This one hurts …
Clark Weber was such a good friend
and supporter of Forgotten Hits over the years.
We worked on several projects together, some public and some behind the
scenes, and he never stopped singing the praises of what we did here.
Along the way, he introduced me to
many of the other jocks and supporting players from the WLS / Big 89 hey-day …
and I can’t even begin to count the number of times during his own speaking
engagements where he would instruct his audience to check out the site, or
simply defer the answer to me if I happened to be sitting in the audience … pointing
and telling his audience … folks who had come out to see HIM … “There’s the guy
you should ask!”
We helped promote Carolyn Travis’
“Airplay” film together here in Chicago with a special screening … it was the
first time that I met Clark’s wife Joan
when we all went to dinner before the screening … what a lovely lady she was.
Joan passed in 2018, by which time
Clark was already in an assisted living facility. Robert Feder (his full column acknowledgement
is published below) says that Clark was in hospice care at the end. I guess I always knew that once his wife of
63 years was gone, it would only be a matter of time before he would join
her. Still, this one hurts … a lot.
One of the first jocks to join the
station after WLS flipped to a Top 40 / Rock And Roll format, Clark Weber’s
morning show was always one of the highest rated in Chicago. He manned that post for seven years before moving
across the river to rival WCFL … and then to several other local stations as
time moved on. (He and Joan both told me
how fortunate they considered themselves in that once Clark made a name for
himself in The Windy City, they never had to relocate again … hardly the
typical life of a Top 40 deejay during this time.)
Clark played the role of the square,
unhip counterpart to hip, happening popular evening deejay Ron Riley … and
their on-air feud made for fun, entertaining and interesting radio for many
years … even being picked up by Armed Forces Radio for our soldiers
overseas. While Riley touted the music
of The Beatles, Weber sang the praises of The Dave Clark Five, just to keep the
feud going even further with their millions of Chicagoland teenage fans. Both enjoyed the once-in-a-lifetime experience
of introducing The Beatles live from the stage at their 1965 Comiskey Park
concert … to deafening sounds from the audience.
Clark was also a pilot and loved to
tell the story of the time he scared the bejesus out of Superjock Larry Lujack
on a short jaunt to a concert engagement.
In fact, you’ll find dozens and dozens of entertaining stories from
throughout Clark’s illustrious radio career in his book “Clark Weber’s Rock and
Roll Radio: The Fun Years, 1955-1975,” a best-seller from 2008.
His last major radio gig involved
short syndicated spots that he recorded called “A Senior Moment,” a chance to
Clark to play to his aging audience who had listened to him throughout the
years.
He remained sharp as a tac for as
long as I knew him. Just a few months
back, he ran a notice in Forgotten Hits about finally hit “The Big 89” himself
after his last birthday in November. We
will miss Mother Weber’s Oldest Son.
Here is the text of Robert Feder’s
column, in its entirety, from Sunday …
As a pioneering rock
and roll disc jockey in the 1960s and for decades later as a multifaceted talk
show host, Clark Weber entertained generations of Chicago radio listeners with
impeccable style, class and professionalism.
Beloved by fans as
“Mother Weber’s Oldest Son,” the legendary broadcaster, program director,
advertising executive and industry elder statesman died of cancer Saturday in
Evanston. He was 89.
“Clark was
quick-witted, warm and smooth — a pro’s pro whether it was rock and roll or news
talk,” said Bob Sirott, a longtime colleague and morning host at news/talk WGN
720-AM. “He set the bar high on the air and more importantly off the air as a
mentor, counselor, friend and cheerleader for those lucky enough to get to know
him. Mother Weber certainly raised a gentleman.”
Weber first rose to
fame at Top 40 powerhouse WLS 890-AM, starting in 1961. In that golden era of
the “Silver Dollar Survey,” he recalled, “we offered the teenage listeners a
fun time with new station jingles, great rock and roll music and a variety of
contests.”
In 1965 Weber
introduced the Beatles on stage at Comiskey Park.
