| Jonathon Brandmeier | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | John Francis Brandmeier[1] |
| Born | July 15, 1956 Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, United States |
| Show | Johnny B Mornings |
| Station(s) | WGN - AM 720 - Chicago |
| Time slot | 5:30am - 9:00am weekdays |
| Country | United States |
| Website | johnnybontv.com |
Jonathon "Johnny B" Brandmeier is a Chicago radio personality and musician.
Contents |
Born John Francis Brandmeier[2][3] to a German father and a Lebanese mother, Brandmeier started his radio career in 1973 at WFON in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. When he was 18 (1974 or 1975), he joined WOSH-AM in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, later working as a DJ at WYNE (now WHBY-AM) in Appleton, Wisconsin, then at KLIV-AM in San Jose, California, then as the morning jock at WYBR-FM (now WXRX-FM) in Rockford, Illinois, and then in 1980 at WOKY-AM in Milwaukee.[4] In February 1981, he was brought on as the KZZP-FM morning DJ in Phoenix, Arizona, where he participated in prank phone calls and silly song parodies. In 1982, Brandmeier released his first album Just Havin' Fun.
WLUP ("The Loop") in Chicago hired him in 1983, where his morning show was broadcast on both 1000 AM and 97.9 FM stations. He also had a short-lived TV show in 1991, Johnny B. on the Loose and recorded three more albums, Almost Live (1984), Brandmeier (1989) and Dink: The Man Formerly Known As Brandmeier (1994) with his band Johnny and the Leisure Suits. His most memorable songs include "We're All Crazy In Chicago" (a local Top Ten hit), "Hey Der Milwaukee Polka", and "The Moo-Moo Song" (based on an actual event in the 1980s when a local attempted to make love to a cow in the Lincoln Park Zoo). A few of his songs were occasionally played on the Dr. Demento Show, which was also syndicated on Sunday nights on WLUP until 2010.
A management change at WLUP in 1997, however, led to the end of Brandmeier's 14-year run on The Loop. He briefly hosted middays at WCKG in Chicago, and had subsequent stints in Los Angeles at KLSX and KCBS-FM. Brandmeier attempted syndication, during which his show was aired on KZZP, Phoenix. However, he was unable to deliver the ratings necessary and his syndication was quickly cancelled.
After some time away from radio, Brandmeier returned to mornings at WLUP in October 2005. He has also made several appearances with his band, The Leisure Suits, on what he called "World Tour 2007." This included playing bars and theaters in the Chicago area. In 2008, he released a live 2-CD set, Larger Than Live of his 2007 Christmas show in Rosemont, Illinois. All proceeds from the CD purchases went to Pizzas For Patriots, which sends pizzas to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Once again, Brandmeier took a chance on television by doing a late-night talk show on WMAQ-TV during the summer of 2008. However, the project was abandoned after the pilot episode. The show is available through the "Almost Live" website.
There was some speculation that Brandmeier was going to sign with talk/sports station WGN (AM) after his contract was up in 2009. However, Loop management re-negotiated his contract, and he remained on the Loop for morning drive.
In 2009, Brandmeier's longtime co-producer, Hector Soriano, was let go from WLUP-FM along with Chicago sportscaster and Loop alum Bruce Wolf. Brandmeier's show continued to be podcasted daily through the Loop's website and on iTunes.
On November 30, 2009, Brandmeier was released from his contract from WLUP due to chronic low ratings and a very high salary, estimated to be well over $1 million annually.[5]
In 2010, it was announced that Brandmeier had put his Malibu, California mansion up for sale for around $8 million. The house sold in July 2011 for $4,100,000. Also in 2010, a Chicago talent agent, Lisa Miller, who had represented Brandmeier filed suit against him, claiming he owed her around $312,000. Miller's husband is Brant Miller, a Chicago radio and television personality.
On December 2nd, 2011 an announcement aired on the WGN Noon News stating that Brandmeier will begin hosting the Morning Show on WGN Radio starting December 9th 2011.
Albums:
Singles 1981:
1983: