Red Robinson's Legends

We lost Joe Terry yesterday (4/15/2019) at 78, Joe was a founding member of Danny & the Juniors, who recorded the late-50's classic dance hits 'At the Hop’ and 'Rock And Roll Is Here To Stay'.

Joe and the group came to Vancouver in 1986 for the Legends of Rock'n'Roll at EXPO 86 and we sat down together for this interview. Enjoy!

Recorded February 15, 2019 at Hearts, Horses & Hope, Elements Casino, Surrey, BC. Part 1 of 4.

Recorded February 15, 2019 at Hearts, Horses & Hope, Elements Casino, Surrey, BC. Part 2 of 4.

Recorded February 15, 2019 at Hearts, Horses & Hope, Elements Casino, Surrey, BC. Part 3 of 4.

Recorded February 15, 2019 at Hearts, Horses & Hope, Elements Casino, Surrey, BC. Part 4 of 4.

If you watched WB's Looney Tunes cartoons it was hard to miss Mel Blanc. Mel was the voice of Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Yosemite Sam, Tweety and Sylvester, Pepe Le Pew, Speedy Gonzales and many more.

We share a common background: we both worked at Portland's KGW, Mel in 1927 and me in 1959. Mel was a guest on my CISL morning show in 1980. He was promoting his stage show Bugs Bunny Meets The Super-Heroes. We talked about his career and he entertained us with a medley of those classic cartoon voices.

Mel Blanc, The Man of 1000 Voices, died in 1989. I love the inscription on Mel's grave marker: "That's All Folks"!

Did you know Bobby Darin started his career as a songwriter for Connie Francis? He recorded his first million-selling single, "Splish Splash", in 1958, followed by "Dream Lover" and "Mack the Knife" in 1959 and "Beyond the Sea" in 1960. Bobby and I met in 1959 while I was a deejay at KGW/Portland. He came by to promote his upcoming show. I handed Bobby the mike and let him play deejay. This man was a solid entertainer.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I read this, My real name is Robert but I changed it in high school so the kids in my class wouldn't know it was me. How close can you get? Thanks to Terry Beatty for permission to reprint panels from his Rex Morgan, MD comic strip... and to Don Everly for helping out way back in 1957!

My friend Terry Moore passed away in Victoria yesterday. We have lost one of the radio greats. We worked together at CKWX where he hosted a talk show. Terry interviewed Kirk Douglas, George Burns, and so many other stars, and he truly loved to work. He was still on the air at C-FAX/Victoria at 82! He was so versatile as a performer and we both admired Mario Lanza. He was a truly shy man in many respects but stepped up when the occasion called for it. Terry Moore was a singer, an impersonator, a great cook, and a wonderful and caring husband. He will be missed. Here's one of my favourite interviews with Terry Moore, on C-FAX in January 2003

Dick Biondi's 90th birthday party continues here at Red Robinsons Legends with an interview we did for a series called "Knights Of The Turntable", a salute to some of my favourite deejays. Dick explores his early days, shares his experiences with Bobby Darin, and wraps with some advice for young people interested in radio.

In 1958 and 1959, Dick's 6-midnight show was powered by the monster signal of "The Big KB", 50,000 watt clear channel WKBW. It was only a matter of time before "The Big Noise From Buffalo" got noticed in 1960 by Chicago rock'n'roll powerhouse WLS-AM 890. "WLS was my favorite,'' Dick says. "It was 38 states and Canada."

The “Wild I-tralian” was voted the nation's most popular Top 40 disc jockey in 1961 and 1962. His support and airplay of Bobby Curtola's "Fortune Teller" helped make the record a huge success, and Bobby became Canada's first teen idol. Dick was the also among the first US deejays to play "Please Please Me", the first US single release by a new British group: The Beatles.

In 1963, Biondi left Chicago for KRLA/Los Angeles, where he introduced The Beatles and The Rolling Stones at their Hollywood Bowl concerts. Dick returned to Chicago in 1967 for a five-year stint at WLS’s fiercest rival, WCFL, and again in 1984 for a two-decade run at Oldies WJMK. He returned to WLS in 2006 — but this time on FM — for another twelve years. Dick's health issues and management changes at 94.7 WLS-FM forced him off the air in 2018.

Dick's friend Pamela Enzweiler Pulice is the driving force behind "The Dick Biondi Film: The Voice That Rocked America!", a new documentary on "the world's oldest teenager". Help me celebrate Dick's 90th (and help Pam) with a donation at dickbiondifilm.com