i loved listening to "big" ron o'brien in the afternoons and on the way home in my dad's truck and we would try and guess the lost 45. truly great philly dj. rest in peace.
WOGL's Ron O'Brien dies after bout with pneumonia
By DAN GROSS
Philadelphia Daily News
grossd@phillynews.com 215-854-5915
"Big" Ron O'Brien, afternoon jock on 98.1 WOGL, died yesterday from complications of pneumonia, station manager Jim Loftus confirmed last night.
O'Brien, who was 56 and lived in King of Prussia, had been off air recently and hospitalized at Paoli Memorial Hospital. He had recently shown signs of improvement and had come out of intensive care, Loftus said, adding that he and the rest of the WOGL team were planning to visit him this week and were shocked by his death yesterday.
"He was one of the true best," said Loftus, who first heard O'Brien's work on a nationally syndicated show called "On the Radio." "It's easy to say that about someone who died, but in his case, it's absolutely true.
"The interesting thing was he was a Boss jock from the glory days who kept that same style but also evolved through contemporary times. That was his gift. He could talk up and introduce the same song for the 4,000th time but each time he could convey excitement," said Loftus, whose station will soon present audio and video retrospectives of O'Brien's work.
"He was a model employee and a wonderful talent," Loftus said of O'Brien, who had recently signed a three-year contract extension with the radio station.
O'Brien was on WFIL from 1976 to 1979. His career also took him to New York's WNBC, where he made a lasting impression on a young Howard Stern. The shock jock praised O'Brien in August 2006, talking about how the DJ was a true professional who had covered a few of Stern's shifts for him.
O'Brien had worked at WOGL, which plays hits of the 1960s and '70s, since 2002. "He made every afternoon ride home fun for the thousands who listened," Bob Kelly, traffic anchor at WOGL and CBS 3, said last night.
"A great voice, classic Boss Jock delivery and a great sense of humor," says Kelly, noting that his friend and colleague also "loved trolleys." Although he didn't ride them, he enjoyed watching them and "always complained when the Route 15 was using shuttle buses. Philly radio has lost a legend," Kelly said last night.
O'Brien's radio career began at Kansas City's KUDL in 1969, according to a 2006 biography by the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia. He also worked at KTLK in Denver, WQXI in Atlanta, WCFL in Chicago, WXLO in New York and WOKY in Milwaukee. O'Brien worked in Los Angeles at KFI and KIIS before moving to KWK in St. Louis in 1985. He stayed for nine years, until his return to Denver at KZDG.
He returned to Philadelphia in 1996, when he joined Star 104.5, which later became Alice 104.5.
Word of O'Brien's death spread on the Internet. "Ron, you will be missed. You made me want to be in radio after listening to you in Atlanta back in 1972. . . . I was listening to you each and every night while doing my homework," wrote "Glowing Tube" in the comment section of Reelradio.com, an online Top 40 radio archive that includes several recordings of O'Brien's work, though none from Philadelphia.
"He worked at many radio stations in the days when you went from market to market and just kept going. . . . R.I.P. Ron O'Brien. You always will be fondly remembered by all of us," Larry Stoler posted on Reelradio.com.
"I stopped to visit at WOGL two years ago and to swap a few stories; just the nicest most gracious radio legend I've ever met," Kevin Fitzgerald posted on the Philadelphia board of radio-info.com.
Funeral arrangements are pending, but Loftus said a service, open to O'Brien's fans, is likely to be held Friday. The DJ is survived by his mother. *
Staff writer Kevin Bevan contributed to this report.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Saturday, April 26, 2008
矢井田瞳 My Sweet Darling
last night jack took me to the sixer's home playoff opener section 108 row 16 killer seats. and the sixers destroyed the pistons, held sheed and co to just 55 points at the beginning of the fourth quarter. we end up winning by 20 points. let's go sixers!! i love the new song by zooey deschanel called sweet darlin' but this song called my sweet darling by hitomi yaida is just as great. tonight is the heartworks benefit auction at the ice box see you there!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Cattle and cane - The Go-Betweens
just read robert forster's current interview in the voice
www.villagevoice.com/music/0817,robert-forster-s-long-goodbye,419667,22.html
still missing you grant . . .this i could listen to cattle and cane ad infituam
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
The Fall - L.A. - 1985
el el el el el el el el el a a a a a a a a a el el el el el el el a a a a a a a a
Monday, April 21, 2008
Sister Sledge - Lost in Music (1984)
the fall recorded a stellar cover of this song in 1994 and again live in 1997. this original version version by sister sledge is great too.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Kahimi Karie - Le Roi Soleil
this video looks like it could have been directed by karen kilimnik. kahimi karie and karen kilimnik - perfect.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
港ネオン/気になる女の子
japanese cover of the great 1971 song 'that's the way a woman is' [ki ni naru onna no k] by the messengers.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Françoise Hardy - Suzanne (Leonard Cohen, in French)
this is such a beautiful version. could stop an army or a nuclear bomb in its tracks. love love love. the crowd cant help but slow dance.
Andy Kim
andy kim along with jeff barry wrote one of the greatest pop songs ever - the archies 'sugar sugar' he also has a wonderful voice. i like how it looks like he is singing from the inside of a jukebox.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Friday, April 11, 2008
Badfinger - Baby Blue
on this particular song badfinger is better than big star . . . honestly. closest thing to the beatles bar the rutles.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
8 Mile Director Curtis Hanson discusses his latest film 'lucky you'
watched this film tonite. it was a tremendous critical and financial flop in the theaters but i think it works on tv. it is slow, deliberate, light at times, other times devoid of a style just well crafted. a profesional motion picture. curtis hanson isnt really an uneven director i think he just crafts each film the way it is intended to be. he rarely infuses it with any discernable signature.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Nirvana - Love Buzz/Scoff/About a Girl - live
i had a really terrible/great week.
i had a really great/terrible week.
more to follow.
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