Famous DJ and the mayor of Sunset Strip, Rodney Bingenheimer is a star in LA. At 64 he is still an innovator in indie music with an ear for the next big thing.
Rodney was the first to take notice of punk bands like Blondie and The Ramones, to mention a couple. He is also the cause that everybody has listened to Oasis, Radiohead and No Doubt. He seems to have this desire to be around famous people but also a good ear for undiscovered music.
His mother could be the reason for his wanting to be famous; she left him at Connie Francis’ home one day and just drove off. The maid informed Rodney that Connie was out of town and closed the door. Now Rodney was really on his own.
After he went to Hollywood he quickly made friends with the Beach Boys, The Doors and The Mamas and Papas and made some extra dough by being in their videos. But when he was on The Monkees, as Davy Jones’ twin, his popularity really took off.
This gave him a free ticket into a world few are allowed into. Sonny and Cher became his new parents of a kind. About this time David Bowie appeared on the scene and the two of them quickly became friends. Shortly after that he founded a small night club in LA, which didn’t last too long because he was more into the glam rock as disco music was taking over.
About 16 months after closing his nightclub, KROQ signed him as a permanent disc jockey. Rodney had every classic vinyl record he had ever possessed, so this was his ideal job. Rodney is still on at KROQ, but now it is only for three hours every Sunday night, instead of daily.
Rodney’s two most prized possessions are The King’s original driver license and a signed Elvis Presley vinyl album. This is likely from a person who has collected classic vinyl albums, but mostly Elvis Presley vinyl.
It’s a shame that with all the artists that Rodney helped break into the limelight, that he never got a cut from any of their royalties. Even though he always said he did it for the music, you still wish more for him when you see him sitting by himself with his classic vinyl records for company.
Rodney still smiles as he introduces groups like Duran Duran or X and dances up front jamming along. A few years ago, Rodney finally got his star on the walk of fame outside the Knitting Factory. When given the star he laughed and said that now he can really get walked on. Possibly karma will one day stop and help out Rodney.
Article Directory : http://www.articlecube.com
