A cup of hot cocoa in front of a crackling fire in the fall. Peacefully floating on a raft on a small river in Tennessee. Sundown over the mountains of Colorado. As soothing, comforting and embracing as those things are, the voice of radio legend Dick Biondi is just as special to me. Which is ironic, because he is referred to as one of the original "screamers" on radio!

The "Wild I-Tralian" turns 89 this Sunday, Sept. 19. Even though he was fired 23 times from various stations around the country, Chicago was his heart, and WLS 89-AM was his home. Biondi began on the radio as a sportscaster, but was quickly drawn to the rhythm and blues songs emerging on the radio around him. He loved that Alan Freed era that became known as rock 'n' roll.