"[6] Biondi gained national attention in the 1950s and 1960s as a disc jockey on leading AM radio stations in Buffalo, New York; Chicago, Illinois; and Los Angeles, California.

Besides being among the first to play Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Gene Vincent, and other early rhythm and blues artists, he was also able to meet them.

His lifelong love of radio began at an early age, when he was allowed to read a commercial on WMBO in Auburn, New York.

[5] He went on to work behind the scenes and learned about broadcasting at nearby WINR, Binghamton, New York, where one of his co-workers was a young Rod Serling.

[20] He continued on to KVOB, Bastrop, Louisiana,[20][21] but it wasn't until working for KSYL in Alexandria[3][22][23] that Biondi started doing music shows.

When Biondi arrived there, Rock and Roll was on the airwaves, and he began doing local appearances with such stars as Fabian, Paul Anka, and Bobby Darin.

[4] After a dispute at WKBW, Biondi jokingly described his boss's car on the air, said where he would be driving, and asked his listeners to throw rocks at it.

Two weeks later,[1] he was hired at WLS,[7][20][30] which covered most of the United States east of the Continental Divide and drove his breakthrough to fame.

To promote the WLS "Bright New Sound" which premiered May 2, 1960,[31] ABC executives did some advance publicity by bringing two of its new personalities to Chicago early.

Biondi's playing a record on his show gave it maximum exposure to a very large audience; he was the most popular night time DJ in the Midwest.

[20][51] From 1964 to 1965, between KRLA stints, he hosted a nationally syndicated show, Dick Biondi's Young America, carried by 125 stations on the Mutual Broadcasting System.

[55][56][57] During his time with the Mutual show, Biondi obtained exclusivity rights for records for all of his subscriber stations; this was a big boost to their ability to be competitive in smaller radio markets.

[7][20][41][60][61][62] In addition to his regular airshift, Dick did many specialty shows for WCFL: Pop Goes the Music and In the Beginning looked back at early Rock and Roll; This Is Elvis explored Elvis's life, and Dick Biondi Labels the Blues delved into that genre and its influence on Rock and Roll.

There was also the weekly "Vietnam Show" that allowed listeners to send greetings to family and friends serving overseas; copies went to Armed Forces Radio Network.

[52][63] In 1972, after a short time at WMAQ (AM),[64][65] he left Chicago once again, working at WBZ Boston,[66] WSAI Cincinnati,[67][68] and a decade-long stint on WNMB in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Dick was the subject of Sirott's show in 1982;[75] it was enough to rekindle local radio professional interest in him and Biondi returned to Chicago the next year - briefly working at WBBM (96.3 FM).

[20][77][78] Columbia College, Chicago presented Inside the Radio Studio with Dick Biondi & Herb Kent - 100 Years on the Air on April 10, 2010.