RCA Victor's In The Groove

RCA Victor's "In The Groove" was in circulation beginning in March of 1946 and running into 1949. they operated under editor Frank O'Connell until 1948 then Charles Schafhauser. (Schafhauser had previously been a script writer at WPEN in Philadelphia.) In the Groove was a small 12-page, 9' x 6' magazine featuring their own artists promotional fluff. It also contained RCA-centric radio news for it's radio-centric readers. While this January 1949 issue has the total unknown Jane Pickens on the cover other issues bore the faces of  Wayne King, Perry Como, Louis Prima, Sammy Kaye, Charlie Spivak, Desi Arnaz,  and Erskine Hawkins.

This issue is notable for both containing a Leonard Feather feature on Dizzy Gillespie, a blurbs on  stations WKBW, WAAT, WJZ, and WBBC. But most importantly it announces "RECORD BAN OVER, " the end of the Petrillo recording ban. This was not the 1942 - 1944 strike but the later 1948 strike that was his personal downfall. Petrillo ended it in December of that year making 1949 a banner year for new recordings. Bebop had gone largely unrecorded because of the ban and Gillespie himself would have a banner year.

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AIRCHECK WEEK: DICK BIONDI

Dick was another early rock n' roller. Dick Biondi began his broadcasting career at WCBA in Corning, NY. Biondi spent two fame-building years at WKBW in Buffalo before moving in 1960 to WLS-AM.

Three years later he left Chicago for Los Angeles on KRLA, then turning around for a syndicated gig on the Mutual broadcasting system which put him on 125 stations, probably reachign more peopel than even on the 50,000-watt WLS-AM. In the late 60s he returnd to Chicago on WCFL-AM. He did a little time in the south, but felt the pull of the deep dish pie. He went back to Chicago again in 1985 on WJMK then an oldies outlet. He was cut when they flipped to Jack about a year ago. In November of last year WZZN 94.7 scooped him up and he's still rocking oldies there.

Dick Biondi was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1998. If you look carefully, you can still find the novelty record he recorded in 1964 “On Top of a Pizza,” it sold over 11,000 copies.