King of the Music Geeks
Ever listen to the Ramones, Coldplay, New Order or the Jesus and Mary Chain? Then you have Rodney Bingenheimer to thank. Having grown up surrounded by the LA music scene and working as a stand in on the Monkees, Rodney made his name in the 1960s with his music club, Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco while he was writing for music magazines such as and GoPhonograph Record.In 1976, he joined forced with KROQ to produce his show, "Rodney on the Roq" which gave him a forum to promote such bands as Blondie, Oasis, Tom Petty and No Doubt. It seemed that Rodney was at the center of things, defining the taste of over three generations of music listeners. It was in the 1990s that KROQ sunk his time slot deep in Sunday night (from 12am to 3am Monday morning if you want to get technical about it.) Their morning djs made fun of him. Yet Rodney persisted. Once asked why he didn't pick up stakes and move to competitor, Indie 103.1 where he could get some respect, he replied, "Then I wouldn't be Rodney on the Roq."
It was when the documentary about him, The Mayor of Sunset Strip, came out in 2003 that Rodney's status as a new kind of countercultural icon was cemented. The movie showed him as a man who was alienated by his family, found the strength to pursue his passions. Though some people merely look at him as a hanger-on, a groupie, he has made an enormous contribution to rock music as we know it.
Recently, Ben Nelson (son of Rick Nelson -- no his not one of the twinkie twins) has started a campaign to get Rodney a star on the Walk of Fame. Other DJs, such as Ryan Seacrest and Rick Dees have stars. KROQ stepped up to the plate and staged a walk-a-thon to earn the 15K necessary to get the star. Despite all their best efforts, on July 5th, it was announced that Rodney wouldn't make the cut in 2005 (more specifically, when his application came up, no one knew who he was), though his application will roll over for consideration in 2006.
posted by kuaptic. @ 8:26 AM
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