“When [WLS evening
jock] Ron Riley and I stepped out onto that stage, Ron said to me, ‘Look, you
can feel it.’ And as we brought the Beatles on stage, we put our hands out and
you could actually feel the sound from the crowd passing through your fingers,”
he recalled. “It was an incredible experience.”
Born November 24,
1930, in the Milwaukee suburb of Wauwatosa, Weber attended the University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee and served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War.
He traced his interest
in broadcasting to his ham radio hobby as a teenager and to a fateful visit to
a local radio station.
On the morning of
March 10, 1948, a 17-year-old Clark Weber made his debut on Milwaukee’s WFOX as
a guest DJ. “When I walked into the radio station I never felt so comfortable
in my life,” he recalled in his 2008 memoir, Clark Weber’s Rock and Roll
Radio: The Fun Years, 1955-1975. “To this day, I cannot explain that wonderful
feeling and the fact that I thought I was fearless and just filled with
wide-eyed interest.
“As I left the
station, I had an epiphany and knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my
life. It was as simple as that: I wanted a career in radio.”
Early radio jobs in
Waukesha, West Bend and Milwaukee led to a life-changing call from WLS, where
he moved up from overnights to afternoons to mornings, and also served as
program director. He jumped to rival Top 40 WCFL in 1969, and then to WMAQ in
1971.
Feeling he was too old
to keep spinning records at 43, Weber segued to talk radio at WIND 560-AM in
1973 and quickly mastered that format as well. After 13 years there, he spent a
decade at WJJD and five more years at WAIT.
“I love radio and I
knew that if I wanted to remain a viable personality for years to come, I had
to offer more than simply introducing records,” he once told me. “My audience
and I had things to say to each other!”
Neal Sabin, who
produced Weber’s morning show at WIND, recalled riding to work with him before
dawn each day. “Clark would pick me up at my apartment and we would ride
together to WIND,” said Sabin, now vice chairman of Weigel Broadcasting. “I
heard so many great stories and had one of my first introductions to the real
world of broadcasting working with him.”
As a canny
businessman, he formed Clark Weber Associates, a north suburban-based
advertising consulting firm targeting what he called the underserved market of
senior citizens. He also hosted “A Senior Moment,” a daily commentary feature
on growing older that aired on 34 stations and online.
Just before he retired
in 2015 Weber was inducted in the Illinois Broadcasters Association Hall of
Fame. Earlier he won the Golden Windy Award from the Radio Broadcasters of
Chicagoland and the Broadcast Advertising Club Chicago.
“Bob Hope once said
the time to retire is when you can still hear the applause from your dressing
room,” he told me. “In my case it’s time.
“Years from now when
your career is winding down, you will find as I have, that the moments that
stand out, the moments when you have really lived, are the moments when you
have done things in the spirit of kindness and love.”
Weber’s wife of 63
years, Joan, died in 2018. He is survived by four daughters, Ann Lesar, Peggy Barthold,
Jeanne Wakenight and Janet Bryan; 12 grandchilden and two great grandchildren.
Funeral arrangements
are pending.
--Robert Feder
Kent,
While it was almost 40 years ago that Clark and I worked together, we stayed in touch over time. I last saw him this summer and I could tell he was fading … but he still had a great attitude.
Clark was a friend, and when my father died, he was one of the Korean vets who helped drape the flag over my dad's coffin. When my mother passed, he called me to say he was sorry he couldn't be there. This was when he was battling cancer himself. That's the kind of man Clark was. After the rock and roll days, I asked him if he wanted to be part of MeTVFM, as he was always fighting the fight for valuing the older demo, but he said he was too tired, and it was time to rest. Now he can rest, and we know how instrumental he was to the history of rock and roll and radio as well as the kind of man he was behind the mic.
UPDATE: It sounds like the funeral itself will be a private and personal family affair ... but a memorial service for Clark will be held in either late April or early May. We will update you as we get more information. (kk)
Hi
Kent –
Clark
was a long-time friend for over 60 years - both on and off the air.
He
left Milwaukee for WLS and I joined him in Chicago a year later.
