The Who

The old boys still got it. Enjoyed the show at the United Center last night very much...

Behind Blue Eyes


Bargain


Pinball Wizard


Love Reign Oer Me


I'm a Loser


Baba O'Reilly


Join Together

Rush Calls it Quits

Sad news. Rush is one of the great rock and roll bands. Neil Peart is no longer well enough (arthritis) to tour.

Details are here.

This song was the anthem to my senior year of high school. Rocked it hard and loud many many times...

The Day the Earth Shook for the Cubs

March 10, 1933

On this day in 1933, the Cubs were playing in Wrigley Field in Los Angeles (Wrigley West), and experienced the downside of conducting their spring training in California. During an exhibition game between the Cubs and Giants, a substantial earthquake occurred. Players from both teams huddled around second base until the tremors stopped.

The earthquake caused serious damage from Los Angeles south to Laguna Beach. Property damage was estimated at $40 million, and 115 people were killed. The earthquake was felt almost everywhere in the 10 southern counties of California. (Photo: The CSU Dominguez Hills Archives and Special Collections – South Bay Photography Collection)

Players on those two teams included Cubs Hall of Famers Gabby Hartnett, KiKi Cuyler & Billy Herman, and Giants Hall of Famers Mel Ott, Bill Terry, and Carl Hubbell.

The Giants didn’t seem too affected by the quake. They went on to win the National League and then beat the Senators in the World Series, 4 games to 1. The Cubs finished in third, six games back.

Free Excerpt from Records Truly Is My Middle Name: The Dixie Chicks

On this day in 2003, Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines made a statement about being embarrassed to be from the same state as the president of the United States (George W. Bush). That comment (made during a concert in England) sparked a firestorm here in this country. Dixie Chicks records were burned, they were banned from all country music stations, their career was endangered, and though we didn't know it at the time--our careers (John Landecker's & mine) were endangered too. John told that story in his book "Records Truly Is My Middle Name"...


I’ve always been into political satire, ever since the 1970s when I was doing Nixon, and doing parody records about the politicians, but I never really got into the politics of it — only the humor. I never really got into serious political issues.

Never.

But there was one incident that happened toward the end of my ten year run at WJMK that was significant to me, because for the first time in my career, I felt motivated to do something about free speech.

Here’s what happened. In the aftermath of 9/11, I decided to play the Star Spangled Banner at the beginning of every morning show. However, I didn’t want your normal radio station standard Star Spangled Banner, and I couldn’t find one done by an oldies artist, because quite frankly, all of them sucked. But then, lo and behold, the Dixie Chicks did the Star Spangled Banner at the Super Bowl. It was perfect; beautiful three part harmony. Awesome! We had our regular sign-on song.

We played it every morning and it sounded fantastic. But then there was an incident with the Dixie Chicks. If you don’t remember, they were doing a concert in London and they said they were ashamed that George Bush was from their home state of Texas. Country music stations across the country banned them for this comment — they were burning their records — and right-wing talk radio stations were criticizing and vilifying the Dixie Chicks 24 hours a day.

And here we were playing their version of the National Anthem every morning at 5:30. But we never said on the air: “Here are the Dixie Chicks.” We never identified them on the air as the Dixie Chicks. Not once. Not ever. And I saw no reason to take this song off the air. We had been doing it for months. It’s the Star Spangled Banner! Why stop? Nobody had complained about it to me, and I talked to the listeners on the phone every single day.

Apparently, unbeknownst to me, there were a few complaints to the program director. I never found out how many, but I’ll never forget how I found out there were any at all. This program director was new to the station and was having a meeting with us, revamping our show (yet again). There was nothing new about this; program directors, general managers, and consultants had come and gone and revamped our show a million times. He started the meeting by asking us what we did on the show.

“Well,” I said, “We come out of the first record and play the Star Spangled Banner.”

“What version of the Star Spangled Banner?” he asked.

“The Dixie Chicks,” I said.

“Aha!” he said. “That’s where the complaints came from. You can’t play the Star Spangled Banner by the Dixie Chicks.”

Now this wasn’t about lewd comments, dirty jokes, bodily functions, or any of the usual complaints I had gotten in my career. This was something completely different. This was about being ordered to desist playing the Star Spangled Banner. The National friggin Anthem.

“I don’t know if I can do that,” I said.

Wellllll, a bomb went off in that room. I mean, it was a nuclear blast.

This program director lost it more than any other program director I’ve had in my life, and listen — I’ve been around. I’ve never seen or heard a more out of control, vindictive program director ever, and I’ve had more program directors than I can count. He was out of his mind. He was turning red. The veins were popping out in his neck. He was screaming at me!

“If you play it again,” he screamed. “You’re fired.”

I began to get out of the chair, and he added: “And if you get out of that chair, you’re fired!”

Even in the midst of this heated confrontation, I knew what was going on here. If I left that room at that moment, I would have been walking away from a potential severance package. So, I crossed my arms in front of me and said “I’m not leaving this chair.”

I don’t even want to get into what happened the rest of that day. It was tumultuous. It involved agents. It involved screaming on the phone. It was bad. By the time it was over, I decided that it just wasn’t worth it. That kind of stance wasn’t really the kind of thing I did on my show. But I must admit, that next morning when we came in to do the show, my producer Rick and I talked about it again, and we did seriously consider playing it again, because it just didn’t feel right to stop. Plus, we knew that this new management team didn’t like us, and more than likely wouldn’t be renewing us in a few months anyway, so, wouldn’t this be an honorable way to go out?

At the last second we decided not to do it. We played a different, lamer version of the song. And sure enough, a few months later the station opted not to renew our contracts.

The next time the Dixie Chicks came into town for a concert, I went backstage and met them, and told them the story, and they all autographed their famous Entertainment Weekly cover for me.

I still have it on my wall in my home office.

George Martin with Brian Wilson

You see a little of the genius of both men in this clip...

Game of Thrones

I'm not a huge fan of the show, but apparently I'm one of the few. The trailer for the new season was just posted by HBO yesterday and already has 27 million views...

