for me to fix that. COVID-19 hit the world like the proverbial ton of bricks. It disrupted just about every activity we know, and for over 600,000 people in the United States, it ended … Continue reading The blog is back: Why haven’t there been any updates?
So long, 2020: Sending off a troublesome year in song
2020 has been one for the books, hasn't it? It seems like a lifetime ago that we were all gathering, making our plans for New Year's Eve, organizing parties and such. This year looks very different. Or does it? The last several years we've spent NYE at home in relative quiet. It's different when it … Continue reading So long, 2020: Sending off a troublesome year in song
New this week in ’70: July 18
(Above: a beautiful night for baseball.) July 18, 1970 It's a slow period in the headlines, with only a couple of stories to share. On July 16, the Elks Club voted near-unanimously to remain an all-white organization. The official rules for membership in the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, as it is formally called … Continue reading New this week in ’70: July 18
45 Ruminations Per Megabyte 