Rodney Bingenheimer
This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. (December 2023) |
Rodney Bingenheimer | |
---|---|
Born | [1] | December 15, 1946
Occupation | Radio DJ |
Career | |
Station | Sirius XM |
Style | Disc jockey |
Country | United States |
Rodney Bingenheimer (born December 15, 1946) is an American radio disc jockey who is best known as the host of Rodney on the ROQ, a radio program that ran on the Los Angeles rock station KROQ-FM from 1976 to 2017.[2] In the early 1970s, he also managed a Los Angeles nightclub called Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco.[3]
Bingenheimer helped numerous bands become successful in the American market.
In 2003, Bingenheimer was the subject of the documentary
Early life
Bingenheimer was born in Mountain View, California, to a star-struck mother who separated from Bingenheimer's father when he was only three years old.[2] His father had wanted to be a celebrity but settled for attending celebrity golf events.[6] His mother was described as a "difficult woman" and a "relentless autograph hound".[6]
One report suggested he had a lonely childhood, since he often spent nights alone while his mother worked as a waitress.[2] Another report suggested that the emerging rock music of the day became his "home" and a way for him to deal with the divorce of his parents.[1] He devoured fan magazines; he was "obsessed" with stars.[5]
When Bingenheimer was 16,[6][10] his mother drove him to southern California and dropped him off at the house of Connie Stevens, and instructed him to get the star's autograph. Then she left abruptly. This was the beginning of a six-year separation from his mother, and he was on his own in Los Angeles,[2] around the year 1963.[6]
Career
When Bingenheimer arrived in Los Angeles actor Sal Mineo dubbed him "The Mayor of the Sunset Strip". He formed friendships with pop stars of the day such as the Byrds and Sonny & Cher, for whom he was a live-in publicist. In his own words, Bingenheimer "became the talk of the town because I had the perfect Brian Jones 'do' (hairstyle)."
Bingenheimer worked as an intern at
Becoming Jones's stand-in was an inauguration into a peculiar cult of celebrity.
— Film criticBoston Globe 2004.[6]
Bingenheimer was described as shy, thin and unassuming with a "squeaky voice",
(Bingenheimer is) Homuncular, with spindly little legs and a Prince Valiant mop atop sagging features, he now looks like a strenuously mod Don Knotts.
Bingenheimer became a groupie of sorts and formed attachments with prominent artists including
In a later interview, Bingenheimer explained that many artists grew to like and trust him because of his sincerity, taste in music and not being pushy.
In those days of "free love", he found many young women to "mother him" and sometimes have sex with him.[11] He was described as being a go-between serving the needs of young women and rock stars and often had sex with women as a precondition for them meeting rock stars later on, according to writer David Edelstein in Slate magazine.[11] Wherever he went in the music and club scene, "his face was his passport".[5] According to Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant, Bingenheimer had sex with more women than Plant.[5]
Incidents contributed to Bingenheimer's notoriety. He and
In the late 1960s he was hired by
Club days
Bingenheimer flew back and opened a nightclub initially called the E Club on Sunset Strip with two partners.[3][12] Outside there was the British flag, the Union Jack.[1] It served "British bangers" and beer.[1] It had a small "VIP area" which was a roped-off section near the dance floor.[5]
The decor consisted mainly of mirrored walls. ... The dress of choice: feather boas, platform shoes, high-drama makeup and, of course, glitter. After three months, the club outgrew its space and reestablished itself down the street as Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco. The dance floor was packed with glittered-booty shakers, but the real action could be found in the VIP booth. Led Zeppelin, Andy Warhol, Suzi Quatro, Alice Cooper, the New York Dolls, the Kinks, Michael Des Barres or Marc Bolan held court while getting liquored up on imported ale. ... The English Disco closed when glitter faded in the late '70s. -- reporter Kastle Waserman in the Los Angeles Times in 2001[3]
The club opened in October 1972 at 8171 Sunset, near his various West Hollywood apartments, and Bowie was one of the club's first guests. It subsequently moved to 7561 Sunset and was renamed
The English Disco also featured occasional live performances, including appearances by
Speaking of this period, David Bowie later recalled:
Alone in LA, Rodney seemed like an island of English nowness. He even knew British singles and bands that I wasn't aware of. Rodney singlehandedly cut a path through the treacle of the Sixties, allowing all us avants to parade our sounds of tomorrow dressed in our clothes of derision. -- David Bowie[13]
When the club closed in 1975, Bingenheimer was reportedly disenchanted with the stylized dance-genre disco to the extent that he abruptly abandoned his club "English Disco", so as not to be associated with the popular movement. But a later report suggested that a disagreement between the owners was the primary cause of the club's closure. During this brief period between his nightclub and KROQ, he made extra money selling his
Bingenheimer briefly resurrected the English Disco in the early 2000s. The Los Angeles-based punk/new wave group The Von Steins performed at the grand re-opening.