Trump Staffer Roughs Up Reporter

This is not a liberal reporter making the claim. It's a Breitbart reporter and Fox News Contributor.

The rough-up-er was Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. The rough-up-ee was Michelle Fields.

From TV Newser...

A witness told Politico Lewandowski “forcibly grabbed” Fields on the arm, “moving her out of the way and nearly bringing her down to the ground.” The witness said Fields was “clearly roughed up.”

Breitbart News has released a statement, calling the incident “unacceptable” and demanding an apology:

“It’s obviously unacceptable that someone crossed a line and made physical contact with our reporter. What Michelle has told us directly is that someone “grabbed her arm” and while she did not see who it was, Ben Terris of the Washington Post told her that it was Corey Lewandowski. If that’s the case, Corey owes Michelle an immediate apology.” – Larry Solov, Breitbart News CEO and President

My Brush with George Martin

The famed Beatles producer, Sir George Martin, passed away yesterday at the age of 90. I met and spoke with Sir George on the radio via satellite in the mid-90s. This is my story...





Sir George Martin is an icon in the music business. If he had done nothing else in his career, the fact that he was the producer of every Beatles album except “Let it Be” would have been enough to cement his place in rock and roll history.

His contributions to the Beatles were significant. He helped the four of them get the most of their extraordinary talents, and played an important role in creating that famous Beatles sound. He was their mentor, and they were my heroes.

When I received a phone call in December of 1995 alerting me to George Martin’s availability for radio interviews to promote the Beatles Anthology project, I was speechless for a moment. I cleared my throat, booked the interview, and bounced off the walls for twenty minutes or so before I told the host of the show—John Landecker. I wasn’t prepared for John’s reaction.

“You should interview him,” he said.

“Why me?” I asked. “It’s your show.”

“Because you’re the Beatles fanatic,” he said. “I want you to do it.”

I didn’t know it at the time, but John had a master plan. He figured his normally unflappable German producer would turn into a stuttering, stammering fool if he was forced to interview one of his heroes. In John's mind, that had much more potential than a straight interview.

When he started promoting the interview a few days later, he laid it on pretty thick to make me even more nervous.

“Don’t blow this Rick,” he said. “There are millions of Beatles fans in Chicago, and since we’re the only station that gets to interview him, you have to speak for all of them.”

Gulp.

Outwardly I wasn’t showing it, but it was getting to me. I called all of my Beatles friends across the country and asked them to submit questions to me. I carefully considered each of them, crossed off the ones that seemed “too inside” or “too geeky,” and prepared diligently. I knew we only had ten minutes with him, so I couldn’t waste a moment with frivolous questions.

The morning of the interview I came to the studio with a list of questions in my cold sweaty hands.

When the hot-line rang to alert us that Mr. Martin was standing by at his microphone in London, the color left my face.

“Look at Rick,” John joked. “He’s white as a ghost.”

“Am not,” I said. My voice cracked.

John couldn’t stop laughing. “Maybe I better start the interview,” he said. “Sir George…are you with us?”

We couldn’t hear anything for a moment and then there he was. His lovely British accent responded: “Hello, John. How are you this morning?”

“I’m great,” John said. “I hope you don’t mind, but we’re going to do something a little different this morning. My producer Rick is a gigantic Beatles fan, and he badgered me to let him do this interview, so I’m turning it over to him now. THis will be fun--Producer interviewing Producer. Sir George Martin, this is Rick.”

He was silent for a moment again before answering politely: “Hello Rick.”

I almost fainted. I realize how pathetic this sounds in retrospect, but I don’t think I can find the proper words to explain how excited and nervous I was to be speaking with this man.

George Martin was the producer of the Beatles! He had been sitting across the glass from John Lennon when he sang “Strawberry Fields Forever.” Hell, he pieced that song together for Lennon, and made suggestions, and…oh my God…I could barely breathe.

It didn’t help that John Landecker was rolling on the floor laughing at me, but I ventured on. I knew I would impress Sir George with my knowledge of the Beatles. I knew he would warm to me instantly when he heard my insightful questions. So I launched right into them.

That’s the last thing I remember.

No, actually, that’s not entirely true. I do remember his response to my first question—even though I don’t remember the question itself.

Total silence.

That’s when I started flop-sweating. I lost all my confidence instantly. If I had my wits about me I would have realized that his silence was caused by the slight satellite delay, but I was too far gone by then. The only thing going through my mind was… “YOU IDIOT! HOW COULD YOU HAVE ASKED HIM THAT STUPID QUESTION? HE’S ICING YOU, AND YOU DESERVE IT, YOU WORTHLESS EXCUSE FOR A HUMAN BEING!”

He eventually answered me, but I didn’t even listen to his answer. I just waited for his silence, and then squeaked out another question.

After my second or third question, Landecker jumped in to rescue me.

John loved every second of the experience. I needed an IV to replenish my fluids.

When I listened back to the interview a few days later, I realized it really wasn’t that bad. Of course, that interview never aired again.

The real interview was forever replaced by John’s version of what the interview sounded like in Rick's mind. He had our technical producer Vince edit out my parts of the interview, and replace them with his impersonation of a stuttering and stammering Rick. That became the George Martin interview that was replayed on the air a dozen or more times over the years.

I was eventually able to laugh about it.

But I can admit it now. I’m the Bill Buckner of Beatles interviewers.

Mitt Romney Reads Mean Donald Trump Tweets

Dos Equis Retiring Most Interesting Man in the World

Say it isn't so, USA Today!

I'm still reeling from the disappearance of Bud's Real Men of Genius, and now this.

When it is raining, it is because he is sad...

George Martin & James Bond

It probably wouldn't surprise you to learn that George Martin produced the title track to the James Bond "Live and Let Die". It's still the greatest Bond song ever...



But did you know that he also produced the second greatest Bond song ever? Goldfinger by Shirley Bassey. It's true...

