About Me
Born on Long Island and raised on pure pop music, Peter Rodman--like so many other kids--was transformed by the Beatles' arrival on the pop scene. But he had already started writing songs as far back as 1962, and even as an adolescent, took pop music very seriously indeed.
The harmonies of Dion & the Belmonts, the Four Seasons, and the Beach Boys drove Peter underground--literally--into his father's wood-shop, where he established a 24/7 (pretend) radio station, WRSC ("Rodman's Survey Center"), and obsessively listed alternative versions of each week's "Top Ten" lists.
Commandeering his father's 'Dictaphone' machine, Peter was literally 'cutting records' there, in the basement (45 rpm sized, plastic red discs, intended for dictation) at the ripe old age of...10!
His first *actual* radio appearance was on Murray the K's popular '10-10 WINS New York' show, singing "Happy Birthday WINS," to the tune of "Sherry," in late 1963. For this game effort, Peter won the coveted "Submarine Race Watchers" sweatshirt--famously sported by The Beatles a few months later, on the Miami leg of their 1964 British Invasion.Each year after that, Peter was allowed [by his grandparents] to attend any Forest Hills Tennis Stadium concert he chose--but *only* if he would agree to 1.) Wear a tie and 2.) "You MUST stay backstage" (with the members of their Tennis Club)...safely AWAY from the throng of 15,000 screaming kids.
A third condition was that he arrive there in the afternoon-- to avoid the untold 'dangers' of the leafy, sequestered streets of Forest Hills Gardens, after dark. At first, it seemed like a drag...until......
These 'conditions' created a Perfect Storm--the center of which was Peter Rodman--the short kid, with the tie!--at each and every separate concert, for three years, nurtured by a handful of truly generous souls: (Paul) Simon & (Art) Garfunkel; Jimi Hendrix; Joan Baez; Dionne Warwick; the Mamas and the Papas (especially Cass); a very straight, and gregarious Jim Morrison...and...ironically, Murray (the K) himself. Since there was literally *nobody* else there all day but the artists and Peter, they very sweetly took 'the kid' under their wings--each one, for hours, on end---and lo and behold......somehow....a career was born! This affinity--this 'kinship' with artists--would literally carry Peter Rodman from his childhood, through the next 40 years, right to the present day.
By 1974, Peter was at the helm of KRNW, a tiny "free form" radio station in Boulder, Colorado (now featured in The Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame) where he began taping interviews at venues (unheard of, at the time) with the likes of John Lee Hooker; the Runaways; Allen Ginsberg; and Timothy Leary, to name a few.
Soon after KRNW became 'KBCO', Peter brought his celebrity drawing power and interviewing talents to that first-ever "Triple A" radio station, where he reigned until 1985, as 'appointment listening'...on "Sunday Night with Peter Rodman."
From Muhammad Ali to Frank Zappa; from Bowie to Sting; from Stevie Nicks and Susan St. James, to John McEnroe and Michael McDonald...they ALL made time to talk to Peter Rodman--no small accomplishment, for a specialty show, in a decidely 'secondary' market.
Fast-forward to the early '90s, when Peter moved to Nashville, finally determined to promote his long-postponed songwriting career. He began finding steady bookings immediately at Nashville's famed "Bluebird Cafe," gradually growing more and more comfortable onstage, after a 20 year break...
But soon, fate intervened yet again...it turns out Peter's former boss (back in Boulder) at KBCO had recommended that Nashville's "Radio Lightning 100" owner Ned Horton 'get in touch', and before he knew it, "Sunday Night with Peter Rodman" took off, for yet another wildly successful run--this time, in 'Music City, USA.'
There were countless new interviews with session players, songwriters, newsmakers, and of course all kinds of musical artists, from Stevie Winwood, to Trisha Yearwood.
On the side--inevitably--friendships ensued...and when Peter's agreement at 'Lightning 100' ended, many of these renowned friends enthusiastically pitched in to help record a backlog of *dozens* of Peter's original songs--which had gained a quiet following among music insiders, along the way.The stunning result is "UNSUNG, Vol. 1" --a two-disc CD set, FINALLY scheduled for release in 2008, and featuring such notable players as steel guitar pioneer Rusty Young (Poco/Buffalo Springfield), session piano/guitarist Andrew Gold (Linda Ronstadt), guitarist/mega-songwriter Chas Sandford ("Missing You"), legendary drummer Craig Krampf ("Bette Davis Eyes"), New Orleans piano man Steve Conn (Sonny Landreth), all-time rock saxophone legend Phil Kenzie (Al Stewart, Eagles, Rod Stewart) , and many, many more.The set includes not only studio and "live" tracks (many from the Bluebird days) but also a BOATLOAD of home cassettes--some with admittedly scratchy sound--that display Peter's true gifts with harmony, melody and introspection...spanning over 35 years of behind-the-scenes dedication to a lifelong muse.The album's title--UNSUNG, Vol. 1--reflects the sad fact that most of these songs have never been heard, outside of a small circle of friends.
Well, all of that is about to change, in a BIG way!
On top of this great news, Peter Rodman is ALSO very busy putting the finishing touches on a one-of-a-kind, "backstage" book about all the wonderful interviews over the years (over 2,000 in all!). It will be packed with dozens of never-before-published personal photographs taken by Peter-- including intimate, up-close portraits of JIMI HENDRIX, JIM MORRISON, and many other greats like the late Nicky Hopkins, Bo Diddley, and Keith Richards, among others.
The behind-the-scenes stories of international ICONS like James Brown, Dolly Parton, Fleetwood Mac and Etta James are sure to raise a few eyebrows!After some 25 years of interviewing (quite literally!) thousands of luminaries, on both radio and television, Peter Rodman has finally come to a point where he's about to share his *own* story, about what it was actually like
...and this will be done on *both*
UNSUNG, Vol. 1, the CD collection of songs...
and in his forthcoming book....ALSO titled 'UNSUNG' (My Life and Music)."Stay tuned" for more details!
