Eddy Arnold

 

He stood tall as one of music’s biggest stars selling more

than 85 million records, with 145 country hits and two

dozen visits to the pop Hit Parade over a career that

began with a radio show on WMPS in Memphis in 1934.

 

The “Tennessee Plowboy,” Eddie Arnold, blended country

with pop, a pioneer of what was the “Nashville Sound.”  

With songs that stayed on the best selling charts for

longer than a year at a time, he was known for #1 hits,

“It’s a Sin,” “Anytime,” “Bouquet Of Roses,” “Just a Little

Lovin,” “I Really Don’t Want to Know,” “The Cattle Call,”

“What’s He Doing In My World” and “Make the World

Go Away.”

 

Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and

a 2007 nominee at the Hit Parade Hall of Fame,

Eddy Arnold died Thursday, May 8^th, just a week

before his 90^th birthday in Nashville.

 

Larry Lujack, John Rook

 

 

Larry's acceptance speech is here

 Thanks to the New Radio Star

 

 

Several dozen long time pals greeted me at the

 Las Vegas affair…

 

John Rook,  Erica Farber

 

 As CEO and Publisher of Radio & Records, Erica is

one of the industry's most influential leaders and

also serves on the nominating committee of the

Hit Parade Hall of Fame. 

 

Bob "Doc" Fuller,  John Rook,  John Gehron

 

Two long time friends of more than 30 years.  Honored

during the NAB convention with a 2008 Pioneer Award

presented by the Broadcasters Foundation,

 Bob is  more of what radio needs today.

 

John Gehron followed me as program director at WLS

and with a exemplary  career is now General Manager

 of Harpo Radio, Inc., Oprah Winfrey’s radio interests.

He also serves on the nominating committee of the

Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

 

 

John Rook,  Tommy Edwards

 

Larry's long time side kick Tommy produced

the tribute introducing Super Jock Lujack at the

 NAB Hall of Fame luncheon.

 

John Rook,  Don Bouloukos

 

Another long time friend of our days at ABC radio,

 Don has a long successful track record of top

management in the radio industry.

 

 

John Rook,  Bob Hamilton

 

 A friend of forty years, Bob interviews my right hand,

Jason Rook about the Hit Parade Hall of Fame

on the  New Radio Star  website.

 click here

 

You can vote now here 

 

 

Big Ron O’Brien dies

 

Big Ron O'Brien

 

I first recognized his talent when he was a teenage dj in

Iowa, moving him in the early 70’s to KTLK in Denver

 and to WCFL-Chicago where his youthful excitement

and high energy delivered top ratings as he followed

Larry Lujack on SuperCFL

 

“Big Ron” was top rated in Philadelphia at WFIL, WRKO

in Boston and WPGC in Washington before he was invited

to join me in the late 70’s at KFI-Los Angeles, where due

to the 50,000 clear channel signal he was heard over a

vast area of the nation each night. On the air he followed

another superstar jock Jack Armstrong, who died

just a few days ago. Ron dominated afternoon drive at

KIIS in Los Angeles and would again deliver top ratings

 in recent years at Philadelphia’s WOGL featuring

the “oldies” he had first introduced  in his early

years as a disc jockey.

 

Often hearing from him one thing was certain, he never

grew tired of the music he loved and lived to be on the air.

In recent weeks he had signed a new contract with CBS

and just purchased a condo, "now you have a place to

 stay when you come this way," he said.

 

Sadly on Sunday, April 27th we received  word our friend

Richard M. Walls a.k.a. Big Ron O’Brien has died due to

complications of pneumonia in Philadelphia, much too

young at 56 years of age.

 

My sincerest condolences to his mom Phyllis and

all those who were fortunate enough to have known

Big Ron.  

 

Jr

 

Paul  Davis

Just one day after his 60^th birthday, a heart attack has

claimed the life of Paul Davis in Meridian, Mississippi

on April 22^nd.  With more than a dozen rides on the

Hit Parade, his “I Go Crazy” and “65 Love Affair” were

 top ten nationally.  “Crazy” stayed on the best seller

charts for a record 40 consecutive weeks in 1978.  

 

Al Wilson

 

Condolences to the family and fans of soul singer

Al Wilson, age 68, who died of kidney failure at Kaiser

Permanente in Fontana, California on April 21. He is

survived by his wife, Patricia, several siblings, two

daughters and 13 grandchildren. His “Show and Tell”

charted for 22 weeks and topped the Hit Parade in 1973.

 

Johnny Rivers

Al was first discovered by our old friend Johnny Rivers

in the late 60’s. Johnny’s fans are giving him a big

boost as  a 2007 nominee of the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

 He credits our days at KQV in the 60’s for breaking his

giant hit “Memphis” and ushering in a very successful

 career of numerous top ten hits. Vote for him now.

 

 

Connie Francis

2007 inductee Connie Francis telephoned as did 2008

Hit Parade Hall of Fame nominee’s Andy Kim and

Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon.

Freddy Cannon

 

Rocker Freddy with "Tallahassee Lassie", "Way Down

Yonder In New Orleans" & "Palisades Park" had more

 than two dozen rides on the Hit Parade and

Canadian Andy Kim created the monster hit

 “Sugar, Sugar” along with chart toppers

“Baby, I Love You” and “Rock Me Gently.”  

 

Andy Kim

 

One of the great song writers of all time,

Andy shares some of his latest creations

with me....WOW !  Great material, now

if only he and others like him could find

exposure on radio these days.

 

Fans voting at the Hit Parade Hall of Fame in

2008 have thus far exceeded last year's tally at this

stage in the voting.  66,000 voted to induct 28

hit makers from the 1950 through 1980 era.

