Ronnie Oberman
Ron Oberman's interest in music began when his father brought home the first Elvis Presley LP on RCA Records. Ron wanted to hear more, so he built a transistor radio and listened to local rock station WDON. As a teenager, it was all music and hot rods... and sports. Ron became sports editor of his high school newspaper. Now it was journalism, sports, hot rods and rock-and-roll. When Ron was seventeen, he began working on weekends and on summer vacation as a copyboy at Washington DCs afternoon newspaper, the Evening Star. Three years later, he began writing a weekly music column, Top Tunes. It was fate that the week he began writing the column... the Beatles performed their first U.S. concert in Washington, DC.
Ron continued writing the column until 1967, when he took a job as assistant director of publicity at Mercury records in Chicago. Ron's brother, Michael, took over writing the column in 1967 and continued writing it until 1973. Ron moved up the ranks at Mercury to become head of the publicity department. Ron left Mercury to take a position at Columbia Records and eventually became Vice President of A&R at the label. Ron finished his career in the music business as Executive VP of A&R at MCA Records. When he retired, he became a successful poker player. Ron passed away in 2019 after a decade long struggle with frontotemporal dementia.
(photo: Ron interviews "Mama" Cass Elliott)
16 articles
List of articles in the library
The Beatles: "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah" An Afterthought
Interview by Ronnie Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 14 February 1964
THE FAMOUS "yeah, yeah, yeah," in the Beatles' recording 'She Loves You' on the Swan label was a last-minute addition. ...
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, The Temptations: The Temptations: Hit Was Written in a Car
Interview by Ronnie Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 6 March 1964
IT TOOK the help of a "miracle" for the Temptations to come up with their first big hit, 'The Way You Do the Things You ...
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas: Top Tunes: Martha and the Vandellas
Interview by Ronnie Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 17 October 1964
MARTHA AND the Vandellas decided it was time for a change in pace. All their records were beginning to sound alike. ...
The Mugwumps: Top Tunes: The Mugwumps
Interview by Ronnie Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 24 October 1964
THEY MEET with "stunned silence" when performing before someone for the first time. They have their own language. A new dance has started because of ...
The Impressions: Top Tunes: The Impressions
Interview by Ronnie Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 7 November 1964
WHOEVER CAME up with the advertising slogan, "often imitated but never duplicated," must have been thinking about the Impressions. ...
Little Anthony and the Imperials: Top Tunes: Little Anthony and the Imperials
Interview by Ronnie Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 20 February 1965
AFTER A four-year absence from the record scene, Little Anthony and the Imperials have returned with three straight hits, the latest being 'Hurts So Bad'. ...
Junior Walker & the All Stars: Top Tunes: Junior Walker's 'Shotgun' Is His First Big Hit
Interview by Ronnie Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 27 February 1965
JUNIOR WALKER and the All Stars can thank a couple of teenagers from Benton Harbor, Mich., for the inspiration that's led to their first major ...
Sylvie Vartan: Top Tunes: Sylvie Vartan
Interview by Ronnie Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 3 April 1965
NINETEEN-YEAR-old Sylvie Vartan is to France what the Beatles and the Stones are to England. ...
James Brown: Top Tunes: James Brown Explains About 'Papa's Bag'
Interview by Ronnie Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 7 August 1965
YOU MIGHT say that July 23 to 29 was a sort of James Brown Week in Washington. ...
Fontella Bass: Top Tunes: Fontella Bass
Profile and Interview by Ronnie Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 6 November 1965
FONTELLA BASS may have been a "sad girl" about two months ago, but now she's one of the happiest people in the world. ...
The Rolling Stones: Top Tunes: The Rolling Stones
Report by Ronnie Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 20 November 1965
THE BATTLE of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway ended in a tie last Saturday. ...
Marvin Gaye, The Moonglows: Top Tunes: Marvin Gaye
Interview by Ronnie Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 27 November 1965
SHORTLY AFTER Marvin Gaye was graduated from Washington's Cardozo High School in the late 1950s, he packed up his bags and went on the road ...
The Detergents, The Shangri-Las: Top Tunes: The Shangri-Las
Interview by Ronnie Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 18 December 1965
DANVILLE, VA. — Those are real tears being shed in the Shangri-Las' 'I Can Never Go Home Anymore'. ...
Jay & The Americans: Top Tunes: Jay and the Americans
Interview by Ronnie Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 25 December 1965
BROOKLYN LOST the Dodgers several years ago but they still can claim Jay and the Americans. ...
Otis Redding: Top Tunes: Otis Redding
Interview by Ronnie Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 29 January 1966
WHEN OTIS Redding sang his last big hit, 'Respect', he must have been talking about his fans. ...
Aaron Neville: Top Tunes: Aaron Neville
Interview by Ronnie Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 21 January 1967
BECAUSE HE "tells it like it is," both on record and off, Aaron Neville finally is making a name for himself in the popular music ...
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