Book Review: Beat Me Til I'm Famous by Billy McCarthy

If you’ve read Motley Crue’s The Dirt or seen the Penelope Spheeris documentary The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years, you probably have a good idea what it was like to be in a hair metal band in L.A. in the late ‘80s.

But you didn’t learn about the day to day drudgery, desperation, and infighting that the struggle for a record contract entailed.

Billy McCarthy’s Beat Me Til I’m Famous follows the career of a third-tier (or fourth-tier, depending on your criteria) hair metal band called D’Molls. McCarthy was the band’s drummer, and he went by the name Billy Dior. The book offers a blow-by-blow description of what it was like to be in a hometown band (or bands), and finagle your way out of the Midwest to make in big in mid/late 1980s L.A.

McCarthy joined the D’Molls in the mid-'80s in Chicago, and they soon moved to L.A. to vie for a recording contract with hundreds of other bands. By the time they signed to Atlantic Records, the public’s appetite for guys with big hair and makeup who sang about sluts was fading. And, of course, there were the usual management and record company screw-ups that added to the band's bad fortune.

The side characters in Beat Me Til I’m Famous are often as interesting as the main players. There’s Rodney’ Dangerfield’s songwriter son, Brian, various shady record company people, managers, groupies, professional rock star girlfriends, sneaky, cutthroat band members, drug dealers, and pushy hangers-on. In fame-hungry Hollywood, there was always someone willing to give a band money and a place to crash, and hope to get a piece of the action if the band made it.

Beat Me Til I’m Famous captures the sleazy minutiae of the hair metal era with an intelligence and self-awareness you wouldn’t expect to find from someone in that scene. 

In 2011, McCarthy sued Poison over authorship of "Talk Dirty to Me" and some other songs. The D’Molls Wiki entry says the lawsuit was settled with McCarthy receiving an “undeclared sum”, but this is the only mention I’ve found online about any settlement. (McCarthy played in a band called Screamin’ Mimis with C.C. Deville  in 1984.)

Book Review: Records Truly is My Middle Name by John Records Landecker

Records Truly is My Middle Name
By John Records Landecker with Rick Kaempfer

Eckhartz Press
277 pages

As a kid in Chicago in the early 1970s, I listened to Larry Lujack and his Cheap Trashy Showbiz Report, Klunk Letter of the Day, and sourpuss meanderings. In college in the early '80s, the irreverent banter of Steve Dahl and Garry Meier kept me entertained between classes. During high school in the mid '70s, my radio go-to guy was John Records Landecker, of Boogie Check fame.

In Landecker’s autobiography "Records Truly is My Middle Name"(Eckhartz Press) Landecker explains that, yes, Records is his real middle name, not a stage moniker. He even includes a photo of his selective service card in the book to prove it. John's mother, Marjorie Records, married sociology professor Werner Landecker, so yes, his mother's  maiden name truly was Records, and John incorporated that in his on-air persona. Of course, it sounded too good to be true and  many fans, myself include, surmised it was a stage name.

When your Mom’s maiden name is Records, a career in radio is your destiny. Landecker's first radio gig, in Flint, Michigan in 1965 on a station that required all DJs to use the last name Jones on-air. Naturally, John chose the name Dow Jones. He made his major market debut  at WBIG in Philadelphia from the late ‘60s to the early ‘70s, with  fellow DJs Jerry Blavat (The Geator with the Heater), Hy Lit and Joe Niagara.

1974 Boogie Check

 

Landecker begins each chapter with a round-up of the top events of each decade, setting the backdrop for the revelations to follow.   The book is an engaging read that isn't just for radio buffs. It's a rollercoaster ride through the prime decades of rock 'n' roll, told from the POV of someone who was well-known enough to glimpse the inner workings of rock's hedonistic years, but down to earth enough to retain a realistic attitude for most of the ride..

Landecker’s autobiography entertaining is just as much fun when he focuses on his personal life as when he writes about his radio  shenanigans. Many times, readers of pop culture autobiographies complain about the author including too many personal anecdotes that  aren't as interesting as events in the author's professional life. Landecker’s life out of the broadcast booth is just as  interesting to read as his DJ exploits.’’John's father Werner Landecker, was the last German Jew to earn a law degree in Germany before World War II. Werner immigrated to the United States and married Indiana farmgirl and 4H winner Marjorie Records.. The story of how, they met, stopped at an intersection in separate cars, is a cute meet worthy of a romantic novel. Werner and Marjorie married, and their first child John was born  on March 28, 1947.