Radio days: KROQ
Due to his connections within the burgeoning L.A./Hollywood music scene, Bingenheimer was given a show on the then-relatively unknown Pasadena radio stations KROQ-AM and FM, called Rodney on the ROQ, which began in August 1976 and had its last broadcast June 5, 2017.[7] His tentative voice conveyed a "painful sincerity", suggesting that he "loves the music he plays", discussing it like a matchmaker introducing a person to a song.[5]
His radio show had an influence on the emerging Los Angeles punk scene in the late 1970s, while Bingenheimer was at stated odds with the prevailing country-rock style that dominated West Coast music. The show featured the latest punk, new wave and glam rock[11] releases from London and New York, and labored to help artists build their careers alongside "anybody brave or stupid enough to put out a record in Los Angeles," he said. Bingenheimer later summed up his programming philosophy:
I was always anti-Eagles, anti-beards. Within a few months I was playing four solid hours of punk. – Rodney Bingenheimer
Bingenheimer was one of the very few DJs on commercial radio in Los Angeles who was said to have autonomy over music selection. and others.
Bingenheimer developed a reputation in Los Angeles for being a kingmaker for new artists. His show became an influential part of KROQ, and helped the station become a strong influence nationally. One reporter wrote "if you make it onto KROQ in America, you've made it in America. This is the house that Rodney built and which corporate radio has spread like spores across the nation."[1]
Many bands knocked on the parking lot door of KROQ's studio in Pasadena and handed Rodney a copy of their new record or tape. If he liked a track, such as Agent Orange's 1979 hit "Bloodstains," he would play that song within the hour.
In 1978, guitarist Eddie Vincent and drummer Tad of
In 1995, Bingenheimer introduced a segment to his show titled "American in London", co-hosted by Liza Kumjian-Smith, focusing on news and releases from upcoming British bands, which brought Brit Pop to the US and broke many UK bands such as Coldplay, Doves, Muse, Pulp, and more recently the Arctic Monkeys, among others.
In the final years of his weekly show, he had been relegated to the midnight to 3:00 a.m. slot on Monday mornings. In 1998, he interviewed the Toronto band Chicklet when they dropped by the station while on tour. This was his first live air interview in years, with an interview of Bad Religion said to be his last prior to this occasion. Film critic Roger Ebert quoted another employee of the station as having said that the station management was "afraid to fire him ... because he's the soul of KROQ."[5] Bingenheimer was also responsible for three Rodney on the ROQ compilation albums as well as the compact disc and later digital download compendium. Also Flipside (fanzine) worked on the Rodney on the ROQ compilation album projects with Posh Boy Records and Rodney Bingenheimer to help unite the project together. The album's inserts were issues of Los Angeles Flipside Fanzine. Each insert includes the bands of each volume (music tracks and lyrics) including pictures and interviews gathered by Flipside. Rodney on The ROQ Volume 1 included Flipside Fanzine insert Issue 21 (December 1980).[18] Rodney on The ROQ Volume 2 included Flipside Fanzine Issue 28 (November 1981).[19] Rodney on The ROQ Volume 3 included Flipside Fanzine Issue 35 (December 82).[20] This was a strategic time for a radio personality, a record label and a fanzine to work together to support and promote a growing musical underground and exclusive punk scene. "The Best of Rodney On The Roq" on Posh Boy Records.[21][22] In an interview on June 29, 2017, talking about why his show was cancelled earlier on June 5, he mentioned that "I have no idea. They have new owners. They are going through a lot of changes right now". He continued to say, "But I was totally shocked. I went to a meeting and I thought it was with everyone (the staff of KROQ), but it was just me. They said it would be better for me and I might not be happy there anymore."[23]
He was present at "nearly every major interval in the evolution of rock 'n' roll" but was described as being relatively unknown outside of Los Angeles, according to the
He is perpetually, exclusively, and proudly with the band. But at what cost? His associations with the famous have not made him rich. His friendships with the rich have not made him famous. And arriving at the end of middle age, with his mother – and, from what I can gather, his best friend – recently deceased, he's a figure of incredible loneliness. –
Boston Globe film critic Wesley Morris in 2004.[6]
Another report painted the same picture:
Rodney has facilitated the multimillion-dollar careers of the biggest names in music. He got Bowie an American record deal – and yet he lives in a modest six-room apartment in Hollywood, plays his records on a $69 phonograph bought at a chain drug store and, most recently, his fabled radio show was rudely shunted into the midnight to 3am slot. On Sundays. – The Guardian reporter Alison Powell.[1]
Personal life
