Biondi Still Rocks Windy City

NEWS & VIEWS > ASK THE GEATOR

By Jerry Blavat

Add Comment | Comments: 0 | Posted Oct. 10, 2012

Dick Biondi

Once again, greetings and salutations. And are you ready for the big weekend? Yes, it’s Fabulous Fifties and Beyond Weekend in Wildwood. I’ll kick it off with our gigantic dance party Friday night, and then on Saturday you can enjoy a street fair during the day and a live show at night with the Orlons, the Fifth Dimension, Paul Revere & the Raiders, and more. For tickets and more information, call 729-4000. 

Then before you know it, we’ll be taking off for our third annual Malt Shop Memories Cruise at the end of the month. And the 2013 cruise dates have just been announced: Nov. 3-10. Stay tuned for more about that exciting event. But now, let’s ask the Geator. 

You have been playing a version of the song “Watch What Happens” that I like very much. You said it was by a group from the Baltimore area but I didn’t get the name of the group. — Carolyn, Point Pleasant, N.J. 

The group is the Royalettes. Great song, and as you know, it was composed by Michel Legrand for the film Umbrellas of Cherbourg. The song was produced by two of my all-time favorite talents, Don Costa and Teddy Randazzo, who created the sound of the Royalettes. 

And here’s a trivia question for you: What was the other hit song from Umbrellas of Cherbourg? Answer below.  

Do you know Dick Biondi, who is a legendary DJ on WLS here in Chicago? — Don Wirth, Naperville, Ill. 

Yes, Biondi is one of the true giants of radio. First met him back in the latter part of the ’50s, when I was on the road with Danny & the Juniors and we worked the Windy City and visited Dick on his show. He struck me with his sincerity and genuine love of the music, and that’s why he is still as popular today in Chicago as he was back when he first began. 

I spotted something in a newspaper about new rules this year for songs that are eligible for Academy Awards, but there was no explanation. Do you know anything about this? — Brian Kennedy, Tampa, Fla. 

Only that previously, a song needed a minimum number of votes in order to qualify for an Oscar nomination. This resulted in some years having very few best-song nominees, notably last year when there were only two. That has now changed so that the five songs that get the most votes all will be nominated. 

Do you remember the Concord Ballroom and/or the Avalon Pier that was above the movie theater, and when we did the Bristol Stomp, they would complain? — Steven J. Leng Yardley, Pa.  

Yes, I do remember those ballrooms because I worked both of them. Don’t remember anyone complaining, but I do remember that when the kids would do the Stomp on the second floor of the Chez Vous ballroom, the windows from the supermarket would pop. That’s where the complaints came from. 

Answer to trivia question: “I Will Wait for You.”  

Got a question for Jerry? Send it to AskTheGeator@acweekly.com or Geator Gold Radio, 626 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106. For more info on Jerry’s appearances, go to www.geator.net — and keep on rocking, ’cause you only rock once!

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