1 of 1- smott
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Dick Biondi
Just read where Dick Biondi, the Wild Itralian, has passed away June 26, 2023. I need to play, On Top of a Pizza.
- Lorne
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Re: Dick Biondi
Thank you for posting this news. I have been intending to post about this as well -- both because he was a well-known announcer from the oldies era, and because he was a colleague and friend of Ron Smith, the administrator of the previous oldies board. Dick wrote the foreword to Ron's book Eight Days A Week: Births, Deaths And Events Each Day In Oldies History, and I'm sure Ron would have wanted Dick's passing to be noted here.
Dick Biondi, Chicago Radio Legend, Dies at 90
- smott
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Re: Dick Biondi
I guess I am one of the oldest ones who remember Dick Biondi as being the man who brought rock n roll to the young people. Even though I was never a great fan of the Beatles, he was the first to play them in the USA. I am from western NC and listened to Biondi late at night to see what the latest records to hit the charts were. I never got to meet Dick Biondi. While at Myrtle Beach in the early eighties, I stopped by the station to see him. They said that he was already on the golf course. My bubble was busted. We should give him the appreciation that he deserves for the years that he brought joy to us young folks. Dick Biondi worked so much outside of the station to help and enrich his community for many years. He deserves to be recognized as one of the greatest DJs ever
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Thread Starter- mroldies
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Re: Dick Biondi
Lorne,
This information is an impulse for me to additionally buy Ron Smith's book in electronic version.
I have also been compiling a music calendar for many years.
I wonder how much information Ron has gathered and how much I have.
- Jim Southern
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Re: Dick Biondi
Just to clarify, the jury is still on what DJ played the first Beatles record in the states. A lot of stations got the first pressing of "Please Please Me"/"From Me To You" back in August of '63 (It reached #116 in Billboard then). My little station in West Texas had it on the playlist and I know I played it once. Dick Biondi landed for a short time in the L.A. market after his Chicago run but didn't really connect with the radio fans. No question though, he was a giant back then. I remember hearing him in the late night hours on WLS, fighting it out with KOMA in Oklahoma City for the Midwest audience.
- Lorne
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Re: Dick Biondi
Although the issue of who first played a Beatles record in the US is certainly still debated, what is definitely known is that "Please Please Me" charted on WLS in March 1963. The fact that it was issued on Vee-Jay and that they were based in Chicago was no doubt a contributing factor, and the Wikipedia article on "Please Please Me" states "Dick Biondi, a disc jockey on WLS in Chicago and a friend of Vee-Jay executive Ewart Abner, played the song on the radio from February 1963, perhaps as early as 8 February 1963, thus becoming the first DJ to play a Beatles record in the US."