In Mayor of the Sunset Strip, director Hickenlooper examined Bingenheimer's life in a documentary format. According to one account, Bingenheimer was described as "intensely private" and was nervous about the documentary project to film his life; filming took place over a six-year period. According to this report, Bingenheimer found it was sometimes difficult to answer questions about his parents and love life.[1]
The movie suggested that Bingenheimer has had sex with "scores of women" during his earlier days but those relationships did not form into lasting attachments with any particular woman.[6] He has never married but apparently still holds on to the possibility that he will find a woman who has the "ideal 1960s vision in plastic miniskirt, Mary Quant lashes and ropes of bullion fringe."[1]
In one scene in the documentary, Bingenheimer and a younger woman who he introduces on camera to celebrities as his "girlfriend" are being interviewed, and it is only at the end of the scene that it is revealed that she has another boyfriend and does not feel romantic towards Rodney; "by the time the scene is over, you feel devastated for him: his face says, 'I was jilted at the prom'", according to
The movie "is a portrait of a man who has always needed celebrities to validate him", according to David Edelstein in
Sexual assault allegations
In April 2023, Kari Krome, co-founding member and primary songwriter of the Runaways, filed a lawsuit against Bingenheimer and the estate of the now-deceased Fowley, accusing Bingenheimer and Fowley of sexually assaulting her in the 1970s when she was 13.[27] In December, five more women came forward accusing Bingenheimer of sexual assault when they were minors, including Go-Go's guitarist Jane Wiedlin.[28]
Cultural appearances
- Bingenheimer was seen driving the Ramones' pink Cadillac in the film Rock 'n' Roll High School, and provided the hand clapping in "The Return of Jackie and Judy" on the Phil Spector-produced End of the Century. He also appears in the video for their 1986 song "Something to Believe In".
- He appeared as himself in Cheech & Chong's 1978 film Up in Smoke.
- He appeared DJing at KROQ in the documentary X: The Unheard Music about X, the punk band from Los Angeles.
- He was the subject of the documentary film Chris Carter.
- After years of grassroots support, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce decided to acknowledge his contribution to music and radio with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame which was presented on March 9, 2007.[29] This is the 2,330th star awarded, and it is in front of the Knitting Factory nightclub at 7021 Hollywood Blvd.[30] When asked about his star, he said "then people can literally walk all over me" but added "from down there I can look up girls' dresses."[1]
- Bingenheimer was portrayed by J. P. Manoux in the Darby Crash biopic What We Do Is Secret.
- Bingenheimer was played by Keir O'Donnell in the 2010 biopic The Runaways.
- Bingenheimer recorded a single titled "I Hate the '90s", and did spoken-word vocals with Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Hole's Eric Erlandson, and cut singles with Lita Ford (Lets Make the Scene) and Blondie with the single "Little GTO".[12]
- He appears in Troma Entertainment's B.C. Butcher as himself.
- He appears as himself in the Japanese film, Ghostroads – A Japanese Rock n Roll Ghost Story.
- He appears in the film Nina Hagen = Punk + Glory, released in 2002.[31]
- He appears in the 2018 documentary Bad Reputation about the career of rock musician Joan Jett.
- He appears in the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Krab Borg" as a radio station DJ.
- He appears in the 1990 film Rockula as a backstage audience member.
Bibliography
- Hoskyns, Barney; Waiting for the Sun: Strange Days, Weird Scenes and the Sound of Los Angeles (Bloomsbury Books, 2003)[32]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Alison Powell (February 5, 2005). "Scene there, done that: Big in America? If you're in a band, then DJ Rodney Bingenheimer probably helped. Alison Powell meets the man who sold Elvis pints of bitter". The Guardian. London. Retrieved December 24, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e Kenneth Turan (March 26, 2004). "The guy with the band". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 24, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f Kastle waserman (October 4, 2001). "As Glam as Ever: Rodney's English Disco at Tempest recalls the original's 1970s heyday". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 24, 2010.
- ^ Jaime wolf (June 26, 2005). "The Star Maker of the Semipopular". The New York Times. Retrieved December 24, 2010.
and Rodney Bingenheimer, whose long-running show on KROQ served as the launching pad for Blondie, X, Hole and numerous iconic bands of the 70's, 80's and 90's.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Roger Ebert (April 23, 2004). "Mayor of the Sunset Strip". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Wesley Morris (April 30, 2004). "Mayor of the Sunset Strip". Boston Globe. Retrieved December 24, 2010.
