Ron "Buddy" Budnik Biography
Employment Dates(KFXM/KDUO): |
1964-1965 |
|---|---|
Time Slots while at Station: |
I worked Midnight to 6:00 AM, but then also worked some evenings and some other shifts. |
Stations prior to KFXM/KDUO: |
I was in the Army at Ft. Lewis, Washington, in the Public Information Office producing radio programs for the U.S. Army. Before that I was at KACY in Oxnard, and before that I was at KRLA working as a gopher after school (Pasadena City College). |
Stations right after KFXM/KDUO: |
I was hired by Bill Watson to go to KMEN and worked Midnight to 6:00 am, then moved to 7:00 PM to Midnight, and was the Music Director at KMEN. |
All other Stations after KFXM: |
I came into Los Angeles doing weekends at KDAY and then in 1965-66 worked in the Music Business as a West Coast Record Promotion Man for Mercury Records (working with Leslie Gore, Johnny Mathis, Keith, The Blues Magoos, Bobby Hebb) and then to United Artists Records, where I worked with The Spencer Davis Group, Bobby Hillsboro and many other artists. I then went on to writing, then on to music publishing, and became a record producer from 1968 to 1974, working independently for various labels, including Columbia Records, then on to RCA Records. I became the Music Director at KRLA in 1973 when we introduced a new format called "Future Rock", which was a new radio music format that introduced "new music", playing the hits before they were hits and before any other stations would play them. We were the first station in a major market to play Springsteen, Loggins and Messina, Barry White and a lot of other artists. I edited the first version of Emir Deodato's "Theme from 2001 - A Space Odyssey -Also Sprach Zarathustra", which became a major hit single. I never got paid for it, but they gave me a gold record. Whoopie! |
Current Employment: |
I'm a broker, investor and currently lease and sell industrial buildings, along with my interests in a couple of technology and telecom companies. |
Where Were You Born: |
In Philadelphia, PA, then to Sierra Madre (Pasadena), CA. |
Children: |
None that I can confirm, but there were some rumors. |
Education: |
I went to High School in Pasadena, Pasadena High School, then went to Pasadena City College while working at KRLA in the early 1960's after school. Attended Ventura City College while at KACY in Oxnard, and took classes at San Bernardino Valley and Los Angeles City College while working at KFXM. |
What are Your Hobbies: |
Travel is one. I keep an apartment in Paris, France and try to "live" there as much as time will allow. My main hobby: I'm into cars. My other hobbies are mostly travel, eating well, and good wine, having studied food, wine and oenology. I'm somewhat a patron of the arts with memberships at the LACMA and the Metropolitan in New York, along with spending any extra moments at the Louvre in Paris. I like the Impressionists, the Post Impressionists, and I appreciate the Dutch and Flemish Masters, along with Picasso, any year. |
What are Your Favorite Songs: |
Depends on my mood. I don't have one particular song favorite. There are just too many great songs to land on just one. One that always comes to mind is: "You Can't Always Get What You Want" by the Stones. How about "Stairway to Heaven" or "It's All In The Game" or "Tears On My Pillow", or "I Only Have Eyes For You", or perhaps "The One" by Elton John. I'm still looking for her. What about Carmina Burana or Rocky's Piano Concerto #1? How about some Mozart or Chopin. A Favorite? Check my mood and the time of day. There's way too much good music to give it all to one. |
What are Your Favorite Artists: |
My tastes run from Scissor Sisters to Elton to Rachmaninoff to The Moody Blues to Earth, Wind and Fire to Clapton to Chris Botti to Sting to Diana Krall to....on and on. Musically, I'm all over the map. It depends on who's doing what. During my music business years I worked with some great Jazz artists, and some terrific classical players. I oversaw the recording sessions with Simon and Garfunkle on the Bookends album at Columbia. I produced some decent records; rock and roll and jazz. The Jazz Crusaders used to be my "demo band". Joe Sample was on keyboards. He still is. I did an album with Julian "Cannonball" Adderly; a jazz great, and sat in on some of the Bee Gee's sessions when they recorded in L.A. since Maurice Gibb and I were friends. I still see Rod Stewart occasionally and we reminisce about times we spent in the 70's, drinking way too much at Martoni's on Cahuenga, between sessions at Heider's Studio 3. He's also a car guy, but with quite a collection. He's another great musician for whom I have immense respect. These were all people I met because of my beginning years in radio at KACY, KFXM, KMEN and KRLA. |
My
Stories about KFXM
While I was working at KFXM, the Chief Engineer was a guy named Ron Smith. His wife's name was Sharon.
There was also a very attractive girl who worked at KFXM in programming. Her name was also Sharon. I always thought she was hot and I flirted with her whenever I had a chance, mostly when I had to come in to work during the day to do “production”. All the jocks at the station had to do "production" as a part of the job (production is really just doing local commercials and public service spots). Anyway, I really wanted to go out with her, but the jocks were not allowed to "fraternize" with the office staff.
One night, when I came in for my midnight to six shift, one of the guys handed me a note/ message that said "Ron, call Sharon at home". It was late, but I decided I'd better call. It might have been important, and it was a good excuse to call and talk to her. I got her number from the front desk.
When I called, she said that she'd never called and that she never left a message for me. It must have been a mistake. We had a long conversation, and, through my persistence, we ended up making a date for dinner. We didn't find out till later that the message that was handed to me to call Sharon was a message for Ron Smith the engineer from his wife Sharon.
The Sharon I called ended up being my girlfriend for several years. We lived together in L.A. for awhile and we stayed friends all through the years until she passed away of cancer four (4) years ago, way too young.
Those were all great years at KFXM and KMEN. I met some terrific people and still have some great friends from that period of time. Don Elliot, Gene Gleason, Johnny Darin, Jim Conniff (who I met again at Columbia Records when he was Sly Stone's recording engineer), and my good friend and roommate Mark Denis, along with many others. There were some great girls as well, but I'm not at liberty to say who and when and where, but I'll never forget them, or the things we did together.
John, in 1964 your father gave me an early copy of "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill. I owe him big time for that one. That book helped me more than you (or he) can ever know. I still have that book and it's one of the most important books in life and my library. The philosophy in that book showed me that I could do anything I chose to, if I only set my mind to do it. It taught me that there are no limits to what you can do, except those you impose on yourself. That book, the concepts and philosophies contained in it, prove that anyone can become successful in any way they choose. You become what you think. You get the things you focus on. You can be rich, you can be poor, you can be average, you can be extraordinary, you can do anything you want to do. You only have to make a plan and stick to it. Everyone should read it. Simply put, it proves that one's life is very much like a ship at sea. Everyone starts from a port; their home port. And, like a ship, you must plot a course, pick a direction (a goal, or set of goals) you want to go, and steer the ship in that direction. If you simply sit in the ship and let it drift, without a course and without a direction, you will end up crashing on the rocks. Most people don't pick a course, and most people end up crashing on the rocks, as it were. They never make it, simply because they don't have a plan, pick a course, and make the decision to get there. I share this with you because it's just.... the truth. If I can share anything with you, this is the most important thing I can share. Thanks for the opportunity. If there's anything else I think of, I'll let you know.
In peace,
Ron "Buddy" Budnik