  

 

 

Lujack Inducted at NAB Radio

Hall of Fame

 

Larry Lujack

With a standing ovation before and after, it was Lujack,

no teleprompter, no script, his usual off the cuff

comments keeping a full house in stitches with an

original, natural down home spin reminiscent of the

charm of a modern day Will Rogers.

 

Using content most would overlook, Ol Lar’s sarcastic

comedic routine poked fun at the NAB, at those who

benefited from his genius over the years and most of all

himself as he blended his experiences covering a fifty

year career into a monolog that brought hilarious

flashbacks to those of us who were fortunate enough

to have had him on our team. 

 

John Gehron,  Larry Lujack,  John Rook

 

Not at all comfortable in his acceptance of them,

 Larry Lujack has now added the NAB Hall of Fame

 tribute to those from the Illinois Broadcasters in 2002

and the Radio Hall of Fame in 2004.

 

 

Larry Lujack

 

Meeting for the first time forty years ago, it would be

 a friendship that would continue to this day.

 

In 1967 Larry and I were both new to Chicago. Starting

our radio careers ten years earlier in small Idaho and

Wyoming communities, we both had about the same

number of stops learning our craft before arriving

in Chicago, he as talent and me as the program

director of WLS.

 

It was perhaps the most fun either of us would have in

radio as the station leaped to the top of the ratings with

Lawrence of Chicago, the station’s quarterback in

afternoon drive on the Big 89.

 

A few years later he would accept my invitation to join

 me at WCFL, where SuperJock and SuperCFL merged

to add more stripes to his sleeve.

 

Hailed as one of Chicago's most renowned radio

personalities, Larry has been inducted into both the

Illinois Broadcasters Association's Hall of Fame in

2002 and the Radio Hall of Fame in 2004.

It will be with great pride that I join him in Las Vegas

on April 15^th as he is inducted into the NAB radio

Hall of Fame.

 

Larry sez, “Gheez, had I known it was this big of a

 deal I would have put a little more effort into my show”.

jr

 

Introducing Jerry

 

Jerry Del Colliano

 

In recent days many have mentioned their appreciation

of our linking them to Inside Music Media.

 

Jerry Del Colliano is a media visionary who was raised

in the trenches of Philadelphia radio before venturing

into the publishing arena in the mid 70’s with his

Inside Radio that would become must reading for radio

management, not only for the latest news but for his

commentary  on the industry.

 

In the 90’s, warning of radio’s rush into deregulation,

he was labeled a maverick by those who would benefit

from his demise. In a David vs. Goliath litigation battle

his nemesis bought Inside Radio with a pledge for

Jerry to remain silent for a few years while they

continued with plans to gobble up the industry. 

 

The high cost of my own antitrust litigation pitting me

against the combination of two Goliath’s had a different

ending but did encourage me to speak out against

deregulation that spawned a monopolization of both

radio and the music industries. For several years most

were blinded by their desire to overreach, merging was

good, until finally in recent times even the biggest of

the big began to accept less is more.

 

No longer bound by an order to remain silent, I was

delighted when my old friend Jerry returned with an

undaunted vision for both the radio and the music

industry. I know from first hand experience his daily

commentary isn’t for financial gain, but rather is a

thought provoking probe, a dose of the truth, while

not always appreciated by some, certainly respected

 by most judging from those I hear from.

 

To have introduced him to some is our distinct pleasure.  

We regularly offer a link to Jerry’s Inside Music Media

because he deserves your attention

jr

 

Preparing for the Future

 

As our government ignored the plight of vast portions of

our nation’s population by insisting any downturn in the

economy was merely a “blip” and blamed the media for

fanning the flames of a recession, the voices of those

hurting most was being heard on talk radio.

 

With a torrent of warning signs flooding down, it was not

until the credit dam broke that government suddenly

recognized there was a crisis and began to take

“emergency” actions to plug what they term “a leak,”

but in reality is not unlike the destruction  Katrina

unleashed on New Orleans.

 

As the readily availability of talk radio gave a megaphone

to those displaced by plant closings, of families forced

from their homes and unable to afford the rapidly

escalation of food prices, of truckers who no longer can

afford the high cost of fuel to transport food, including

the merchandise for retail consumption, our government

finally began to react to a crisis that due to lack of early

action can only get worse.

 

I often find disappointment in the lack of historical

awareness of today’s talk show hosts.  Most aren’t old

enough to have actually experienced the stressful,

difficult  condition’s that existed during the 1930's

and 40's and are ill equipped to tell the story of

what Americans of that generations experienced.

Given  the need to tell the story, talk radio could

benefit from guests who actually lived it.

 

 In a society that has shown a disregard for reading,

of expecting an instantaneous response to most

everything, talk radio hosts can best make an

unsuspecting public aware of what the

 future will bring by telling them of the past.

 

Knowing the past is the best preparation for the future.

jr

 

 

Chicago Radio Legend dies

 

A native buckeye, he arrived in Chicago and WGN in

1956 where he ruled morning drive in the windy city

 for almost two decades. Wally Phillips was the

undisputed king of morning radio often with more

listeners than all other Chicago stations combined.

 

Using the telephone and comedic genius Wally Phillips

interacted with listeners and was considered a

member of the family by most Chicagoans.

 

In 1997 Wally Phillips was inducted into the

National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

 

At 82 years of age, having battled Alzheimer’s disease

 for several years, on Thursday, March 27^th,

Wally Phillips died at his home in Naples, Florida.

 

The WGN Wally archives are here

 

jr

 

Mark                Lowry                Mel

 

With despair etched deep in the faces of Mark and

 Lowry Mays, a totally different expression of elation

 and confidence beams from the face of Mel Karmazin.

 

Plagued by hurdles and delays in their attempt to

unload a faltering Clear Channel,