And the answer ain't "more guns"

Americans account for 82 percent of all gun deaths among 23 high-income countries. https://t.co/ee38IyQPcm pic.twitter.com/JehA6nr2oq

— ProPublica (@ProPublica) March 9, 2016

Hillary's E-mails

I think this opening paragraph in the Washington Post article about Hillary's e-mails (written by Ruth Marcus) is a grabber...

For those of you salivating — or trembling — at the thought of Hillary Clinton being clapped in handcuffs as she prepares to deliver her acceptance speech at the Democratic convention this summer: deep, cleansing breath. Based on the available facts and the relevant precedents, criminal prosecution of Clinton for mishandling classified information in her emails is extraordinarily unlikely.

The whole article is a pretty sane (and fair) analysis of the situation. Basically the conclusion is that the use of the e-mail server was stupid, but not criminal.

iHeart is about to iMplode

The biggest radio company in the world, iHeart media--formerly Clear Channel, is on the verge of disaster. I've written previously about their ridiculous debt. I've always warned that one day the chicken has to come home to roost. That day may be coming VERY soon according to this morning's Tom Taylor NOW column...

iHeart can’t kick the can down the road any more – It owes too much. Some bondholders claim the company recently violated some covenants and triggered an “event of default.” That was Monday, and iHeart dashed to State District Court in San Antonio and sued the bondholders. It’s asking for a declaratory judgment that it’s not in default, and requesting temporary and permanent injunctions “to fully protect our rights.” Will that work, though? By selling off some assets (broadcast towers, some outdoor assets) and exchanging some debt for new high-interest notes, the company thought it had bought enough time to get to 2018, when there’s a real crunch - like over $1 billion due in 2018 and another $8.3 billion in 2019. This year only about $193 million worth of notes mature. But the company’s recent trick of contributing 100 million shares of Class B stock of its Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings subsidiary to a new subsidiary named “Broader Media” (February 4 NOW) ticked off some bondholders. Collectively, they own more than 25% of iHeart’s priority guarantee notes, and they’re the ones who filed Notices of Default.

RIP George Martin

He really was the 5th Beatle; as important to the band as any other member. RIP George Martin, gone at the age of 90. Ringo tweeted this last night...

Thank you for all your love and kindness George peace and love xx😎✌️🌟💖 pic.twitter.com/um2hRFB7qF

— #RingoStarr (@ringostarrmusic) March 9, 2016

Paul McCartney tweeted this...

"The world has lost a truly great man..." Paul McCartney on George Martin: https://t.co/M2ySCKfisO pic.twitter.com/dDE5cm2F0a

— Paul McCartney (@PaulMcCartney) March 9, 2016

He wrote this in tribute to him at Paulmccartney.com...

I’m so sad to hear the news of the passing of dear George Martin. I have so many wonderful memories of this great man that will be with me forever. He was a true gentleman and like a second father to me. He guided the career of The Beatles with such skill and good humour that he became a true friend to me and my family. If anyone earned the title of the fifth Beatle it was George. From the day that he gave The Beatles our first recording contract, to the last time I saw him, he was the most generous, intelligent and musical person I’ve ever had the pleasure to know.

It’s hard to choose favourite memories of my time with George, there are so many but one that comes to mind was the time I brought the song 'Yesterday’ to a recording session and the guys in the band suggested that I sang it solo and accompany myself on guitar. After I had done this George Martin said to me, "Paul I have an idea of putting a string quartet on the record". I said, “Oh no George, we are a rock and roll band and I don’t think it’s a good idea”. With the gentle bedside manner of a great producer he said to me, "Let us try it and if it doesn’t work we won’t use it and we’ll go with your solo version". I agreed to this and went round to his house the next day to work on the arrangement.

He took my chords that I showed him and spread the notes out across the piano, putting the cello in the low octave and the first violin in a high octave and gave me my first lesson in how strings were voiced for a quartet. When we recorded the string quartet at Abbey Road, it was so thrilling to know his idea was so correct that I went round telling people about it for weeks. His idea obviously worked because the song subsequently became one of the most recorded songs ever with versions by Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye and thousands more.

This is just one of the many memories I have of George who went on to help me with arrangements on 'Eleanor Rigby', 'Live and Let Die' and many other songs of mine.

I am proud to have known such a fine gentleman with such a keen sense of humour, who had the ability to poke fun at himself. Even when he was Knighted by the Queen there was never the slightest trace of snobbery about him.

My family and I, to whom he was a dear friend, will miss him greatly and send our love to his wife Judy and their kids Giles and Lucy, and the grandkids.

The world has lost a truly great man who left an indelible mark on my soul and the history of British music.

God bless you George and all who sail in you!

Paul

You can hear the string quartet in Eleanor Rigby below...



George also added/improvised the keyboard solo in the middle one of my favorite Beatles songs, "In My Life"...



Huge, huge loss to the musical world.

RIP Sir George.

Free Excerpt from The Daly News: Commentary March 8, 1972

Some of the treasures in Joel Daly's book "The Daly News" are the television commentaries he sprinkled throughout the book. Joel delivered nightly commentaries on Channel 7 News for a decade, and it just happened to be the most tumultuous decade of all-time. This is his commentary from March 8, 1972; a time when bombings were becoming commonplace worldwide--including Chicago. This particular commentary led to death threats that were so specific, Joel checked his car for bombs every night before driving home.


Commentary - March 8, 1972

Some powder, a fuse and a spark…such are the basics of a bomb. But of what is the bomber made?

Without courage or compassion, without feeling or concern, the bomber is foremost and first…the worst kind of coward!

With his pliers and wires and cheap little clocks, he’s a shadow of a man with “little boy” thoughts.

Playing hide-and-seek with people’s lives, he’s less likely to be feared than despised.

Some powder, a fuse and a spark…how simple to build a bomb…how difficult to understand the bomber.

He knows not his victims; how many or why. They may be innocent, unsuspecting, but still they may die.

Coward! Coward! Who would kill without cause: shoppers in Belfast; passengers in tourist-class.

