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Jul. 3rd, 2009
Two giants pass
Jul. 3rd, 2009 12:14 pmNorm Pellegrini
Yesterday, I woke, as usual, to WFMT's Morning Program. Shortly after the regular newscast and a bit of music, the host, Carl Grapentine, announced that they had just been told of the death of Norm Pellegrini. Who, you ask, is Norm Pellegrini? For forty-three years, he was WFMT's program director, and it is no exaggeration to say, as the Trib's classical music critic John von Rhein does: If WFMT is a unique classical radio station in the nation and the world, it is largely due to Mr. Pellegrini's vision, influence, elevated taste and uncompromising principles.
I do not recall any other radio station being on in our house as I was growing up. Norm was, therefore, an enormous influence on my musical education. As an on-air host, his voice was instantly recognizable. The words "mellifluous tones" seem to have been invented to describe it.
( Chicago Tribune obituary-Norm Pellegrini )
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Dempsey Travis
Later in the day, I saw the news of the passing of Dempsey Travis, another name not well-known outside Chicago, but a man whose life had an extraordinary impact on the city. Born into a blue-collar, working-class family, he rose to become a business leader and real estate developer who fought redlining and segregated housing, and worked to revitalize Chicago's South Side. Jazz buff, historian, author, he was also very politically active, and was instrumental in Harold Washington's election as the first black mayor of Chicago.
( Chicago Tribune obituary-Dempsey Travis )
Yesterday, I woke, as usual, to WFMT's Morning Program. Shortly after the regular newscast and a bit of music, the host, Carl Grapentine, announced that they had just been told of the death of Norm Pellegrini. Who, you ask, is Norm Pellegrini? For forty-three years, he was WFMT's program director, and it is no exaggeration to say, as the Trib's classical music critic John von Rhein does: If WFMT is a unique classical radio station in the nation and the world, it is largely due to Mr. Pellegrini's vision, influence, elevated taste and uncompromising principles.
I do not recall any other radio station being on in our house as I was growing up. Norm was, therefore, an enormous influence on my musical education. As an on-air host, his voice was instantly recognizable. The words "mellifluous tones" seem to have been invented to describe it.
( Chicago Tribune obituary-Norm Pellegrini )
--------------------------
Dempsey Travis
Later in the day, I saw the news of the passing of Dempsey Travis, another name not well-known outside Chicago, but a man whose life had an extraordinary impact on the city. Born into a blue-collar, working-class family, he rose to become a business leader and real estate developer who fought redlining and segregated housing, and worked to revitalize Chicago's South Side. Jazz buff, historian, author, he was also very politically active, and was instrumental in Harold Washington's election as the first black mayor of Chicago.
( Chicago Tribune obituary-Dempsey Travis )