Dick Biondi, Beloved Chicago Radio Legend, Dead at Age 90

Baby Boomers across Chicago and anyone who listened to rock n’ roll radio around the country in the past 50 years likely knows the name Dick Biondi, aka “The Wild Itralian.” Biondi remains a beloved DJ who made friends and loyal listeners wherever the radio waves would broadcast, from Los Angeles to his native New York, and anywhere 50,000 watts reached in between. Word is making its way around the music community that the beloved icon passed away on June 26, at the age of 90.

If ever there was one among a leader board of favorite Chicago DJs whose personality shined across the nighttime, it was Biondi. Credited as the very first American DJ to debut a Beatles record on air, and best known by Chicago music icons as the “man who gave us our first big breaks” with local airplay” when they were first beginning, Dick Biondi was the teenage musician’s friend.

Carl Giammarese, lead singer of The Buckinghams, said today, “Dick gave so many of us our first big breaks on radio. He would play our songs for local audiences, emcee our sock hops and he made sure people knew the names of our songs, our band’s names, and that we were Chicago’s very own musicians.

Founding bass player of The Buckinghams, Nick Fortuna, said, “every one of the musicians in the Cornerstones of Rock garage bands concerts can thank Dick Biondi.”

Indeed, inasmuch as music empresario Ron Onesti is to music venues across Chicagoland, Biondi was the voice and face of WLS radio, WCFL, and WBBM in Chicago as well as KRLA in Los Angeles, and WBZ in Boston. The playlists of Chicago radio stations were filled by tallying the phone calls of teenagers, mostly girls, who called the stations to request their favorite songs.

For his 89th birthday, Ron Onesti hosted a big birthday bash as a fundraiser in time for Dick's birthday. Pictured here (photo credit to the Chicago Daily Herald) are Ron Onesti, Frankie Avalon, and Dick Biondi. The event was held on Sept. 19, 2021.

Before the days of programmers and consultants, the pulse of the music scene came directly from the phone lines and industrious young teens who spent hours each evening dialing in. That is one half of the factor; the other part was Dick Biondi promoting each song by talking about the group, what high school or schools they went to. Jim Peterik and his band together with his best friends from Berwyn, best known as The Ides of March, were identified by name, The New Colony Six, many friends from St. Pat’s High School, the Cryan' Shames, and the Shadows of Knight were just some of the garage bands who became local hits and icons because their singles were played by Biondi.

The first Chicago horn band, The MOB, featuring James Holvay, Gary Beisbier, Mike Sistak, Jimmy Ford, Al Herrera, Tony Nedza, and Bobby Ruffino, was a major showband best known for their amazing choreography in addition to their classic new music that featured a strong horn sound long before the band Chicago became similarly famous.

Their fame extended to Los Angeles and Las Vegas where they were embraced as innovative. Here's Dick Biondi introducing the MOB's song "I Dig Everything About You (written by J. Holvay/G. Beisbier)." Not only did he announce them, he got to know them as individuals and friends, forever the artist's advocate.

Listen to Dick's intro here: https://www.facebook.com/100000166204300/videos/4363515183663979/

The Buckinghams achieved national fame at the same time Dick Biondi was in Los Angeles and he played “Don’t You Care” on his show out there. The musician’s advocate, Dick Biondi was just as much a genuine friend to each musician as he was a fan of their music. He took pride in them, and they in him. This 2010 photo by Susan Rakis of Dick and Carl Giammarese shows the regard for "hometown talent doing well nationally" as so many of the Chicago bands had dreams of hitting the bigtime.

Hearing their songs on the radio conjures up the excitement of the Oneders, the band featured in Tom Hanks' movie, "That Thing You Do," where the teens hear their song played for the first time on air and start running through the streets with transistor radios blasting and hearts soaring. Biondi made those dreams come true for so many young men (and let's not forget young women when he played the sounds of Carl Bonafede's group, The Daughters of Eve).

A major fan of the Chicago Cubs, Dick Biondi enjoyed singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" any chance he could, including at Chicago's Wrigley Field, accompanied by Jim Peterik (complete with ukelele), Carl Giammarese, and Ronnie Rice (photo by Frankie Bartilotta, 2009). These guys could make every song sound great.