Coward! And cursed, that person who would threaten, extort and indiscriminately destroy for money, vainglory, a red glow in the sky.

Sick minds, it’s true, feed on headlines, drool at the damage and laugh at the frightened. But, we cannot ignore nor defer the fact that madmen walk our streets; the worst of assassins, paranoid and plotting.

Some powder, a fuse and a spark. These are the basics of a bomb, but of what is the bomber made?

He is hollow, without soul, an empty shell. The bomber is humanity’s “dud”.

International Woman's Day

Today is "International Woman's Day". Obviously, it's the perfect day to feature Charo.

Ted Cruz: Bad Lip Reading

A few laugh out loud moments here...

Another Farewell

Rick: I'm not going to another Who farewell show. I've been to five of them over the past few decades. I read Pete's book. He admits they are just a money grab. He uses that money to buy nicer boats.

(Sfx: Phone buzzes)

There's a facebook message from an old friend. "Rick, I have an extra ticket to the Who on Thursday night. Are you up for it?"

Rick: Yes.

I hope Pete enjoys his new boat.

Q&A with Dobie Maxwell

Chicago Now talks to Eckhartz Press author Dobie Maxwell about his career and his book "Monkey in the Middle"

You can read it here.

I Pledge to Trump

Funny. Thanks so much to "KB" for this one...

Driving with a Tree

I've been drunk before. But I've never been this drunk...

More Lou

Lou Manfredini's contract at WGN has been extended. From Radio Ink this morning...

The new deal with Lou Manfredini runs through December 31, 2020. Manfredini began his career at WGN in 1995 as a guest on the Bob Collins Show when he was given the nickname “Mr. Fix It.” He continues to answer listeners’ home improvement questions on The Mr. Fix-It Show, which is the #1 Saturday morning radio program in Chicago.

Podcasting

From Tom Taylor's NOW Column...

1 in 5 Americans is into podcasting...and Edison’s Tom Webster says podcasting “is growing, and growing fast. The percentage of Americans 12+ who say they have listened to a podcast in the last month is 21%, up from 17% last year.” Webster says “That increase is some of the largest growth for the medium that we have observed in more than a decade of our podcast research, and represents an estimated 57 million Americans.”

A new podcast will be arriving on the landscape in the coming weeks. My Eckhartz Press co-publisher David Stern and I have been signed to do one (not a joke). Details will be announced soon. They are coming to set up the equipment in my house tomorrow.

Randy Meisner's Wife Shot

From the website Ultimateclassicrock.com, this news about former Eagles member Randy Meisner's wife...

The wife of founding Eagles member Randy Meisner has been found shot to death at the couple’s home, according to multiple news sources. It’s unclear how Lana Rae Meisner was killed on Sunday (March 6) in Studio City, Calif. An investigation is on-going.

Randy Meisner, 69, told police that his wife was shot by accident as she searched for something in the closet, according to RadarOnline. Still unconfirmed is whether he has been arrested in connection with the death. Page Six reported that a suspect was taken into custody, though the individual has not yet been identified.

Read the whole article here. It doesn't sound good for Meisner. There were lots of domestic issues there.

UPDATE: The New York Daily News is now saying police confirm it was an accident.

Book Release Party

Come on out next Monday and join us!

Happy Pulaski Day

Today is Kasimir Pulaski day, which is a big deal to Chicago’s large Polish population. There have been exactly five players in big league history who were born in Poland, and one of them played for the Cubs.

His EVERY CUB EVER entry from Just One Bad Century is listed below…

~Moe Drabowsky 1935 (Cubs 1956-1960)
Moe was born in Poland, and was a hot young gun pitcher for the Cubs in the late 50s. His best season with the Cubs was probably 1957, when he won 13 games as a 22-year-old for a very bad Cubs team. He never lived up to that in the proceeding years, so the Cubs eventually gave up on him. He later pitched for the Braves, Athletics, and Reds in the early 60s, but really found a home in Baltimore. Moe became a key part of the bullpen for two World Series champions Orioles teams in 1966 and 1970. He beat Don Drysdale to win Game 1 of the 1966 World Series. Moe ended up pitching 17 years in the big leagues. (Photo: Topps 1961 Baseball Card)



The other 4 Polish-born players were Elmo Valo (who played 20 seasons in the big leagues, mostly with the A’s), Nap Kloza who played for the Browns, and Henry Peploski and Johnny Reder, who both played one season in Boston.

Life Behind the Camera

The new website of Eckhartz Press author Chuck Quinzio for his book "Life Behind the Camera" is up and running.

I think this book is our most unappreciated gem...a truly memorable recounting of Chuck's 30 plus years as a local news cameraman.

Check it out here.

Lovie Smith at Illinois?

The University of Illinois fired their head football coach over the weekend (the first move by the new athletic director), and word is that former Bears coach Lovie Smith has been hired to take his place. Not sure how I feel about this one. On the one hand, Lovie is a twice-failed NFL coach. On the other hand, Illinois hasn't been able to recruit legitimate coaches there in the past twenty years.

Barry Rozner of the Daily Herald put it this way in his column this morning...

It takes most college coaches several years to put a system in place and bring in the talent necessary to be successful. If Smith sticks around that long, he might just elevate Illinois football to a place that is something less than a campus humiliation.

In the meantime, Illinois football is no longer irrelevant.

That's something, anyway.

UPDATE: They have been moving fast in Champaign. Here's the new banner ad...

Historic Presidency

Thanks to "JD" for this one...

John Rook 1969

This incredible video is from 1969. It's a sales-tool used by WLS Radio in those days to explain to advertisers the theory and appeal behind WLS. Fascinating in retrospect. Also makes me think that working for John Rook (who passed away last week) would have been a little scary. Sounds a bit like a control freak. (On the other hand, Larry Lujack said Rook was the best program director he ever worked for, so I suppose if Larry could handle him, he couldn't have been too bad.)

