Posted by Randy on May 21, 2011 at 13:51:45:
Chicago radio veteran�s new book replays oldies history day by day
May 18th, 2011 @ 12:00 am | Timeout Chicago
You may think today is just another ordinary day. But to Ron Smith, there are no ordinary days.
Ask him about May 18 and he�ll tell you that on this date in music history:
�Albert Hammond (It Never Rains in Southern California) is born in 1942; Perry Como (Catch a Falling Star) is born in 1912; �Big� Joe Turner (Shake, Rattle and Roll) is born in 1911; Kai Winding (More) is born in 1922.
�Diana Ross leaves Motown Records and signs a $20 million contract with RCA (the most lucrative ever at the time) in 1981.
��John Fogerty Day� is declared in Los Angeles to honor the Creedence Clearwater Revival founder in 2010.
�Jackie DeShannon makes her network TV debut on CBS� Jackie Gleason Show in 1963.�The Barry Manilow Ultimate Manilow special airs on CBS in 2002.
�A musical version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, written by Dennis DeYoung of Styx, opens in Chicago in 2008.
�The Buddy Holly Story movie premieres in Dallas, Texas, in 1978.
�I Was Made to Love Her by Stevie Wonder is released in 1967; The Animals� House of the Rising Sun is released in 1964; The Hollies� Bus Stop is released in 1966.
In fact, Smith can give you a list at least that long for every day of the year. And he�s just compiled them all in a new book titled Eight Days a Week: Births, Deaths and Events Each Day in Oldies History. Released by Heights Publishing and available on Amazon.com, it�s a fascinating compendium of rock �n� roll facts, figures and ephemera.
A 40-year veteran of oldies radio, Smith is best known for his long runs as music director of WJMK-FM (104.3) and Real Oldies 1690. It was there that the daily calendar of notable events he provided for air talent morphed into the format�s premier website oldiesmusic.com.
In his foreword to the book, Radio Hall of Famer Dick Biondi calls Smith �one of the most knowledgeable people in the United States when it comes to the music of the �50s, �60s and �70s,� and says he considered Smith�s calendar a �true ratings builder� for the air staff at WJMK.
Eight Days a Week actually is an outgrowth of material Smith has been compiling since his college radio days at WONC-FM in Naperville. He still remembers the day in 1975 � May 8 to be exact � when he discovered that it was Rick Nelson�s birthday and spotlighted the singer�s biggest hits on his show. �It was so well received that I began to collect more such dates,� he recalled. �To this day, I can remember the enjoyment I felt celebrating the birthdays of Fats Domino, Johnny Cash and Mitch Ryder on the same day.�
Smith�s previous reference books include three volumes of Chicago Top 40 Charts from the �60s, �70s and �80s, based on the WLS Silver Dollar Survey.