Guest Blogger: John Records Landecker 2

John Records Landecker is a legendary radio personality. He has been honored by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his contributions to rock and roll radio at this many stops on the radio dial, including his most famous stint at WLS Radio in the 70s and 80s. He was also the morning man at WJMK in Chicago from 1993-2003 and had an executive producer named Rick Kaempfer. This is a picture of one of the lineups we sported during those years. From left to Right...Rick, John, Leslie Keiling, Richard Cantu, and Vince Argento.

One of the constant topics of conversation during those years was John's childhood hero. But I'll let him tell you more...






"The Lone Ranger Rides Again"
By John Records Landecker




The fine young man who runs this blog has asked me to say a few words about my affection for The Lone Ranger. Rick worked with me for 10 years and during that time I went on and on about the masked man. I subjected his children to wacky experiments that were based on them watching old episodes of the Lone Ranger tv show.

You might know that I have worked in radio since the late 1960's. I love almost everything about radio and thats one of the reasons I am so into The Lone Ranger. The entire Lone Ranger story, from a to z was born at a radio station. Silver, Tonto, The William Tell Overture, "Who was that masked man?", and "Hi-yo Silver," all came from WXYZ in Detroit Michigan.

It was 1933. America was in the midst of the depression. George W. Trendle was the owner of WXYZ and like everyone else he was in financial trouble. A radio western did not cost a lot to put on. With that as a backdrop ideas were born that are still alive today. Trendle hired a writer named Fran Striker. Others were involved, but these two were the primary players. Using inspiration from a variety of sources The Lone Ranger story began to unfold. With very little fanfare the program went on the air. What happened next was amazing.

Bags and bags of fan mail began pouring into the radio station. The show was a gigantic hit. Kids loved it. The program was picked up by WGN in Chicago and then by WOR in New York. Then it went coast to coast. If the Lone Ranger made an apearance thousands showed up. The Ranger went into the movies and television. In the late 90's The Lone Ranger was a made for TV movie. It was horrible. But think about it. It was the same story that started on radio over 60 years ago.

I have a theory about why the show became so popular. It's what I call the Seabiscuit phenomenon. If you saw the movie, you know that Seabiscuit was a small horse nobody wanted, yet he beat the odds and deafeated a champion. America was down and out. The country was the underdog. Radios had connected the nation and Seabiscuit's story became a sensation. The country could feel good about something. If this horse could beat the odds maybe there was hope.

Into this landscape came the thundering hoof beats of the great horse Silver as The Lone Ranger rides again. The ranger believed in the princples that were the foundation of The United States. He had stong morals and was on a mission to bring justice to each and every one of us. He passed on these ideals to the youth of America and they ate it up. Lets not forget that he could also ride faster and shoot straighter than any human on earth.

There is another angle to the story: the actors who played the part. On radio it was Brace Beamer, on TV it was Clayton Moore. Both of these men became the ranger on and off the screen. If a magazine wanted a picture of Beamer at home with his wife and kids, he wore the mask. When copyright problems told Moore he could no longer wear the mask, he put on sunglasses.

When I was kid my grandfather turned me on to the ranger and I have been a huge fan ever since. I believed that if a child was exsposed to The Legend of The Lone Ranger they would get hooked. This is where Rick and his kids come in. I gave Rick video tapes of the show and he watched them with his young son Johnny. It worked. That was a few years ago. When Rick called to talk I asked about the family, he told me his youngest son Sean had also seen the tapes. Did he like it? Well, a couple of days ago his mom made him a mask and he wore it all day long.........What can I say, THE LONE RANGER RIDES AGAIN!!!!!!