The
planets were in alignment for us - we were at absolutely the best station in
the nation with a massive audience and playing the most awesome music in the
history of a rock ‘m roll - and most of the time management let us “do our
thing” as they used to say.
Clark
and I had an awesome time, especially with our “Down with Weber” Beatles / Dave
Clark 5 battles. People actually thought
we disliked each other.
Clark
was always high spirited and ready to crack a joke on or off the air, entertaining
everyone around him.
I
spoke with him briefly when he was in hospice a couple of days before he passed
- his voice was weak - but I did understand when he said “Ron, we have great
memories.”
Amen
to that!
Ron
Riley Kent,
While it was almost 40 years ago that Clark and I worked together, we stayed in touch over time. I last saw him this summer and I could tell he was fading … but he still had a great attitude.
Clark was a friend, and when my father died, he was one of the Korean vets who helped drape the flag over my dad's coffin. When my mother passed, he called me to say he was sorry he couldn't be there. This was when he was battling cancer himself. That's the kind of man Clark was. After the rock and roll days, I asked him if he wanted to be part of MeTVFM, as he was always fighting the fight for valuing the older demo, but he said he was too tired, and it was time to rest. Now he can rest, and we know how instrumental he was to the history of rock and roll and radio as well as the kind of man he was behind the mic.
Neal Sabin
Like so many of you, I grew up listening to Clark. Years later,
when I was lucky enough to become friends with him, I never got over that
thrill.
Ultimately, I idolized him, not for those wonderful rock years
that his warm voice became synonymous with, but rather for the encouragement,
cheerleading, and mentoring he gave to the young generation of broadcasters who
followed him. He was nothing but class on the air and off.
Bob Sirott
Clark Weber was a role model to me, personally, throughout
my career. How could you not be inspired by someone who started out at
the bottom -- overnight shift at WLS -- and worked his way to the top,
eventually becoming their program director? That turned out to be my
exact path at WNUA. And, for most of us, when you get into the business
as talent, you want to be doing that job for as long as you possibly can.
He was able to spend parts of five decades (!) on the air in Chicago because he
had skills as both a disc jockey and a talk show host. He'll always be
one of the all-time greats of Chicago radio.
Rick O'Dell
Rick O'Dell
It’s true … Clark Weber joined WLS
in 1961 (about a year into their Top 40 Era) doing overnights in what was then
affectionally called the “East Of Midnight Show.” Eighteen months later, he moved to afternoons,
where he hosted the daily “Silver Dollar Survey Show,” counting down Chicago’s
biggest hits afternoons, Monday thru Friday.
He slid into the Morning Man role most of us associate him with in 1964 …
and also took on the duties of Program Director for the station the following year, a post he held thru 1967.
In the early ‘70’s, at a point when
he felt he might be getting too old to broadcast rock and roll, he began his
long career in talk radio, something else he excelled at for two more
decades. This is a guy who truly did it
all ... and all from right here in The Windy City without having to pick up
house, home and family and travel all over the country looking for his next
gig.
He actually became part of our
families … we literally spent time with him every single day. And while I’ll admit that at the ripe old age
of 13 I was more inclined to listen to Ron Riley and his pop references to The
British Billboard, Batman and Robin and Riley’s Raiders, Clark still occupied a
spot on our radio dial (and many, many others) for all the moms and housewives
home getting their kids ready for school every morning. (He might have played a softer brand of music
from time to time … but he was still the guy responsible for what did or didn’t
get on the air.)
I am glad that I got the chance to
know him and spend some time with him.
He truly is a Radio Legend. (kk)
Neil Sedaka wrote the
foreward to Clark's book, "Clark Weber's Rock and
Roll Radio: The Fun Years 1955-1975" ... but Clark didn't have the opportunity to thank him in
person. I had Neil at the Arcada and I arranged with Clark to fly up from
Florida to meet with Neil. It was magical as I have a valuable trophy in
my collection because of it ... an autographed copy of the book by not only
Clark, but also by the icon who he deemed worthy of writing the liner
notes! It was one of the moments I will always treasure.
