"When I worked with John in Philly at WIBG, I was doing mornings and John was doing evenings. Our schedules were opposite, but we saw each other at weekly meetings that were a complete waste of time. We’d eat pizza and try to be serious, but nobody was. Before or after the meetings a bunch of us would go to this par-three golf course and drink beer, and hit balls. We didn’t fit in at all at the golf course — we didn’t know how to golf, we all had long hair, and got dirty looks from the real golfers, the business executives. When we weren’t “golfing,” we were playing softball. Rick Buckley, the son of the owner, would get a keg, and would show up wearing sweats, and we would go out and bat the ball around. We all loved working for Rick. All he wanted to do was have drinks and have a good time. He was one of the guys."
"In those days we were only playing about four records an hour because John Gehron, who was running the place — and really is a radio genius, recognized that the future of music on AM radio was pretty grim. It was great working with John again. I’ve always considered him to be a great guy — always smiling and always positive. He was genuinely supportive of everyone else on the air. He would go out of his way to let you know when he heard things that he liked on the air. The other thing I’ve always admired about him is that he really works at his craft. He may come off like he’s goofing off, but trust me, he really works at it. He takes it very seriously."
Although there weren’t many highlights from that second WLS era, I did get to work with my old friend Don Wade, who I had worked with in Philadelphia at WIBG. He’s known as Mr. Conservative now, but when we worked together at WIBG he was a long haired hippie with bellbottoms. He did a scripted bit show there, the same kind of show he was doing at WLS in the 80s in the midday slot. When WLS changed formats to news/talk a few years later, Don was the one they asked to stay.
"I am so saddened to hear about the passing of Don Wade. My thoughts and prayers go out to the lovely Roma who's partnership with Don was a beautiful thing to see and hear. I knew Don before Roma. Don, his brother Long John and I worked together at WIBG in Philadelphia in the late 60's -early 70's. It was a great time. We were all a lot younger and the station was over the top with on air stunts and promotions. Years later I spotted him at a Cubs game when he was on US99. That was the first time I met Roma. A few years later all of us were together at WLS-AM. Those were dark days at the station but Don and Roma carried on. So well that they were invited to stay when the station went talk. The rest is talk radio history...never fear I'm sure Don is talking to God right now complaining that heaven is a little to liberal and needs to move a bit to the right..."
Is Records truly his middle name? You might find out as the longtime Chicago-based disc jockey, John Records Landecker, kicks off the Writing Out Loud season at the Michigan City Public Library this Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Each year Writing Out Loud brings several authors to the Michigan City Public Library, giving readers an opportunity to hear a variety of writers read from and discuss their work.
This free program is in its 29th season. While that’s a long run, it’s not as long as Landecker has entertained radio listeners.
“John Landecker is a legend around the Chicago area,” said Robin Kohn, of the Michigan City Public Library. “He was a DJ in the 70’s when I was a teenager — he made radio cool. He’ll talk about some of the fun, crazy things he’s done over his career.”
In his book, “Records Truly is My Middle Name,” Landecker also writes about his encounters with celebrities, the cultural events of the times and some of the challenges he’s faced in his personal life.
Taking a look at the top twenty accounts divided by party shows zero overlap beyond the Hill, Politico, Roll Call, and CSPAN: Although they like a few of the same publications, Democrats and Republicans tend to lack interest in ... each other.
The TimesDaily reports that concerned parents and students called police and schools, and the station says it received phone calls, too. Tuscumbia school superintendent Mary Kate Smith says absenteeism was up slightly Thursday, and she fielded a call from a worried parent. Police increased patrols at schools to ease concerns.
I have just been retained and am still plotting our course of action. But two things are very clear to me. First, Brian Lewis no longer has any confidentiality obligation to Newscorp or Roger Ailes because of the false and malicious statements made by Fox to date. Second, Roger Ailes and Newscorp have a lot more to fear from Brian Lewis telling the truth about them than Brian Lewis has to fear from Roger Ailes and his toadies telling lies about Brian Lewis.