The film is voiced by Clark Weber. (H/t to Robert Feder who posted this video in his column this morning)



P.S. The music absolutely blows, too. Think of the great music that was out in 1969, and then listen to the music in this video. Yikes.

Save the Date: May 20

My cousin's son Caleb is one of the recipients of this years Beat Tom & Bill Golf Outing. Thanks to everyone who sent me prizes for the silent auction/raffle. (I got some great prizes!). If you'd like to participate in the golf outing itself, registration opens on St. Patrick's Day In the meantime save the date: Friday, May 20. Golf is at the White Pines Golf Course - Bensonville, IL. Dinner will be at the Diplomat West Banquets - Elmhurst, IL. Your support means the world to me, and of course to Caleb's family (and the eight other families being helped this year).

Chicago's Birthday

Some beautiful pictures. She doesn't look a day over 150.

Happy 179th Birthday #chicago! I'm going to dedicate most of the day showing you off. @ChooseChicago @DNAinfoCHI pic.twitter.com/fMfPXQAqIh

— Jeff Lewis (@ChicagoPhotoSho) March 4, 2016

Ted Cruz Eats a Booger

I missed this last night...

Knife Found Buried at OJ's Estate

One of my guilty pleasures the past few weeks has been watching the FX series about the OJ Trial. It's really well done. The guy who plays Johnny Cochran is particularly great. I feel like I'm watching the real guy. Same for the actor playing Chris Darden. (Travolta is terrible as Robert Shapiro, but he's really the only one who doesn't do a good job)

While the actual trial was going on I was the executive producer of the John Landecker show on WJMK, and we followed this trial incredibly closely. We did four different songs about it. We did untold bits about the news of the day. We created the "Dancing Itos" concept that was later stolen by Jay Leno. I watched the trial daily to get bit ideas. And I remember it incredibly well. So, when I say they are doing a great job recreating it, I know what I'm talking about.

And now, while this series is being shown on television, new evidence has emerged. According to TMZ this morning, a knife has been found buried on the grounds of OJ Simpson's former estate. Remember, the murder weapon was never found. They searched the woods here in Chicago for it (because he flew to Chicago the night of the murders), and they searched his estate, but they never looked to see if it was buried there. And, according to the article, the knife appears to have blood residue on it.

Of course, even if it proves to be the murder weapon, OJ cannot be charged with the crime again. He was acquitted. Double Jeopardy precludes a second trial. But still, wouldn't it be nice to know?

RIP John Rook

Former WLS program director John Rook has passed away. From today's RAMP Newsletter...

We've lost another legend -- longtime programmer, consultant and station owner John Rook, best known for his successful stints at KQV/Pittsburgh, WLS and WCFL/Chicago and KFI and KABC/Los Angeles, died on Tuesday, March 1. Rook, who was 78, had been living in Coeur d'Alene, ID with his sister Dot and his adopted son Jason. Veteran programmer Dennis Constantine was a close friend of Rook, who hired him at Y100/Miami in 1973 and brought him out to do nights at KTLK/Denver six months later. Constantine told RAMP he and Rook had spoken on the phone almost every day over the past few years. "John was most proud of his years at ABC, first at KQV/Pittsburgh, then at WLS/Chicago," he said. "Years later, he competed against WLS when he went to WCFL. He has programmed and consulted many amazing radio stations with a very simple philosophy -- play the hits! He had a great ear for picking hits and he was a great coach for air staff. He was the first who taught me about 'one thought per break.'"

When I interviewed Clark Weber for Chicago Radio Spotlight a few years ago, he mentioned that Rook was the man who replaced him as PD at WLS in 1966...50 years ago.

"I learned I wasn’t prepared to be the program director. I was just lucky that everyone there got along well. It wasn’t really until Lujack arrived that I started to run into problems. That’s when they brought John Rook in to be the PD, and I was the happiest guy in the building."

Totally Presidential

Donald Trump last night during the Republican debate:

"I have to say this: he hit my hands. Nobody has ever hit my hands. I have never heard of this. Look at those hands. [Holds hands up] Are they small hands? [Laughter] And he referred to my hands — if they are small, something else must be small. I guarantee you, there is no problem. I guarantee you."

Donald Trump responding to the blistering Mitt Romney speech yesterday afternoon:

"I don't know what happened to him. You can see how loyal he is. He was begging for my endorsement. I could have said, 'Mitt, drop to your knees.' He would have dropped to his knees."

Now that is one gigantic fence

Reminds me of this scene in "Dumb & Dumber"...

Melissa Forman Interview

My latest media column has been posted by the Illinois Entertainer. This month I spoke with Melissa Forman from WCIU-TV.

You can read it here.

The Who's 50 Greatest Songs

Rolling Stone Magazine has put together their list, and of course, it's bound to spark disagreement among Who fans. As for me, this one (that didn't make it in their top ten) is the greatest Who song ever...

Spring Training "Opening Day" lineup

The Cubs are playing their first spring training game today, and they just announced their lineup...

1. Kyle Schwarber - LF
2. Kris Bryant - 3B
3. Anthony Rizzo - 1B
4. Jorge Soler - RF
5. Miguel Montero - C
6. Javy Baez - CF
7. Tommy La Stella - 2B
8. Dan Vogelbach - DH
9. Munenori Kawasaki - SS
Travis Wood - P

I am so ready for this season to begin.

Mitt's Speech

Full text of Mitt Romney's anti-Trump speech is here. I know I'm only 52 years old, but I have never seen anything like that in my lifetime. The last presidential candidate begging people not to vote for the frontrunner of the same party.

Meanwhile, the FBI has offered immunity to the guy who created Hillary's e-mail server, which is surely not a good development for her.

This election in the fall could be amongst the two most hated candidates in history; one who is clearly emotionally unstable and despised by a majority of his own party, against another who could be facing an indictment. Unbelievable.

This is the first presidential election my two oldest sons are eligible to vote. Good luck picking a candidate, boys.

