The long-standing friendship between Dick Biondi and Carl Giammarese is one of mutual respect and regard based on love of hometown Chicago, the music and life stemming from the 1960s rise of hometown natives moving up on radio charts, propelled strongly by WLS radio as one of the major champions of hits by The Buckinghams and so many others.
Carl said recently, “Because Dick Biondi believed in us, because he respected Carl Bonafede, and because he had a gift for making people believe in who he believed in, we owe him great thanks for making 50,000 Watts of power available to hometown Chicago guys with dreams. Our families have been great friends for decades and one of my favorite times of the year is Christmas, when Dick does his annual toy drive for children around town. Susan Rakis faithfully takes photos when I join Dick on air and in the malls each Christmas. We enjoy fans coming up to ask us when we’re going to take our act on the road. We don’t know, but we still like to be asked.”
Clearly, there’s no better Chicago ambassador to the world than Dick Biondi—his loyalty, love, and commitment to his town is a benchmark for others to follow. He has a heart of gold and everyone should know that!
This wonderful Dick Biondi Film project is a labor of love by Pam Pulice and her outstanding team that will correctly chronicle Chicago music history, Biondi style, and will share exactly what he did for the music of The Buckinghams, The Shadows of Knight, The Ides of March, The Cryan’ Shames, The New Colony Six, and so many more of “the neighborhood guys in garages and basements.”
The Cornerstones of Rock Concert, first popular at Chicago’s WTTW-TV, then Ron Onesti’s Arcada Theatre, and now traveling the United States, are as popular as they are because Dick Biondi has talked about these bands 24/7 for now 50 years, throwing all of his heart and soul into it. This Film Project is most worthy of support, at any level we can afford ($5 – $1000); together, our voices of appreciation can be heard, and Dick Biondi’s living legacy will arrive by May, 2018.
Join them today; let your voice be heard. Show your support by making a pledge.
Dawn Lee Wakefield, Publicist for The Buckinghams and freelance writer