Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Saluting Some Chicagoland Radio Royalty

(not) Much of what follows is true:

Back in the 1860's, Thomas Edison invented the radio. Extremely proud of his latest invention, he and his trusty sidekick Watson celebrated that evening with a glass of brandy in front of the wood-burning stove. They then spent the rest of the evening listening to Dick Biondi and Herb Kent as they beamed across the airwaves of Edison's brand-new contraption.

Who would have ever thought that nearly a century and a half later, while Al Gore was busy inventing the Internet, these two radio icons would STILL be on the air, broadcasting to their legion of fans and doing what they love best.

For the past couple of weeks we've been telling you about the upcoming tribute to two of Chicagoland's Radio Legends, Dick Biondi and Herb Kent. Hosted by Bob Sirott (no radio slouch himself ... when Bob first took to the airwaves here in Chi-Town, he was an IMMEDIATE hit and quickly became one of the most listened to deejays in town ... as well as a personal favorite ... he parlayed that success into a television career as well), the event was held last Saturday at Columbia College (where Sirott himself is an alum!)

We were unable to attend the ceremony (and have been kicking ourselves ever since) as a virtual Who's Who of Chicagoland Radio and Rock And Roll were on hand to wish these two radio legends well.

Here are a couple of first-hand reports (and photos) from some of our readers who WERE able to attend:

HELLO KENT!
I WAS VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE BEEN AT THE BIONDI / KENT EVENT.
IT WAS FAR BETTER THAN I EXPECTED, AND BOB SIROTT DID A MASTERFUL JOB OF HANDLING THE EVENT & THE AUDIENCE (ESPECIALLY ON SOME UNCOMFORTABLE AUDIENCE QUESTIONS).
I'VE KNOWN DICK A LONG, LONG TIME, AND HEARD SOME STORIES FOR THE FIRST TIME. IT WAS INTERESTING TO HEAR BOTH ENDS OF THE RACE ISSUES. THEIR MEMORIES & INSIGHT WERE FASCINATING, AND THEY HAD PLENTY OF MORAL SUPPORT FROM MANY OF THE ARTISTS THEY'VE HELPED OVER THE YEARS. GENE CHANDLER, AND ORIGINAL MEMBERS OF THE CHI-LITES, THE BUCKINGHAMS, THE IDES OF MARCH, THE NEW COLONY SIX, THE FLOCK, FOUR DAYS & A NIGHT & THE CRYAN SHAMES WERE ALL IN ATTENDANCE.
THESE OLD SCHOOL DEE JAYS TRULY LOVE THEIR FANS & STAYED STILL EVERYONE HAD A CHANCE TO SPEAK TO THEM. A CLASSIC EVENING OF CHICAGO MEMORIES.
YOU SURE MISSED SOMETHING SPECIAL IF YOU DIDN'T GO. KUDOS AGAIN TO COLUMBIA ALUM BOB SIROTT FOR PUTTING THIS ALL TOGETHER.
A SPLENDID TIME WAS HAD BY ALL ...
MICHAEL G. BUSH
I had REALLY wanted to attend this thing ... in fact, I talked to Ron Smith Friday Night about it and he said they were expecting a couple thousand people to show up ... unfortunately, he ALSO told me that the auditorium seated about 300!!! (Biondi told Ron that he didn't expect 200 people to show up ... and Ron felt that there would be AT LEAST 2000!!!)
I heard from Carl Giammarese and Fred Glickstein earlier in the day that they had planned to attend ... now I wish I would have just shrugged it off and gone, too ... was hoping that maybe SOMEBODY filmed this whole thing for some sort of local broadcast.
Anyway, sounds like a GREAT time ... and you're right ... I wish I coulda been there!!!
kk
BOB SIROTT DID HAVE THIS FILMED, SO IT SHOULD COME OUT IN SOME FORM EVENTUALLY (WE'RE SUPPOSED TO GET TOGETHER AGAIN REAL SOON!). HOWEVER, IT RAN FOR SEVERAL HOURS, SO YOU WILL MISS SEEING WHAT ENDS ON THE OLD CUTTING ROOM FLOOR, RATS! ... MGB

Hi Kent!
Your site is always INCREDIBLE!!!
Went to the Columbia event last night -- besides all the celeb radio folks there -- there were many of our beloved Chicago music artists -- Here are some pix if you want a peek -- I'm passing these around -- feel free to use any you want!
Connie

Me with the "DUKE OF EARL" - GENE CHANDLER --
(We were both born in July!)

THE BUCKINGHAMS - CARL GIAMMARESE & Me

IDES OF MARCH - JIM PETERIK & Me

THE NEW COLONY 6 - RONNIE RICE & Me

THE CRYAN SHAMES - JIM PILSTER (J.C. HOOKE) and Me

MARIANNE MURCIANO - BOB SIROTT - Me

HONORED GUEST - HERB KENT, THE COOL GENT & Me
HONORED GUEST - WILD ITRALIAN, DICK BIONDI

AND THE GUY WHO ALWAYS KNOWS WHAT'S HAPPENING IN CHICAGO MEDIA -- ACE JOURNALIST -- ROBERT FEDER - VOCALO.ORG,

& ALUM OF THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
Damn ... I really wanted to go to that last night ... but between the hassle of getting downtown and then the thought of having to stand all night, I decided to pass ... I've heard ONLY good things about it since and have been kicking myself all day!!! Would have been nice to finally meet you there, too!
Oh well ... I'm hoping somebody filmed this and will air the highlights later ... truly radio royalty on board that night ... and some major celebs in the audience, too!!!
kk

And this recap from Robert Feder's column on Monday:
Hundreds of fans packed the Columbia College auditorium and overflowed into three satellite rooms Saturday when Bob Sirott interviewed Chicago radio’s greatest living legends, Dick Biondi and Herb Kent, onstage together for the first time. What made a great night even more unforgettable was the presence of many local music legends in the audience to pay tribute to Biondi and Kent. They included Gene “Duke of Earl” Chandler, Marshall Thompson of the Chi-Lites, Ronnie Rice of the New Colony Six, Carl Giammarese and Nick Fortuna of the Buckinghams, Jim Peterik of The Ides Of March and Survivor, Fred Glickstein of the Flock, and Al Lathan of Four Days and a Night. Among radio luminaries in the crowd were Greg Brown, Connie Szerszen, Stan Lawrence, Marv Dyson, Michael Damsky, Michael LaCrosse and Sirott’s wife, Marianne Murciano. Even Ronnie “Woo Woo” Wickers was there.
-- Robert Feder
FOR THE RECORD: Although often attributed to Thomas Edison, the invention of radio was really a culmination of the efforts of MANY ingenious men along the way. (In fact, Edison was actually a later-comer to the mix.) For a pretty fascinating timeline showing the development of the medium that forever changed the world, we think you'll find these articles particularly interesting:
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