_“A Celebration of Life and Music for Pete Fornatale” took place on Sunday, May 27 at 7pm, at City Winery in New York City.
_
The event was originally billed as their Simon & Garfunkel Songbook Show with Pete narrating, which the trio enjoyed performing so many times together since 2008. At this event, Aztec still performed the S&G Songbook, but with the help of contributions from many of Pete’s friends and colleagues, including musical guests who, like them, had appeared on his “Mixed Bag” radio show. All proceeds benefited WhyHunger, an organization that Pete not only cherished, but which also had the honor of having him serve on their advisory board.
I was honored to have been in attendance, and grateful to my friend Rex for including my video and slide show montages in the proceedings.
Some of Pete's dear friend Don Thiergard's photos from the evening appear at the bottom. More to come!
I will let Pete’s dear friends from Aztec Two-Step continue the story in their own words. This section is taken from the duo’s May 2012 newsletter. (Note the suggestion to have Pete nominated for inclusion into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Do we approve? I think so!)
No one spoke as eloquently or with more intelligence about our generation’s music than Pete Fornatale. Pete is gone but his matchless artistry as one of the foremost standard bearers of free-form radio will live on right beside the great songs he played during his nearly 50 years of groundbreaking broadcasting excellence.
While Pete was friends with and respected by most of the great musicians of our era including Brian Wilson, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen, and many more, our friend Jay Winuk, whose brother Glenn, an EMS volunteer who died heroically while coming to the aid of people at ground zero on 9/11, also observed:
“It was the place on the dial where I knew I could connect with Harry Chapin, with Rex and Neal, with Bromberg and Prine and so many, many others whose music did not necessarily, or frequently enough have the room to breathe elsewhere. It was Pete Fornatale who provided a platform during those years for these artists to also be presented as people, with thoughts and emotions and points of view and senses of humor that brought them to life, well beyond what their songs were saying.”
Another friend and colleague, videographer Sandi Bachom shared:
“Pete was simply the best. He knew more about music than any 10 people combined. His voice, with never a wasted word, was like an old friend that inspired us to 'watch' the radio as well as listen - it was pure theater of the mind. Whenever a favorite album of Pete’s would arrive, he’d gleefully tell us about it, the stories behind the songs and the artist, and, like a child on Christmas day, we would share it together.”
Neal’s wife Karen reminisced:
“Though I got to know Pete (like so many others) over the airwaves, in recent years, I was able to get to know him personally through his friendship with my husband. I always joked with Pete that he was my date on those Saturday afternoons (during Mixed Bag) while Neal was on the road.”
Pete was the first deejay at WNEW-FM in 1972 to play our music. Neal and I both remember hearing that distinctive smiling voice say: “And here is ‘The Persecution & Restoration of Dean Moriarty (On The Road),’ a song by the duo Aztec Two-Step from their self-titled debut album on Elektra Records.” How do you describe that feeling in words? Pete stayed with us through thick and thin when most others in his field did not. For this, and his friendship, we will always be grateful.
Some of my most cherished memories were watching grown adults act like kids in a candy store during the meet and greet sessions following our Simon & Garfunkel Songbook shows. I got to see Pete experience firsthand the outpouring of love and affection from people whose lives he had touched and helped shape during his six decades on radio. For Pete, first and foremost, it was always about the music, never his persona. And that genuineness is perhaps what endeared him to us the most.
Pete won the Armstrong Excellence in Broadcasting Award in 1983 and received AFTRA’s Media and Entertainment Excellence Award this past February at The Plaza in NYC. It’s our job now is to see that he gets inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame where extraordinarily, only two deejays currently reside.
The event was originally billed as their Simon & Garfunkel Songbook Show with Pete narrating, which the trio enjoyed performing so many times together since 2008. At this event, Aztec still performed the S&G Songbook, but with the help of contributions from many of Pete’s friends and colleagues, including musical guests who, like them, had appeared on his “Mixed Bag” radio show. All proceeds benefited WhyHunger, an organization that Pete not only cherished, but which also had the honor of having him serve on their advisory board.
I was honored to have been in attendance, and grateful to my friend Rex for including my video and slide show montages in the proceedings.
Some of Pete's dear friend Don Thiergard's photos from the evening appear at the bottom. More to come!
I will let Pete’s dear friends from Aztec Two-Step continue the story in their own words. This section is taken from the duo’s May 2012 newsletter. (Note the suggestion to have Pete nominated for inclusion into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Do we approve? I think so!)
No one spoke as eloquently or with more intelligence about our generation’s music than Pete Fornatale. Pete is gone but his matchless artistry as one of the foremost standard bearers of free-form radio will live on right beside the great songs he played during his nearly 50 years of groundbreaking broadcasting excellence.
While Pete was friends with and respected by most of the great musicians of our era including Brian Wilson, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen, and many more, our friend Jay Winuk, whose brother Glenn, an EMS volunteer who died heroically while coming to the aid of people at ground zero on 9/11, also observed:
“It was the place on the dial where I knew I could connect with Harry Chapin, with Rex and Neal, with Bromberg and Prine and so many, many others whose music did not necessarily, or frequently enough have the room to breathe elsewhere. It was Pete Fornatale who provided a platform during those years for these artists to also be presented as people, with thoughts and emotions and points of view and senses of humor that brought them to life, well beyond what their songs were saying.”