Landecker’s  childhood and  adolescence mirrored that of your typical Baby Boomer  He writes about playing football in high school,  being in class when a student-teacher tearfully announced President Kennedy’s assassination. Other, less serious, rites of passage included discovering that the lyrics to Louie, Louie by the Kingsmen were dirty, (The lyrics weren’t actually dirty. It was an urban legend), and  watching the Beatles - and Mitzi Gaynor in a low cut dress - on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. As the book moves on, we learn about Landecker's tumultuous second marriage to a hellion named Paula and his financial victimization at the hands of a once-trusted manager. 

Landecker’s  halcyon years at WLS in Chicago  from 1972 to 1981. During his signature bit, The Boogie Check, he fielded calls from listeners unafraid to be goofy. Landecker outdid them at their own game with glib comments. Spinning Seasons in the Sun,  Eres Tu and other cheesy Top 40 songs would bore anyone, so the DJs had to be wacky to keep  listeners interested – and keep themselves from falling asleep!  Personality based radio flourished at this time, featuring bits that entertained in a wink-wink-nudge-nudge way; shock jocks had  yet to take over the airwaves. Landecker’s fellow DJs at WLS included Larry Lujack, Fred Winston and Bob Sirott.

Studio A: Profile of a Disc Jockey

Landecker recorded two comedy singles, Make a Date with the Watergate and Press My Conference,  poking fun at President Nixon and the Watergate scandal. Make a Date was a parody of Lou Reed's Walk on the Wild Side. Despite being big hits with listeners, the songs were temporarily shelved when an ABC affiliate in Florida, up for license renewal, freaked out over their (relatively innocuous by today's standards) content.

During Landecker’s tenure at WLS, other highlights included a personal appearance with John Travolta  (then a teen idol as Barbarino on Welcome Back Kotter) at a suburban Chicago shopping mall.  The promo drew 30,000 screaming teenage girls. I remember hearing the broadcast live that night. It sounded like a 747 taking off. Many of the bands of the time  stopped by, co-hosting and commenting on records, and Landecker premiered Lady by Styx on his show, the song that propelled the band to stardom.

Like many other DJs and musicians,  Landecker fell prey to rock ‘n” roll excess. He woke up one day on a flight over the Grand Canyon with no recollection of how he got there. His drinking escalated to the point where he drank vodka openly in the studio. He divorced his first wife (his high school sweetheart), married a trophy wife, then a much younger woman, before marrying his fourth wife and soulmate Nika.    

After leaving Chicago for a gig in Toronto,( followed by an unsuccessful return to Chicago radio) Landecker hit rock bottom with alcohol and drugs. After conquering his demons, he reemerged on Chicago radio, settling in with a well-received shows on WJMK, a  band  and a syndicated  show called “Into the 70s” for TKO Networks. He is currently broadcasting on WLS-FM (Chicago’s Classic Hits) weeknights from 8pm to 11pm.

Records Truly is My Middle Name is sure to stir great memories for Chicago radio fans who grew up in the 1970s, or any Baby Boomer who grew up on AM radio.

 Press My Conference and Make a Date with the Watergate

The Most Haunted Cemetery in America - Bachelor's Grove

Bachelor's Grove, a tiny abandoned cemetery in southwest suburban Chicago, is often featured on Ghosthunters-type shows and is said to be one of the most haunted places in America. I grew up in  southwest Chicago, and visited the forest preserves surrounding the cemetery many times with my family.  I have a vague memory of walking down the trail that leads to Bachelor's Grove (during the day, unfortunately) once when I was a kid.  It takes a lot to convince me that a place is haunted, but in this case –

-Satanists plied their trade here in the 1960s, sacrificing animals, digging up bodies and setting fire to coffins

- Partying teenagers toppled headstones, carved messages in them, etc, in the 1970s and beyond

- Al Capone dumped bodies in a nearby pond*

-  In the 1800s, a farmer and his horse drowned in the same pond – or maybe another body of water nearby, not sure.

- The bodies of the Grimes sisters, two teens who were kidnapped in the 1950s, were found nearby, in Willow Springs.

* I think either my Dad or Grandpa related this story to us one day on a family outing as we drove by the forest preserve.  

So, if a cemetery would turn out to be haunted, this one would be a good candidate.  I always got an eerie feeling when  we drove by this area when I was a kid, especially at night. I wonder if that’s just because of all the rumors I’ve heard since I was little. It would be interesting to see how someone who never heard the stories would react while walking in the cemetery. It seems most of the people posting YouTube videos about their experiences were raised on the folklore and  expected to see ghosts.

