Rodney Bingenheimer Biography

Fast Facts

• Was a rock & roll groupie when he first came to Los Angeles, living with Sonny and Cher and consorting with the Byrds, Phil Spector and others
• Quote: "I like happy music․ Punk is fast, it's very aggressive--it might be sad or about violence, but the tempo keeps you going, keeps you alert․ It kinda makes me happy․"
• Quote: "I'm always looking into the future․ The next sound, the next guitar, the next voice․"
• Helped such glam-rock and punk artists as David Bowie, the Runaways, Blondie, the Ramones and the Stooges forward their careers
• Started his long-running KROQ-FM radio show "Rodney on the Roq" in 1976, which focused on discovering new or little-known artists
• Wrote a nightlife column in "Go" magazine called "It's All Happening!"
• Gathered a large collection of vintage vinyl, snapshots of himself with music legends, autographs and other memorabilia from his time promoting and socializing with musicians, including John Lennon and Yoko Ono's autographs
• Sal Mineo gave him the sobriquet "Mayor of the Sunset Strip․"
• Claimed that Cameron Crowe admitted to taking a lot of lines from him and using them in "Almost Famous․"
• Framed a letter from Phil Spector reading "Always be good to rock & roll and it will always be good to you․"