Ron Onesti
The Ides of March are so sad at the passing of our dear
friend, Clark Weber.
Clark was always a prince to us, whether at the radio
station or a dance where he was emceeing.
Mother Weber’s oldest son Clark was also so positive and
encouraging to us young teenagers who were starting to spread our wings after
enjoying a number 7 hit on WLS with our You Wouldn’t Listen in the spring of
1966.
He will forever be remembered as one of the kindest spirits
we have encountered in any of our travels.
Rock in Peace
The Ides of March Sad news about Clark Weber ...
He led us into the
glory days of Top 40 radio. What a great way to grow-up as a teenager!
Phil Miglioratti
I was sad this morning when I read of the passing of Clark
Weber. He and all of the WLS alumni inspired many of us to join the radio
ranks. Most of us were not good enough to carry any of their coffee
cups.
It was an honor for me to chat with Clark a couple of times to promote his book 'Clark Weber's Rock and Roll Radio The Fun Years: 1955-1975.' I felt like he wanted to ask as many questions about my career as I did about his. When I down played my time on the air waves as small market, he was quick to point out that he had some of his most memorable times in the smaller cities. He was very encouraging and sincere. What a gentlemen!
It was an honor for me to chat with Clark a couple of times to promote his book 'Clark Weber's Rock and Roll Radio The Fun Years: 1955-1975.' I felt like he wanted to ask as many questions about my career as I did about his. When I down played my time on the air waves as small market, he was quick to point out that he had some of his most memorable times in the smaller cities. He was very encouraging and sincere. What a gentlemen!
Phil Nee – WRCO
WGN Radio ran several Clark Weber
memorial podcasts yesterday …
FH Reader Clark Besch sent us this
link to share …
Watch
for Clark’s special Weber Memories Page later this week in Forgotten Hits. When I was a boy, about a jillion years ago, my family vacationed for two weeks every year in Northern Wisconsin at Dillman's Sand Lake Lodge in Lac du Flambeau. Dillman's was a very classy and expensive resort and actually far out of my family's lifestyle, but they always took the family on this marvelous vacation.
It was common in those
days to vacation with the same people every year. Families would become
"regulars" and book the same accommodations year after year. One of
those families who vacationed at Dillman's at the same time my family did was
the Webers.
Clark Weber and his wife
Joan and their daughters spent two weeks there every year. They stayed in a
lovely cabin just two away from ours.
At around the age of ten,
I realized that this Clark Weber fellow was the same guy that I was listening
to every day on WLS. Clark was the first and only famous person I had met in my
life, and I felt like a big deal knowing him.
I thought that it was so
cool that Weber was on my radio every day, spinning all the latest records that
I loved so much. What I didn't understand was how he could be such good friends
with my parents. Here was this rock and roll deejay, probably the coolest job
in the world, and he was hanging around with my mom and dad, who were probably
the two squarest people on the face of the earth, Go figure!
I remember that Clark
carried postcards with him that bore his picture and the radio station logo. He
carried two sets of cards. One had his picture with his glistening bald head
and the other he was coiffed in a really nice toupee. He carried the cards to
sign for people who wanted autographs. I don't know why he carried both
versions. I only saw him bald whenever I saw him.
I remember that Clark
Weber was a very nice man. He always was kind to me and never shooed me away
when I bombarded him with questions about bands, records and radio. He was
kind, patient and polite. Clark's wife was an incredibly sweet lady and his
daughters were very pretty girls.
I lost touch with the
Webers as I grew up, but was able to contact him in my adult life. He remembered
me and I was able to communicate with him on occasion. I enjoyed the times that
we spoke or wrote and will miss him.
Clark Weber was a hell of
a nice man.
Thank you -
Steve Sarley
Kent,
Steve Sarley
Kent,
Sad
to hear about Clark’s passing. I know from Tony Chavez, who worked with
WIND when Clark was there, that he was a nice a guy on the air as
off. I also know that he was a pilot who flew his plane to record hops,
keeping up with the huge signal of WLS. And Tony says "Yes, he
wore a toupee."