People have reported seeing a white lady carrying an infant, flashing orbs of light, a transparent woman sitting on a tombstone, a phantom farmhouse that would shrink and disappear when approached, monks and a "ghost" dog resembling a Rottweiler. Check out photos of Bachelor's Grove at  Chicago Now.

Here's a documentary about Bachelor's Grove, complete with pictures of the "Madonna of Bachelor's Grove"

Whatever Happened to Donnie Dacus?

In some ways, this is a companion piece to my article about guitarist Gary Richrath, who seemed to drop off the face of the earth after leaving REO Speedwagon in the late 1980s. Another long-haired guitarist of the late 1970s/early 1980s, Donnie Dacus, who appeared in the film version of Hair and replaced Terry Kath in Chicago for two albums, suffered the same fate. By the mid-1980s, he had dropped off the radar. Dacus’s sudden disappearance is a little perplexing, since his musical pedigree indicated he was much more than a flash-in-the pan talent. He played in several garage bands in his native Texas and later in L.A,. including the The Shux, the Yellow Payges and the psych/folk/pop band Odyssey.  His big break came as a guitarist for Chris Hillman, followed by work for Crosby, Stills and Nash and co-writing credits on Stephen Stills’ Illegal Stills album.

Shortly after working with Stills, Dacus was cast as Woof in the film version of Hair and he became somewhat of a teen idol overnight, appearing on the cover of Circus Magazine in May 1979. Around the time he starred in Hair, Dacus was chosen as Terry Kath’s replacement in Chicago. The flashy, Peter Frampton-tressed Dacus didn’t fit in with the jazz-rock band’s image at all, and after Hot Streets and Chicago 13, he was dropped by the band. Drummer Danny Seraphine later noted in an interview with Review Revue that “He was let go because he really didn’t fit into the band, never did, it was a mistake in the first place. It wasn’t his fault either, he was a good guy, he just didn’t fit in with the mix. I know it really hurt him to be let go like that, believe me now I know how that feels.”

After leaving Chicago, Dacus resurfaced as the touring guitarist for Badfinger in 1982. You can read more about that at singer Reed Kailing’s website. Also, according to Kailing, Dacus played guitar during a recording session for John Lennon’s Rock ‘N’ Roll album. There’s no verification as to what track he played on or if his work was featured on the released version of the album.

But Dacus wasn’t the only Hair alumni to exit show biz shortly after the film wrapped. Cheryl Barnes, who played Hud’s nameless fiancée, sang an emotional rendition of Easy to Be Hard during a scene in Washington Square Park.  Barnes, who was working as a hotel maid, earned the role after attending an open casting call for the film in New York. Prior to that, she’d performed as a singer with the band Eve’s Garden, opening for the Classics IV and other pop/rock bands. Her powerful version of Easy to Be Hard was allegedly filmed in one take. After the film’s release, Barnes sang Love and Passion on the American Gigolo soundtrack. Then she dropped out of the entertainment business, although, according to her Wikipedia page, she remained friends with Hair director Milos Forman.

Wacky TV Horror Movie Hosts-Svengoolie & Son of Svengoolie

L.A. had Elvira, Chicago had Svengoolie. Radio announcer Jerry G. Bishop donned a long green wig, sunglasses and ghoulish makeup to become the wisecracking hippie horror host Svengoolie. He hosted “The Screaming Yellow Theater”, which originated on WFLD-Channel 32 in 1970 and ran til 1973. The guitar strumming Svengoolie performed skits and told bad jokes in between segments of grade C and D horror movies. Some of Sven’s skits included Carbon Monoxide Speedway and Svengoolie Street (clip below).

The show began each week with a guest coffin opener freeing Sven from his tomb. Local celebs like White Sox players usually did the deed, but even Bette Midler and Barry Manilow pried open Sven’s coffin on their way to fame. And Sven got away with lots of double entendres considering the show ran in the early 1970s. Sven sometimes “choked his chicken" (one of the omnipresent rubber chickens thrown around the set) and once brought on stripper Tempest Storm to introduce the evening’s film. Such R-rated shenanigans surely went over the heads of the 10 year olds watching, but gave their parents a chuckle.


Svengoolie Street



Mad Man Sven's Used Cars



Rich Koz played the Son of Svengoolie on Creature Features in the early 1980s, resurrecting some of the old gags and adding plenty of new ones. Koz still portrays Svengoolie on WCIU-TV in Chitown.
Say it with me now--BER-WYN!!! (a much maligned Chicago suburb that served as the butt of many a Svengoolie joke )

Vampire Carpets



Putting on the Boot