CELEBRITY TALES - AS I REMEMBER THEM:PETER FRAMPTON

“Nice day for soccer,” I thought as I trotted onto the field at Veteran’s Stadium in Philadelphia on that gorgeous Saturday in 1977. This was going to be a star studded event and I was asked to be the honorary co-captain of a brand new team for this charity raising game. After all, WYSP was the #1 rock & roll station in town with a good deal of the credit going to the top rated morning team of “Fox & Leonard.” Two man morning radio was unheard of on FM back then. FM was still a relative newcomer and most rock & roll disc jockeys whispered. They were just THAT cool. All of the ratings and, subsequently, advertising dollars, went to the big AM stations. That was a time when the words “clear channel” had everything to do with a transmitter. It was not yet the name of a company that would come along later and monopolize the business, contributing to the downfall of all that was entertaining and fun about radio for the listener AND the practitioner. Being the “Leonard” half of the team didn’t hurt when it came time for perks and this was a good one. Veteran's Stadium was filled with luminaries. Rick Wakeman and Mick Jagger were part owners of the new team, Paul Simon was there, James Taylor had lagged behind just a bit because he was holding the door for “regular folk” who had come to the extravaganza. I told a joke and the woman in front of me swung her head around and laughed. How flattered I was when I realized that I had just gotten a mouth full of Gilda Radners hair. Like I said, this was a star-studded event and the stands were packed with people who probably couldn’t have cared less about soccer, but, were fans of the likes of Yes, the Rolling Stones and Fox & Leonard. I couldn’t help but notice the amount of people in the stands. And, here I was, on the field as part of “the show.” I saw that Peter Frampton was an honorary co-captain of the opposing team. Not a bad choice, as “Frampton Comes Alive” had been released a short time earlier. It was recorded live at Winterland and had soared to the top of the charts. He was riding high with a huge hit record. As I crossed the field towards him, I held out my hand to shake his and when I got close enough, I introduced myself. “Hi, Peter, I’m Bob Leonard from WYSP. I’m the honorary co-captain of the other team. Welcome to Philly.” He looked at me, turned and walked away, completely ignoring my greeting and my hand. A lot of people witnessed this cold shoulder, so it came as no surprise the next day when I was on the air and the promotion person walked into the studio to announced the arrival of Peter Frampton who was going to come on my show to plug the album and try to pick up a few more sales. “Not on MY show,” I said and I asked the promo guy to close the door behind him. The general manager then came in saying, “Hey, that’s Peter Frampton, don’t you realize that he has the #1 album in the country?” “Yes, I do,” I responded, “If you want him on the air that badly, YOU do the interview.” and I walked out of the studio. Peter Frampton did not go on the air at WYSP that day but, fortunately, I had ratings and I still had my job.