He
wasn't the typical "Top-40 DJ" … rather a kind of MOR guy, but he
made it work and was a true personality. He was cordial when I got him to
record a Top-of-the-Hour ID via phone patch for www.WCFLchicago. Despite
technical glitches, he hung in there and was still a PRO.
Fridays
he would say “This is Mother Weber’s oldest son, Clark. Remember, this Sunday
don’t send your kids to church ... take them. “ RIP my
friend.
J.R.
Russ
I never quite got the toupee thing …
he was photographed more often without it than with … so I don’t think it was a
secret by any stretch or that he was attempting to fool anyone. (In that regard, he always reminded me of
Alan Brady [Carl Reiner] on “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” which was my favorite
show during the early ‘60’s anyway!)
The one common denominator here
seems to be what a nice guy he was OFF the air … and that certainly was my
experience with him. His memory will
live on with all of us who were there listening at the time. (kk)
Now it can be told …
When Clark’s book “Rock and Roll Radio: The Fun Years, 1955-1975” was first released, he sent me an advance, personally signed copy that read “Hi Kent – Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy your 60’s site! Clark Weber.”
Now it can be told …
When Clark’s book “Rock and Roll Radio: The Fun Years, 1955-1975” was first released, he sent me an advance, personally signed copy that read “Hi Kent – Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy your 60’s site! Clark Weber.”
I couldn’t wait to read it … but was
shocked when I found so many glaring mistakes in the text. I wanted to contact him right away and let
him know that these needed to be fixed … and started jotting them down as I
made my way thru the book.
When all was said and done, I had
noted 47 items that needed to be corrected.
Now what to do about it? Do I tell him? It was important to me that, due to his
stature as one of the most famous deejays to ever broadcast here in Chicago,
his book had to be accurate and factual.
Certainly somebody dropped the ball in the fact-checking department …
if, in fact, it had been fact-checked at all.
I contacted Ron Smith, who we also
lost recently, to ask his opinion. He
told me, in no uncertain terms, NOT to contact Clark and let him know … as he
felt it would either be both insulting or heartbreaking to do so … neither of which
would be a good positive result.
So I held back … for a few more days
… but then the more I reviewed the list, the more obvious it became to me that
these errors HAD to be fixed.
It was too
late for this edition … but hopefully all of these could be eradicated before a
second printing … which actually came about quite quickly due to the sales
success of the book once it hit the streets.
I contacted Clark as a friend and not a critic … and explained my
best intentions … it was important to me that the book be fixed to show him in
the best possible light … as well as maintain the accuracy and integrity of the
subject matter.
He agreed … (and also admitted that
the fact-checker had been HIM … and that he obviously had dropped the ball in the
process.) He thanked me profusely.
I told him that this would remain our little
secret … there was no need to point it out in any future editions … because the
accuracy of the book and his own credibility of living the most exciting life
possible during the most exciting period of music ever were the most important
concerns. (This is why, on SO many
occasions when we crossed paths spewing the stories of rock and roll radio in
the ‘60’s, he would defer to me in the audience … or bring me up on stage with
him … to answer or clarify some of the questions from the crowd. This was his way of saying "thank you.")
We never told a soul … and nearly
everything on my list was corrected for the second printing. I specifically told him NOT to credit me in
the book … my reward was knowing that the best possible product was now out on
the market … and he thanked me for that.
Time has a way of moving so
quickly. I can’t even believe that it’s
been 12 years since his book was first published. For probably the last 4-5 years we’ve talked
about getting together for dinner … but never made the time to do so. I knew by then that he had moved into an
assisted living facility and that his health was failing. I just wanted one more night to enjoy each
other’s company and talk about what we both loved best … the music of the ‘60’s
… and the exciting era it provided.
Once his wife Joan passed, I knew
that he was crushed … I believe he felt that without her, he had lost his purpose ... and could only hope in his heart of hearts that he would soon be able to join her
and be reunited once again. (They truly
were fun to watch together as a couple … in their 80’s and yet still hanging on
every word the other said.) I will miss
you, Clark. (kk)