Rodney Bingenheimer is a fixture on the Los Angeles music scene, adored by the dirtiest, the most famous, the most talented people in rock: David Bowie, Gwen Stefani, one of the Gallagher brothers from Oasis. ...
- ^ a b Morning Edition, June 2, 2017, NPR, After 40 Years, DJ Rodney Bingenheimer Will Say Goodbye To KROQ, Retrieved June 5, 2017
- ^ a b c "Influential LA rock DJ gets his star". Boston Globe. Associated Press. March 9, 2007. Retrieved December 24, 2010.
Dubbed the "Mayor of the Sunset Strip," Rodney Bingenheimer launched the careers of such bands as Blondie and Blur on his longtime radio rock show.
- ^ "Rodney joins SiriusXM". Variety. Variety Media. June 28, 2017. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
- ^ Note: another report was this happened when Rodney was 17; another one suggests he was there when he was 14.
- ^ a b c d e f g h David Edelstein (May 6, 2004). "Mystery Men: A playwright, a DJ, and a groupie—three new documentaries". Slate. Retrieved December 24, 2010.
- ^ a b Matsumoto, Jon (July 7, 1996). "Rodney's Still Rockin' Round the Clock: The music may be geared to younger listeners, but Rodney Bingenheimer of KROQ remains an avid L.A. scenester". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 24, 2010.
- ^ Corey levitan. "New documentary probes Zelig-like disc jockey Rodney Bingenheimer". Almost Famous. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved December 24, 2010.
Rodney single-handedly cut a path through the treacle of the '60s," Bowie recalled to "Details" magazine in 1992, ...
- ^ "The Best of Rodney On The Roq". AlbumLinerNotes.com. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
- ^ Christiane Felscherinow/Sonja Vukovic: Christiane F. - Mein zweites Leben. Deutscher Levante Verlag, Berlin 2013. P. 95.
- ^ "The KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1983". radiohitlist.com. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
- ^ Kelli Skye Fadroski (December 10, 2010). ""Jess the Mess" of Broken Bottles dies at 32". The Orange County Register. Retrieved December 24, 2010.
Broken Bottles ... Its first big break came when KROQ jockey Rodney Bingenheimer played the group's single "Gothic Chicks" on his "Rodney on the Roq" program.
- ^ Flipside Fanzine Issue 21 (December 1980)
- ^ Flipside Fanzine Issue 28 (November 1981)
- ^ Flipside Fanzine Issue 35 (December 82)
- ^ "RODNEY ON THE ROQ- COMPILATION LP (POSH BOY, USA, 1980)". Good bad Music for bad, bad Times!. 1980.
- ^ Franko, Vanessa. "7 bands DJ Rodney Bingenheimer played before they were famous". OC Register. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
- ^ "Rodney Bingenheimer Still Isn't Sure Why KROQ Fired Him, but He's Happy to Be on SiriusXM". LA Weekly. June 29, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
- ^ a b Richard Cromelin (March 21, 2004). "L.A.'s own Mayor Zelig". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 24, 2010.
- ^ Michael Carlson (December 9, 2010). "George Hickenlooper: Film-maker best known for his documentary about the making of 'Apocalypse Now'". The Independent. London. Retrieved December 24, 2010.
- ^ "Rodney's Still Rockin' | Off-Ramp | 89.3 KPCC". Scpr.org. September 12, 2009. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
- ^ Millman, Ethan (April 27, 2023). "Kim Fowley's Estate Sued for Sexual Assault of Minor". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
- ^ Millman, Ethan (December 11, 2023). "Go-Go's Guitarist Jane Wiedlin Claims Influential Rock DJ Sexually Abused Her as a Teen". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
- ^ "Rodney Bingenheimer – Walk of Fame". June 12, 2006.
- ^ "DailyBulletin.com – One totally godhead celebration to honor Rodney on the Roq". March 11, 2007. Archived from the original on March 11, 2007.
- ^ Stephen holden (May 16, 2002). "FILM REVIEW; Relentless Exhibitionism Becomes a Life's Work". The New York Times: Movies. Retrieved December 24, 2010.
Nina Hagen = Punk+ Glory, ... WITH: ... Rodney Bingenheimer and Guru Muniradschi.
- ^ Waiting for the Sun: Strange Days, Weird Scenes and the Sound of Los Angeles: Amazon.co.uk: Barney Hoskyns: Books. ASIN 031214444X.
External links
- Ting Lipton, Shana (August 23, 2005). "Rekindling the Punk Flame". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 4, 2009.
- Shana Ting Lipton. "Rekindling the Punk Flame". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 20, 2005 – via ShanaTingLipton.
- Rodney Bingenheimer at IMDb