IN THE BEGINNING... GARY RITCHIE a lifelong CHICAGOAN (nw side) uh..er.. until recently (more on that later) thought he was going to be the next shortstop for the CHICAGO CUBS, until one night some kids on T.V. were singing YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! Then came the DAVE CLARK 5, The ANIMALS, KINKS, Gerry & the PACEMAKERS, HERMAN's HERMITS, and many more. He was in! The next thing he knew was that his younger brother got a guitar, formed a band and was playing at the movie theater BETWEEN movies. People applauded and there were um.
GARY RITCHIE a lifelong CHICAGOAN (nw side) uh..er.. until recently (more on that later) thought he was going to be the next shortstop for the CHICAGO CUBS, until one night some kids on T.V. were singing YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! Then came the DAVE CLARK 5, The ANIMALS, KINKS, Gerry & the PACEMAKERS, HERMAN's HERMITS, and many more. He was in!
The next thing he knew was that his younger brother got a guitar, formed a band and was playing at the movie theater BETWEEN movies. People applauded and there were um...GIRLS acting friendly! He thought, in the words of JOHN LENNON, "THAT seems like a good job". The next thing he know's is that his brother is asking him to audition for his band THE PARAMODS. Well, he didn't even own a set of drums, but, he could try-out on the other drummers drums! The first thing they ask him to play is WIPEOUT! He couldn't play WIPEOUT. So needless to say, he failed the audition. But, that really got him interested in playing. So during the great SNOWSTORM of '67 his dad drove down to the southside of CHICAGO to get his first set of drums. Oh, by the way, Gary's brother Greg has still never said a word about the failed audition!
Gary went on to play in many bands, toured, recorded and just had a good 'ol time. And he has his younger brother to thank for getting him started. Oh, and of course those four MOPTOP guys too!!
That leads us up to the NOW!
Gary was sitting around one day preparing to record one song from every "BEATLE" album, just for the fun of it. His friend from a former band (LOOSE LIPS) called and asked what he was up to? His buddy JEFF KING, wanted to be part of it. So they went on and recorded "Beat The Meatles". They ended up recording 22 songs for the album. It was so much fun they decided to do it again, this time doing ORIGINAL material. So "POP! RADIO" was born. It was made in the UPBEAT spirit of FUN! FUN! FUN! Oh, by the way. If you ever see a copy of "Beat The Meatles"...GRAB IT!! It's Goooooooood.
Gary & Jeff hope you enjoy "POP! RADIO" as much as they do.
They are already in the studio working on a follow up album. Actually TWO! One for Jeff & one for Gary. Look for them soon.
Gary is now living in AUSTIN, TEXAS as of 11-5-06. He went "kicking & screaming", but is starting to get used to the change.
"POP! RADIO" is also available on apple i-tunes and many other on-line companies for digital download.
Gary would like to thank everyone for purchasing 'POP! RADIO".