Tribune Publishing

I wrote about the troubles at Tribune Media the other day, but let's not ignore the tumult at Tribune Publishing. In the past week or so they have had a complete revamp of executives.

Adweek has the ugly details.

This is America

Joe Walsh & Bad Company

This is a heck of a double-headliner show: Joe Walsh and Bad Company.

Details (and tour dates) are available here. They come to Chicago on June 23.

I'm going to try to make it to this one (and as many others as I can). The way these guys have been dropping over the past year or so makes we want to see them all one last time.

Fox News Receives Its Marching Orders

Look for the anti-Trump talk to immediately disappear from Fox News...

As predicted, Trump reaching out to make peace with Republican "establishment". If he becomes inevitable party would be mad not to unify.

— Rupert Murdoch (@rupertmurdoch) March 2, 2016

"We're finished with Rubio," says Fox News chief Roger Ailes: https://t.co/2bNsx9ayci pic.twitter.com/VUehx0NE5s

— New York Magazine (@NYMag) March 2, 2016

The suits are figuring out that the monster they created still needs to be fed. Unfortuately for them, the monster now gets to order whatever it wants from the menu.

Norm Winer Quits WXRT

Not completely shocking news because his role had been diminished recently. And yet, totally shocking news, because Norm Winer was WXRT.


Robert Feder has the details and the full text of Norm's farewell to his co-workers.

Couldn't help but notice this comment from Norm: "I’ll soon have plenty of time to start writing my memoirs while I can still remember all the names, places, and punchlines that have given me so much pleasure – or at least adrenaline—for so long."

Norm, I know a publisher. Give me a call.

10 Years of Blogging: Bonus Father Knows Nothing "Dad's on TV"

This year marks my tenth year as a blogger. Once a week I'm going through my archives of 30,000+ posts to re-post a few of my favorites. This week, I'm offering a bonus "Father Knows Nothing" column that didn't make it into the book. During my "Father Knows Nothing" years I appeared on television about a dozen times. This column was written in 2011, after one of those television appearances...



My kids never tire of hearing stories about my childhood, but there is one thing they will never ask me about under any circumstances.

My career.

They just don't care. I can understand that on a certain level. My own father was an engineer, and I remember that after I discovered he wasn't a train engineer...he was just a civil engineer...his job didn't interest me in the slightest. Even when I attended a school that he had personally designed (Heidelberg American Middle School), I wasn't impressed. I remember telling him: "The hallways are a little confusing."

So, I suppose it's only fair that my own kids are similarly unimpressed with my career. When they were little, I worked in radio. My two oldest sons Tommy and Johnny were even featured on the show quite a bit. But I remember their reaction one time when a stranger was impressed by meeting them because he had heard them talking on the radio.

They thought the guy was nuts.

When this fan asked Tommy what it was like hanging out with a famous disc jockey like John Records Landecker, he just shrugged his shoulders. So did Johnny. To them, John was just one of Dad's friends. No big deal. And being on the radio was also no big deal. It's just a bunch of people sitting in a room with microphones.

When my first book came out, I gave an autographed copy to my oldest son. He put it in the closet. When my first novel came out two years later, I gave copies to all three boys. Two of them have no idea where their copies are now. When my most recent novel came out, none of the boys wanted a copy. None of them even asked me what it's about.

But there was one time, I did something that I thought might actually interest them: I was interviewed on television.

I mentioned it to the boys at breakfast that morning as I put on my suit.

"Is it going to be on the Internet?" Sean asked.

"I'm not sure," I said. "I hope so. If not, I can probably post it on YouTube."

"Do you know how to do that?" Tommy asked.

"No. Do you?"

He just shook his head and continued eating his waffles. No follow up questions. Not the slightest bit of interest. After they came home from school I asked them if they wanted to watch the interview. All three of them said no. Bridget, to her credit, actually did want to see it when she came home from work. I even heard her guilting the boys into watching it too. Only two of them were moved by her techniques; Tommy and Sean. Johnny still didn't care. He stayed in his room reading Captain Underpants.

The rest of us watched the segment together. After it was over, Tommy said: "That's it?"

"Yup," I replied.

Sean didn't say a word, he just walked away. Bridget said: "That was pretty good, but..."

"What?"

"You were a little slouchy."

Gotcha.

I must say, there's very little chance of getting a big head in this household. I suppose that's probably for the best. But I also have a pretty good idea now how my Dad felt when I told him the hallways in his school were a little confusing.

41 Years of Thunder Road Live

Still one of the greatest songs. Great job on the editing...

Truth

Thanks to "JR" for this one...

Daniel Day Lewis as...Obama

Clever.

Steven Spielberg's Obama Trailer

A trailer for Steven Spielberg's Obama starring Daniel Day Lewis and Tracy Morgan.

Posted by Consequence of Sound on Saturday, February 27, 2016

How Bad is iHeart's Debt?

It's even worse than I thought it was. From Tom Taylor's NOW column today...

Bloomberg says in the last full year under the Mays family, then-Clear Channel had net income of $938.5 million for 2007. That’s good. But that figure turned upside down following the mid-2008 go-private deal led by Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners. They financed it with a lot of debt, which is typical (“other people’s money”). Bloomberg says “in each year since then, the company has lost between $219.5 million and $4 billion, partly due to interest payments on its debt.” Looking ahead, Bloomberg says $193 million worth of notes mature this year, $230 million (in a revolver) come due in 2017, and what Bloomberg says is “more than $1 billion in obligations maturing in 2018, and $8.3 billion in bonds and term loans due in 2019.” Do Bain and THLPartners still have any equity in iHeart, or has that been wiped out? Probably the latter. In the dance being performed by the company and the lenders led by PJT Partners, there’s some debt that’s already trading very cheaply – like at one-third its face amount. Bloomberg says “the cheapest of the bonds being targeted for paydown…last traded at 32 cents on the dollar.”

Woah. Bain Capital, in case you don't remember, is Mitt Romney's outfit.

Chris Christie

This is a very funny take on the terrified expression Chris Christie had on his face as Donald Trump gave his victory speech last night. Courtesy of Alexandra Petri from the Washington Post...

His were the eyes of a man who has gazed into the abyss, and the abyss gazed back, and then he endorsed the abyss.

It was not a thousand-yard stare. That would understate the vast and impenetrable distance it encompassed.

He looked as if he had seen a ghost and the ghost had made him watch Mufasa die again.

He had the eyes of a man who has looked into the heart of light, the silence. A man who had seen the moment of his greatness flicker, and seen the eternal footman hold his coat, and snicker.

That's just good writing. I can't post the photo, but you can see it at this link. But then again, do you even need to see it? Her words have already shown it to you.

Another Happy Author

There's still nothing like that moment an author gets to see his (or her) book the very first time...even if you have to drive up to Gurnee in a snowstorm to witness it.

Dobie Maxell with the very first copy of his Eckhartz Press book "Monkey in the Middle". The book ships March 14th, and Dobie is having a book launch party that night at Zanies in Chicago. (A free stand up comedy show/book launch party).

If you pre-order the book at our website, Dobie is adding a lifetime pass to see him perform stand up comedy. For a comedian who still does about 150 gigs a year, that's no small bonus.

Around the Publishing World (March 1)

At Chicago Author Solutions (a division of Eckhartz Press), we stay on top of happenings/trends in the publishing world to help out busy writers who are spending their time doing what they should be doing: writing.

1. From the Librarian Hall of Fame
No, there isn't actually a librarian hall of fame, but if there were, this 60-year library veteran would be in there.

2. Building your author platform
Great advice in this piece, including this little tidbit: "As old fashioned as email is, it is still by a very long way, the most powerful means of getting your message out. To be really blunt, 100 Facebook posts do not even come close to having the same affect as one well written and targeted email." TRUTH.

3. Diversity in publishing
Hollywood isn't the only place that has an issue here. Good piece by the Creative Penn.

4. Four Mindsets That Could Doom Your Social Media Marketing Efforts
Both ends of the spectrum are tackled here. Don't be an "I'm everywhere" or an "I'm nowhere". You need a good balance.

5. Seven Traits of the Social Writer
We particularly endorse the first one: "Embrace proactivity. If you have never written a blog post, never Tweeted or made a YouTube video, now is the time to learn. Old dogs can learn new tricks. See a post as a short article you have been asked to write, a Tweet as a link to something interesting and a YouTube video as a chance to talk."

6. The "Monkey in the Middle" Book Release Party
Eckhartz Press' very own Dobie Maxwell is hosting a free party at Zanies Comedy Club in Chicago (on Wells Street) on March 14th at 8:30pm. Comedy...and a book! You can't beat it.

Roger Daltrey

The lead singer of The Who is 72 years old today. He didn't only sing Who songs. He also released a few solo albums. Of all his solo material, this one is by far my favorite...

Joke for a Tuesday Morning

Thanks to "BC" for this one...

A woman and a man are involved in a car accident; it's a pretty bad one. Both cars are totally demolished but amazingly neither of them are hurt.

They crawl out of their cars, and the woman says, "So you're a man, that's interesting. I'm a woman. Wow, just look at our cars! There's nothing left, but fortunately we are not hurt. This must be a sign from God that we should meet and be friends and live together in peace for the rest of our days."

The man replied, "I agree with you completely we should meet and be friends."

"This must be a sign from God!" The woman continued, "And look at this, here's another miracle. My car is completely demolished but this bottle of wine didn't break. Surely God wants us to drink this wine and celebrate our amazing good fortune."

Then she hands the bottle to the man, The man nods his head in agreement, opens it and drinks half the bottle and then hands it back to the woman.

The woman takes the bottle, immediately puts the cork back in and hands it back to the man.

The man asks, "Aren't you having any?"

The woman replies, "No. I think I'll just wait for the police."

Play Dead

Thanks to "CA" for this one...

Happy Birthday Harry

Harry would have been 102 years old today. From Just One Bad Century...

~Harry Caray 1914 (Cubs announcer 1982-1997)
Harry was more than just the announcer for the Cubs. He was the symbol of the team during his time on the North Side. He had some great moments in the division winning year of 1984, but Cubs fans truly got a taste of what it would be without him when he had a stroke in 1987 and had to miss some time. When Harry Caray finally returned to the broadcast booth in May of 1987, it was a big deal across the country. He had been out of commission for the first month of the year, and WGN’s Superstation trumpeted his return across the nation. It seemed that every baseball fan in America was tuning in that day Harry returned. It also happened to be in an era when the President of the United States was a big Cubs fan, and he even called into the booth to wish Harry well. Most people would have been thrilled, but Harry took the phone call in stride, even when President Reagan said: “I just wanted to welcome you back. The Cubs need you, the baseball world needs you, and the country needs you. You’re great for baseball.” President Reagan went on to talk about Nancy, and Chicago, and his broadcasting days. Harry didn’t really seem to be paying attention to what the President said. Instead, he cut him off by saying “Mr. President, Bob Denier just singled and I’ve got to let you go.” Then he hung up on the President. How many people can say they have done that? Obviously, Ronald Reagan didn’t take it personally. The following season he came to Wrigley Field and did an inning with Harry in the booth. Harry passed away in February of 1998. He was replaced in the Cubs broadcast booth by his grandson Chip.

(In 1994, Harry also had the first lady of the country in the booth. It didn't turn out so well for her...)

Oscar Ratings

The show was not good, and that's reflected in the numbers.

Only 34.3 million tuned in--making it the lowest rated Oscars since 2008 (when Jon Stewart hosted).

I was in the grocery store yesterday and the cashier and bagger were discussing it.

"Too much black/white stuff," the bagger said.

"Too much Mad Max," the cashier replied. "I saw that movie. My son made me watch it. Steaming pile of crap."

The people have spoken.

Everything Must Go!