And here's an overnight segment of Dick and Carl singing:

And, you can enjoy Ronnie Rice singing Happy birthday to Dick for his 90th birthday. https://fb.watch/lwEzYE9Wo7/

When Chicago got Biondi’s voice back on local airwaves after a long and illustrious career, they inherited a man who had been inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. He was honored by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but was specifically vocal about his displeasure that the R&R HOF had neglected to induct Chicago-the band who deserved the distinction and took offense at their being overlooked, forever the Chicagoland musician’s advocate.

As recently as 2010, you’d see Dick Biondi introducing The Buckinghams at local Chicagofests with the enthusiasm of a teenager. Eventually he returned to WLS nighttime broadcasting but ultimately was sectioned off to the after 10pm-midnight time span, undoubtedly to dissuade him from hanging in there. Yet, he rejected the idea of active retirement for as long as his health would allow it.

In fact, every year at Christmas, Biondi called upon his friends Carl Giammarese and Susan Rakis, Jim Peterik, Ronnie Rice, and a host of other music friends to come down to remote broadcasts for U-Can at Christmas time as he collected funds and canned goods for deserving families at Christmastime. Watch here. You’d be hard-pressed to find a harder worker for the greater good for such a consecutive period of time as Dick Biondi. You can watch some of JMike100's Christmas videos on YouTube by searching.

In the past decade, a host of Chicago music legends have been interviewed and filmed by local filmmaker and music enthusiast/researcher Pamela Pulice, ably assisted by director of marketing Joe Farina, Phyllis Spizzirri, Al and Dolores Weissman, and other key team members in the production of “The Dick Biondi Film,” an hour-long documentary about Dick’s life and career.

Here are Dick and Phyllis Spizzirri

It's been a labor of love the past nine years for Pulice, who has reached out to Chicago music favorites Jim Peterik, Carl Giammarese, Ron Onesti, Ronnie Rice, and Dennis Tufano, for assistance in fund-raising.

Pam has often been able to count on The Meteors to perform at fund raisers for this film honoring Dick--so many people love this man.

The musicians who performed in several years worth of Cornerstones of Rock concerts at the Arcada Theatre would regularly autograph guitars for auction with proceeds to help fund the documentary.

Longtime Buckinghams fan Greg Ellis was high bidder and won one of the guitars for a substantial contribution. Another couple matched the bid for a second guitar to help the film. Greg has seen the group at least 133 times (as of two months ago) in concert, so he's a pretty solid example of Chicago music loyalty.

Here in this video, former Northbrook Days favorite Jim Reynolds (among his other jobs) and wife Kally bid and won the opportunity to visit with Carl Giammarese at one of Pam's auctions. Chicago musicians giving of their time is not unique, but the number of times they responded to help this production along shows how beloved Biondi is and always will be: https://fb.watch/lwCLZ7y0ye/

Here, in just one interview, Pam Pulice captured Carl Giammarese talking about Dick: https://fb.watch/lwB_sQke1o/ In the past two months, three sneak preview showings have taken place at the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles and Hobart, Indiana. A third sneak preview is set for July 9 at David Fink’s Acorn Theatre in Three Oaks, Michigan. It’s in its very final stages of securing the dollars to license the music that is an integral part of the documentary prior to a national release. Check out the film’s website for details and to donate.

Here is one team photo from the behind the scenes of the Dick Biondi film from their website https://www.dickbiondifilm.com/

Every time a Baby Boomer in Chicago punches a button to tune in their cars, catching the oldies wherever they listen to their classic rock now, know that the name, the gifts, and the talents of Dick Biondi will forever be remembered, with thanks and honor, by so many. It’s rare that a radio personality has the longevity of 50+ years in the business but Dick was truly that kind of talent, a genuine gentleman who loved the music as much as you did.

Here are Joe Farina, Pam Pulice, and Ron Onesti, whose combined talents helped bring this dream to fruition.

George Bernard Shaw once wrote “Most people go to their grave with their music inside them.” Dick Biondi lived and breathed the music of his soul, every day of his life. Dick Biondi was truly an icon and one amazing talent who will be forever remembered with respect.

Dick Biondi September 13, 1932 – June 26, 2023