1940s–1950s Biondi was born and raised in Endicott, New York. His lifelong love of radio began at an early age, when he was allowed to read a commercial on
WMBO in
Auburn, New York. Another co-worker, himself a sportscaster, took an interest in the young Biondi and began working with him on pronunciation and diction. He continued on to KVOB, Bastrop, Louisiana, but it wasn't until working for
KSYL in Alexandria that Biondi started doing music shows. It was here where he became acquainted with
rhythm and blues. At a 1956
Cleveland Elvis Presley concert, Biondi had Elvis sign the shirt he was wearing. When Biondi returned to the crowd, Presley's frenzied female fans started tearing away at it. Biondi was hospitalized, to the amusement of Elvis. Biondi was hired in 1958 by
WKBW (1520 AM) in Buffalo; at WKBW if conditions were right, Biondi could be heard in Europe. in Buffalo, from which he was also fired in spring 1960. Two weeks later, which covered most of the
United States east of the
Continental Divide and drove his breakthrough to fame.
1960s–1970s To promote the WLS "Bright New Sound" which premiered May 2, 1960, Biondi recalled the first record he played on the new WLS was Elvis's "Teddy Bear." Many record company executives considered him a vital part of the hitmaking process. Biondi's playing a record on his show gave it maximum exposure to a very large audience; he was the most popular
night time DJ in the Midwest. There was a lot of fun at WLS; in response to the record, "There Was Fungus Among Us", Dick issued his listeners "Fungus Licenses". In 1961 he made a record, "On Top of a Pizza" (a parody of "On Top of Old Smoky"), that became a local hit. The flip side of the record is "Knock-Knock", a nod to the jokes Dick told on the air so often. (e.g., "Knock knock." "Who's there?" "Biondi." "Biondi who?" "Biondi Blue Horizon.") In 1963, Biondi left WLS over a dispute involving the number of
commercials on his radio show. Rumors and urban legends still persist that Biondi told an obscene joke on the air which resulted in his being fired. Part of Biondi's hiatus from radio was spent making a record album, ''Dick Biondi's Favorites - the Teenagers
with Ray Stevens. He moved to KRLA, then the No. 1 Top 40 station in the Los Angeles market. Not long after arriving there, Dick created The Dick Biondi Road Show'' which brought new acts to perform at high schools all over Southern California. From 1964 to 1965, between
KRLA stints, he hosted a nationally
syndicated show, ''Dick Biondi's Young America'', carried by 125 stations on the
Mutual Broadcasting System. Through this program, Dick was heard on WCFL 3 years prior to his signing with the station. During his time with the Mutual show, Biondi obtained exclusivity rights for records for all of his subscriber stations; this was a big boost to their ability to be competitive in smaller radio markets. He returned to KRLA in early 1965, soon after the Mutual show was cancelled. Biondi returned to Chicago on
WCFL (1000 AM) in 1967. In addition to his regular airshift, Dick did many specialty shows for WCFL:
Pop Goes the Music and
In the Beginning looked back at early Rock and Roll;
This Is Elvis explored Elvis's life, and
Dick Biondi Labels the Blues delved into that genre and its influence on Rock and Roll.
Dick Biondi and Friend was an interview program featuring then-current popular music stars. There was also the weekly "Vietnam Show" that allowed listeners to send greetings to family and friends serving overseas; copies went to
Armed Forces Radio Network. In 1972, after a short time at
WMAQ (AM), he left Chicago once again, working at
WBZ Boston,
WSAI Cincinnati, and a decade-long stint on
WNMB in
North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Beginning in 1976, during his time at WNMB, Dick produced a syndicated program called ''Dick Biondi's Super Gold Rock and Roll'' which was syndicated to about 60 radio stations. WNMB began rebroadcasting the shows on February 3, 2010.
1980s–2017 In the early 1980s, former
WLS DJ
Bob Sirott was a reporter for
WBBM-TV. He did an ongoing feature,
Where Are They Now? which located and interviewed former famous Chicagoans who had slipped from local prominence. Dick was the subject of Sirott's show in 1982; it was enough to rekindle local radio professional interest in him and Biondi returned to Chicago the next year - briefly working at
WBBM (96.3 FM). In 1984, he was the signature voice for the launch of the new Oldies station
WJMK (104.3 FM), where he was heard until the station switched formats in June 2005.
Columbia College Chicago presented
Inside the Radio Studio with Dick Biondi & Herb Kent - 100 Years on the Air on April 10, 2010. Both were on the air until Kent died on October 22, 2016. In May 2017, Biondi released a statement declaring his intention to return after reportedly recovering from a leg ailment for which he was hospitalized. This never materialized ==Awards and recognition==