[4] He developed a reputation for being the first American DJ to identify new artists[5] and play "edgy new bands" such as Blondie,[6] the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, Van Halen,[7] Guns N' Roses, Duran Duran, the Cure, Joan Jett, the Hollywood Squares, Hole, Symbol Six, No Doubt, Blur, Nirvana,[6] Sonic Youth, the Bangles, X, the Pandoras, Germs and many others.

He was described as a "famous groupie, now respectable" by Mick Jagger,[2] and the film documented Bingenheimer's status as a person with numerous high-profile friends.

[5] When Bingenheimer was 16,[6][10] his mother drove him to southern California and dropped him off at the house of Connie Stevens, and instructed him to get the star's autograph.

[6] Homuncular, with spindly little legs and a Prince Valiant mop atop sagging features, he now looks like a strenuously mod Don Knotts.Bingenheimer became a groupie of sorts and formed attachments with prominent artists including Sonny and Cher.

[1] Writer Alison Powell in The Guardian wrote that his "sincerity helped him gain the trust of Brian Wilson, the Beatles, even Elvis".

[1] During these years he was photographed near countless celebrities from the worlds of acting and music and Hollywood, including John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Mick Jagger, Adam Ant, the Beach Boys and many others, almost like a "real life rock'n'roll Zelig".

Bingenheimer brought Beach Boys singer Brian Wilson to the recording session for Tina Turner's lead vocal on the Phil Spector classic "River Deep, Mountain High", and he was included in a dialogue by the all-female band the GTOs on their Frank Zappa-produced LP Permanent Damage.

In the late 1960s he was hired by Nik Venet to do publicity for Linda Ronstadt's group the Stone Poneys but he became so disenchanted with the LA music scene during this period that he moved to the United Kingdom where he enjoyed the London nightclub vibe with the help of his friend David Bowie.

[3] He discovered the nascent British glam rock scene and met other emerging stars such as Rod Stewart.

Led Zeppelin, Andy Warhol, Suzi Quatro, Alice Cooper, the New York Dolls, the Kinks, Michael Des Barres or Marc Bolan held court while getting liquored up on imported ale.

[1] The English Disco also featured occasional live performances, including appearances by the New York Dolls and the Stooges in 1973, and Iggy Pop staged his infamous concert on August 11, 1974, during which he performed an improvised "play" called Murder of the Virgin (in which he was whipped by guitarist Ron Asheton, who was dressed in a Nazi uniform) and which climaxed with Iggy repeatedly slashing his chest with a knife.

Rodney singlehandedly cut a path through the treacle of the Sixties, allowing all us avants to parade our sounds of tomorrow dressed in our clothes of derision.

Due to his connections within the burgeoning L.A./Hollywood music scene, Bingenheimer was given a show on the then-relatively unknown Pasadena radio stations KROQ-AM and FM, called Rodney on the ROQ, which began in August 1976 and had its last broadcast June 5, 2017.

[7] His tentative voice conveyed a "painful sincerity", suggesting that he "loves the music he plays", discussing it like a matchmaker introducing a person to a song.

[5] His radio show had an influence on the emerging Los Angeles punk scene in the late 1970s, while Bingenheimer was at stated odds with the prevailing country-rock style that dominated West Coast music.

The show featured the latest punk, new wave and glam rock[11] releases from London and New York, and labored to help artists build their careers alongside "anybody brave or stupid enough to put out a record in Los Angeles," he said.

[14] He has been described as the first DJ to play many up-and-coming bands, including the Runaways, Blondie, the Ramones, the Pandoras, the Hollywood Squares, Social Distortion, Van Halen, Duran Duran, Oasis,[1] the Donnas, No Doubt, Dramarama, the Offspring, the Go-Go's, Germs, the B-52's, X, Sex Pistols,[1] Teenage Fanclub,[1] the Smiths,[1] Siouxsie and the Banshees,[1] and others.

[15] In 1983, KROQ became the first radio station to play the thrash band Suicidal Tendencies, when Bingenheimer added their song "Institutionalized" to the playlist.

"[1] Many bands knocked on the parking lot door of KROQ's studio in Pasadena and handed Rodney a copy of their new record or tape.

In 1978, guitarist Eddie Vincent and drummer Tad of the Hollywood Squares gave Rodney a copy of their just-released 45 at the studio door.

Within minutes, Bingenheimer introduced the mysterious group to his listening audience and played "Hillside Strangler" and the song promptly charted in Record World's New Wave Hit Parade.

He told me to take one of the songs over to Rodney's studio, knock on the door, and tell him that Kim says we're the illegitimate sons of Rick Springfield and the Go-Gos.

Bingenheimer was also credited with giving the band Broken Bottles a big break by playing their single "Gothic Chicks".

[17] In 1995, Bingenheimer introduced a segment to his show titled "American in London", co-hosted by Liza Kumjian-Smith, focusing on news and releases from upcoming British bands, which brought Brit Pop to the US and broke many UK bands such as Coldplay, Doves, Muse, Pulp, and more recently the Arctic Monkeys, among others.

[20] This was a strategic time for a radio personality, a record label and a fanzine to work together to support and promote a growing musical underground and exclusive punk scene.

And arriving at the end of middle age, with his mother – and, from what I can gather, his best friend – recently deceased, he's a figure of incredible loneliness.

[1] The movie suggested that Bingenheimer has had sex with "scores of women" during his earlier days but those relationships did not form into lasting attachments with any particular woman.

[6] He has never married but apparently still holds on to the possibility that he will find a woman who has the "ideal 1960s vision in plastic miniskirt, Mary Quant lashes and ropes of bullion fringe.

[28] In December, five more women came forward accusing Bingenheimer of sexual assault when they were minors, including Go-Go's guitarist Jane Wiedlin.