Elk Grove Villages' WIND Shares Gift of Clark Weber
Sue Zawacki gave listeners to her show Aging Info Radio, which broadcasts every Saturday morning from 6-7 am on AM 560WIND, Elk GRive Village, a reminder of the many years of enjoyment that radio personality Clark Weber gave to Chicago.
At 82, Weber stays active sharing his stories with Chicagoans – a career that has spanned more than 50 years. It started when as a 17 year-old, he guest hosted a teen radio show to impress a young girl. He didn’t get the girl, but he got a taste for a career to which he would devote his life.
Chicagoans will remember Weber’s career that started at WAUX and then evolved into rock and roll DJ gigs, first at WLS, then at WIND, and then at WCFL. Then tired of rock and roll Weber moved back to WLS to host an all all-talk show, a novelty at the time.
Along the way, Weber met and influenced some of the biggest names in music and entertainment.
A record producer friend of Weber’s had signed a four-member band with a new song that he wanted Weber to give some airplay. He agreed and aired the song for 3 weeks; it went nowhere.
His friend begged him to have lunch with the band. He reluctantly agreed, and found himself meeting with Paul, John, Ringo and George. He wasn’t overly impressed and their song, “I want to hold your hand,” was a dud. But Columbia Records re-mastered it and the Beatles took off.
A friend of Weber’s at the long-closed Mr. Kelly’s night club had booked a girl singer that drew almost no one. Night after night, the place stayed empty and the singer announced that if there were no people in the audience, she would refuse to go on.
Weber suggested the owner walk up and down Rush Street and pass out cards for 2 free drinks.
The place was packed with 40 drunks when the singer made her appearance. She put on a great show, got a great review in the Tribune, and Barbra Streisand never looked back.
Weber has hundreds of stories, many of which he included in his book “Clark Weber’s Rock and Roll Radio.” As Weber puts it: “A story is a wrapper for the gift of wisdom.”
Weber attributes much of his homespun wisdom and humor to his mother, who once said: “The only one who likes change is a wet baby.”
His parting advice to listeners looking for a path in life is that they should do something they love. “It won’t be just a job, but something that brings you joy.”
In the spirit of the Holidays, Weber encouraged listeners that the greatest gift is the gift of kindness – a kind word or gesture is always appreciated.
The show will air on December 8, and will be replayed on December 22 on AM 560WIND. After their original air date, Aging Info Radio shows are available on podcast 24/7 at www.aginginforadio.com by clicking on Show Podcasts.
About AgingInfoRadio.com
Aging Info Radio broadcasts each Saturday morning from 6-7 am on AM 560WIND. The coverage area for AM 560WIND is all of Chicagoland, southern Wisconsin, N.W. Indiana and S.W. Michigan with the potential to reach nearly half a million listeners and millions more by the way of www.560WIND.com where the show streams live. The show’s philosophy is that boomers and seniors are aging, but not growing older. For more information, visit www.aginginforadio.com.