Another friend and colleague, videographer Sandi Bachom shared:
“Pete was simply the best. He knew more about music than any 10 people combined. His voice, with never a wasted word, was like an old friend that inspired us to 'watch' the radio as well as listen - it was pure theater of the mind. Whenever a favorite album of Pete’s would arrive, he’d gleefully tell us about it, the stories behind the songs and the artist, and, like a child on Christmas day, we would share it together.”
Neal’s wife Karen reminisced:
“Though I got to know Pete (like so many others) over the airwaves, in recent years, I was able to get to know him personally through his friendship with my husband. I always joked with Pete that he was my date on those Saturday afternoons (during Mixed Bag) while Neal was on the road.”
Pete was the first deejay at WNEW-FM in 1972 to play our music. Neal and I both remember hearing that distinctive smiling voice say: “And here is ‘The Persecution & Restoration of Dean Moriarty (On The Road),’ a song by the duo Aztec Two-Step from their self-titled debut album on Elektra Records.” How do you describe that feeling in words? Pete stayed with us through thick and thin when most others in his field did not. For this, and his friendship, we will always be grateful.
Some of my most cherished memories were watching grown adults act like kids in a candy store during the meet and greet sessions following our Simon & Garfunkel Songbook shows. I got to see Pete experience firsthand the outpouring of love and affection from people whose lives he had touched and helped shape during his six decades on radio. For Pete, first and foremost, it was always about the music, never his persona. And that genuineness is perhaps what endeared him to us the most.
Pete won the Armstrong Excellence in Broadcasting Award in 1983 and received AFTRA’s Media and Entertainment Excellence Award this past February at The Plaza in NYC. It’s our job now is to see that he gets inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame where extraordinarily, only two deejays currently reside.
_I’ll continue with a segment from the Aztec Two-Step June 2012 newsletter, following the wonderful event at City Winery.
_
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Our “Celebration of Life and Music for Pete Fornatale” show at City Winery was a total success from every aspect imaginable. Sue Leventhal of WhyHunger played an integral part throughout the evening as stage manager and Tony Traguardo’s moving slide show and video tribute to Pete set the show beautifully in motion.
Pete meant so much to all of us who knew him and we all chipped in to give him the very best send off we could muster. Originally scheduled as Aztec Two-Step performing the Simon & Garfunkel Songbook with Pete narrating, it became a loving celebration in Pete’s memory. The show was hosted by NY1’s Budd Mishkin, with special musical guests that included Tom Chapin with Michael Mark, David Buskin, Julie Gold, and Willie Nile joined by James Maddock. WFUV’s Don McGee, plus Budd Mishkin and Pete’s sons Peter and Mark Fornatale all helped with Pete’s narrations and read excerpts from his book “Simon & Garfunkel’s Bookends.”
Other guests included legendary Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame DJ Joey Reynolds, Ken Best of WPKN & WHUS, Spider Glenn of WNTI and Vinny Cohan of WDFH. Two of Pete’s favorite WFUV engineers, Matt Billy and Jeremy Rainer also spoke with eloquence and humor. It was an unforgettable evening filled with laughter and tears, musings and music, just like Pete would have wanted it. Proceeds from the show were donated to WhyHunger, on whose advisory board Pete served for many years up until his passing.
For those of you who could not be there, here’s a link to "Red Rubber Ball," one of Pete’s favorites and the show’s finale, filmed by videographer Sandi Bachom. This and other excerpts from the show can be viewed on our YouTube homepage.
Our “Celebration of Life and Music for Pete Fornatale” show at City Winery was a total success from every aspect imaginable. Sue Leventhal of WhyHunger played an integral part throughout the evening as stage manager and Tony Traguardo’s moving slide show and video tribute to Pete set the show beautifully in motion.
Pete meant so much to all of us who knew him and we all chipped in to give him the very best send off we could muster. Originally scheduled as Aztec Two-Step performing the Simon & Garfunkel Songbook with Pete narrating, it became a loving celebration in Pete’s memory. The show was hosted by NY1’s Budd Mishkin, with special musical guests that included Tom Chapin with Michael Mark, David Buskin, Julie Gold, and Willie Nile joined by James Maddock. WFUV’s Don McGee, plus Budd Mishkin and Pete’s sons Peter and Mark Fornatale all helped with Pete’s narrations and read excerpts from his book “Simon & Garfunkel’s Bookends.”
Other guests included legendary Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame DJ Joey Reynolds, Ken Best of WPKN & WHUS, Spider Glenn of WNTI and Vinny Cohan of WDFH. Two of Pete’s favorite WFUV engineers, Matt Billy and Jeremy Rainer also spoke with eloquence and humor. It was an unforgettable evening filled with laughter and tears, musings and music, just like Pete would have wanted it. Proceeds from the show were donated to WhyHunger, on whose advisory board Pete served for many years up until his passing.
For those of you who could not be there, here’s a link to "Red Rubber Ball," one of Pete’s favorites and the show’s finale, filmed by videographer Sandi Bachom. This and other excerpts from the show can be viewed on our YouTube homepage.