Tough times at Tribune Media these days. Check out this headline in Variety this morning: Tribune Media to Explore Sale of Company or Assets, Takes $385 Million Write Down

Now mind you, this is the part of the Tribune company that was supposed to be healthy--the part that was split off from the "dying" Tribune publishing. From the Variety article...

Tribune Media said it had no definitive timetable to complete its strategic review, and would not comment on the process “until such time as any definitive agreements may be entered into in the process or as otherwise appropriate or required.”

The company will continue its efforts to gain financial reward from its real-estate holdings, which include the Tribune Tower located in Chicago and the north block of the Los Angeles Times Square property located in Los Angeles.

Tribune also said it had secured agreements with top executives that will have them continue their employment. Liguori signed entered into a new two-year employment agreement, while Chandler Bigelow was named executive vice president and chief financial officer. Tribune Media’s general counsel, Eddie Lazarus, was named chief strategy officer.

Pfew. The executives are still being paid millions. Thankfully their payday will be unaffected as they hack and cut their way to solvency. Everyone else? Watch your back.

March Comes In Like a Lion

RIP Charlie Tuna

Charlie Tuna never worked in Chicago, but he was a radio legend in Los Angeles, one of the all-time great Top-40 jocks. Sad to hear the news. I listened to his show on Armed Forces Radio when we lived in Germany.

From All Access...

TUNA was honored with a star on the HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME in 1990.

In 1997, CHARLIE was voted one of the Top 10 L.A. Radio Personalities Of All Time by readers of the LOS ANGELES RADIO PEOPLE.

He was heard around the world daily on the ARMED FORCES RADIO NETWORK for a 25-year 6,000-show run from 1971 to 1996, as well as on numerous nationally syndicated radio shows, since the early '70s.

He could also be heard across the U.S., CANADA and internationally on his syndicated five-hour daily and weekend shows, plus a daily HOLLYWOOD MINUTE entertainment feature.

TUNA was the announcer for the television game show "Scrabble," which ran for seven years on NBC, and a dozen other TV shows ranging from "THE MIKE DOUGLAS SHOW" and "THICKE Of The Night," to "AMERICA'S TOP 10 WITH CASEY KASEM." He hosted "Cinema, Cinema, Cinema" for 30 years, an internationally syndicated TV show featuring the top movies in the U.S. each week, with clips from the films. He also hosted the international TV show "Inside HOLLYWOOD" for three years.

The Ultimate Trump Takedown

Trump's opponents should just ask John Oliver if they can run this as an infomercial in every Super Tuesday state. If they don't want to use it, I'm sure Hillary would. Wow.

Leap Day Birthday

Only one Cub in history was born on Leap Day. This guy...

How Low Can You Go?

Look, it's obvious that Trump overcompsensates for something. Anyone who puts his name in giant block letters on everything he owns, clearly has some issues. And I know that Trump says things like this all the time, but I'm still shocked that Marco Rubio said the following (from nbcnews.com)...

In response to the property mogul calling him "little Rubio," Rubio conceded that Trump was taller than him. However, the Florida senator suggested Trump had small hands for his height. "And you know what they say about guys with small hands," Rubio said with a smile, prompting stunned laughter from the crowd.

Seriously? You're going after the size of little Trump?

Without question, this is the lowest point in American political history.

Leap Day Grand Opening

A momentous day in Leap Day history in Chicago. On February 29, 1960, the first Playboy Club opened in Chicago.

DNAinfo has the details (and pictures)

Leap Day #1s

From Ron Smith's facebook page. I love this little tidbit of minutia...

Leap Year #1's in Chicago 1948-1988:

2/29/1948 - I'm Looking Over A Four Leaf Clover-Art Mooney
2/29/1952 - Blue Tango-Leroy Anderson
2/29/1956 - Poor People Of Paris-Les Baxter
2/29/1960 - The Theme From "A Summer Place"-Percy Faith
2/29/1964 - I Want To Hold Your Hand and She Loves You Beatles
2/29/1968 - Love Is Blue-Paul Mauriat
2/29/1972 - Without You-Nilsson
2/29/1976 - December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)-Four Seasons
2/29/1980 - Rock With You-Michael Jackson
2/29/1984 - 99 Red Balloons/99 Luftballons-Nena
2/29/1988 - Pump Up The Volume-M/A/R/R/S

This has to be the last #1 song in America sung in German...

Trumped!

I may be biased because "The Producers" is my favorite comedy of all-time, and Trump is my least favorite Presidential candidate of all-time, but I consider this bit on Jimmy Kimmel's post-Oscar show last night pure brilliance. Really. It's fantastic...

The Oscars

Was it me, or was that an incredibly boring Oscars this year?

I thought Chris Rock did a good job. His best joke: "Jada boycotting the Oscars this year is like me boycotting Rihanna's panties. I wasn't invited."

Biggest oversight: Abe Vigoda. How dare they forget Salvatore Tessio?

By the three hour mark, I thought, "Point made. We get it. Not enough diversity."

By the four hour mark, I thought, "I don't care if it wins 12 Oscars, I'm still not going to see that Mad Max movie."

Finally, in the last few moments, Leo DiCaprio won his Oscar. Finally, that poor guy can get laid.

In case you were wondering, for this year's Oscars I wore my favorite designer: Adi Das...sweatpants.

A Graphic Nightmare

Wow. Just wow.

The Supreme Court

I think agree with every word in this New Yorker piece about Antonin Scalia, written by Jeffrey Toobin.

And David Brooks (a Republican) has a great piece in today's New York Times about how we got to this point in history. This paragraph is such a "duh" observation, but is somehow being said almost nowhere in the media...

We’re now at a point where the Senate says it won’t even hold hearings on a presidential Supreme Court nominee, in clear defiance of custom and the Constitution. We’re now at a point in which politicians live in fear if they try to compromise and legislate. We’re now at a point in which normal political conversation has broken down. People feel unheard, which makes them shout even louder, which further destroys conversation.

So true, David. But nobody's listening.

This used to be considered a comedy...

Truth

Thanks to "JH" for this one...