Hell's Kitchen Radio #502: A Tribute For My Father

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Well, here's a show I knew I would have to host eventually. I just didn't think it was going to be so soon. My dear father, Harvey Rosenberg passed away on Monday, December 26, 2022, after over ten years surviving Parkinson's Disease. I was lucky to have spent a few days with him just before he passed. It was unexpected. He had been fairly stable and mobile just a few days before he passed on. Then something happened, that we're hoping to find out, and he took a serious turn for the worse; he never recovered.

To say I'm going to miss him is a massive understatement. 

I have spoken about my dad on this show numerous times over the years. There were a lot of dad-isms I have imparted to you, my kids and my students. So many great words to live by. Here are a few:

There's no reward without risk.

Always check the oil.

Pay your taxes.

And then there were the cars. My dad owned a lot of cars. It was his hobby: buy a car, fix it up, sell it. I think if he wasn't a watchmaker and in the jewelry business, he would have been a mechanic and race car driver. He must have owned at lease one Chevy model from 49 - 68, including four Corvettes: '60, '64, '66, and '68. I was lucky to be alive to enjoy the '66 and '68. I even snuck the '66 out a few time. Sorry dad.

Anyone who knew my dad liked him. He was a great guy. He never judged anyone, and never spoke ill of

anyone. If I needed advice, he would never tell me what to do, only what he would do. I lived with him through high school, after my parent's divorced. They gave me the choice, and it was the best choice to make for a young 13 year old boy, hungry for male energy only a dad can offer. I will always cherish our hours-long evening conversations about life. He was a great listener and a good storyteller. I'll miss those talks. They helped form who I am today. 

My love of music started with my dad. I don't think he was as interested in music as I came to be, but he was the first to play me music that wasn't on the pop radio stations. He enjoyed Chicago-style electric blues, bebop-era Jazz, 50s and 60s R&B and Rock & Roll. Chuck Berry, John Lee Hooker, and the Blues Brothers were always favorites. I feel like he handed me the baton and I kept it going.

Dad took me to some fun concerts in the 80s: Bruce Springsteen (Born in the USA Tour), Bob Seger, Robert Plant, and the Doobie Brothers. I loved seeing music with him. He turned me onto great films too. The Godfather was our mutual favorite. We also loved Mel Brooks films, Abbott and Costello, and the Marx Brothers. So much of my humor is because of these films. Dad started me young. I am forever grateful. 

I was honored to host a tribute to him on Monday night. The music I chose is music he would have loved. I tell a bunch of stories about him, and was happy to have my sisters Julie and Tracy keeping me honest with the live fact checking, via text. Thanks to my step-sister Dayna (for whom I've known since she was five and consider her my sister) and her loving husband John for being in the studio with me. A huge thanks to my wonderful daughter, Lauson for being with me as well. It was so special to share this night with them and with everyone who tuned in. 

I don't believe in an afterlife, or religion, or any of that, so I can't tell you where dad is, or if he heard the

show. I'm hoping if there is something that comes after this, then he's living it up. I don't want dad to rest in peace, because he wouldn't want that either. I want him having fun, racing cars with his friends, watching a great football game, eating the juiciest steak and hanging out with the people that mean the most to him. I hosted this show in his memory, so those who are alive can feel the love that we felt for such a wonderful person.

I love you dad.

Your son.

Hell's Kitchen Radio with John Hell
Mondays 8-10PM
Radio Valencia in SF
http://radiovalencia.fm

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Intro - Hey Bartender: Blues Brothers
Blazing Saddles Trailer
Mack The Knife: Louis Armstrong

Manish Boy: Muddy Waters
Shaving Cream: Benny Bell

Marx Brothers' Duck Soup Trailer

The Runaway: Danny O'Keefe

Birthday: The Beatles
It's Hard To Be Humble: Mac Davis

Who's On First: Abbott and Costello

Bony Maronie: Larry Williams
Little Red Hen: Taj Mahal

The Godfather Trailer
Theme from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: Ennio Morricone

My Sick Mind: The Roaches

Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey: Paul McCartney

My Ding-A-Ling: Chuck Berry

Roll Over Beethoven: Rolling Stones

Boom Boom: John Lee Hooker
What A Wonderful World: Louis Armstrong