Streisand, Sinatra, Mathis, Cher: Ex-rock 'n' roll DJ Al Fiori of Knoxville met them all

The quiet neighborhood where Al Fiori now lives off Sutherland Avenue seems far removed from the early days of the loud and exciting Southern California rock ‘n’ roll scene of the mid-20th century.

But the hubbub of Los Angeles is still close to the 93-year-old’s heart. As a pioneering and popular disc jockey in the Golden State who went by the on-air name of Al Anthony, he had basically a front-row — or maybe even stage-side — seat during that momentous time in music history.

“I was in at the beginning of rock ‘n’ roll,” he said with enthusiasm of getting to play many legendary stars’ records for the first time or having them perform at one of his dance parties or promotional shows.

As a DJ at various stations in such Los Angeles-area communities of Bakersfield, Riverside and San Bernardino from the late 1950s into the 1970s, and as a radio station chain executive, he was often sought out by the singers almost like they were by the fans.

Meeting the stars

As he reminisced from his home recently, he recalled that he met early on such stars as Bill Medley, the Beach Boys, Ike and Tina Turner, and Johnny Mathis.

He also met Barbra Streisand during her first promotional trip to California, remembering that she was a little impatient. He also became acquainted with the famed crooner and actor Frank Sinatra, whom he recalled was pleasant. “People were climbing around him all the time,” he said of the man who was already well known.

He met some famous people through a dance party TV show he had in the early 1960s, explaining, “Since it was so close to LA, everybody was happy to come on as a guest on the TV show.”

Fiori, who has a collection of scrapbooks of promotional pictures with him next to many of these celebrities, was also the co-sponsor of the first California appearances of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. He also was at an upscale bowling alley event the night Cher met future husband Sonny, he said, and was around Sam Cooke a few hours before he died in a tragic shooting incident.

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The upstate New York native had come to Los Angeles after serving in the Air Force during the Korean War era. During that time, he enjoyed another distinction as a member of the support crew for the first nonstop, around-the-world flight of a Boeing B-50 Superfortress named Lucky Lady II.

While later taking some college classes in Los Angeles, he was able to get into some feature films as a background actor on a nonunion waiver. Among those 1950s-era movies were “Blackboard Jungle,” starring Sidney Poitier, and the war movie “Above and Beyond,” featuring Robert Taylor. He said he was usually cut out in the finally editing and not able to be seen on film.

He said he never felt in awe of famous actors or other people due to all these experiences, except when he met one person — actress Natalie Wood.

“When I met her, it was at a backstage party at the Ambassador Hotel when somebody introduced me. It was the first time ever my knees started to buckle because I was so into her,” he said with a laugh. “She was ravishing.”

As Fiori later moved into more radio work, he also became acquainted with some of the other disc jockeys, including the famed Wolfman Jack, whom he called a wonderful guy.

He also befriended Alan Freed, the former Cleveland DJ, who was credited with coining the phrase “rock ‘n’ roll.” Fiori said Freed admitted to an investigating panel that he got paid to play records, a common practice at that time that others did not want to admit, and he was later blackballed from work and died young. Fiori said he kept in touch with Freed and felt sorry for him and how his life ended sadly.

Moving to Knoxville

Fiori came to Knoxville in 1998 after his wife, Mari, who had successfully battled cancer, wanted to be closer to some of her family.

He worked for Jewelry Television for 10 years and has done some other film-related work, but some believe he should be the one who is the subject of a documentary film or even book. Bits and pieces of his life have been recorded and chronicled, including for National Public Radio’s “Story Corps.”

Regardless, Fiori said he is grateful to have rubbed shoulders with so many well-known people and even helped a few future music stars get started. And many of them recorded songs that nearly everyone over a certain age has since heard and likely enjoyed.

“I feel that in my way that I have touched every single human being on the Earth,” he said with satisfaction of how those songs spread.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Rock 'n' roll DJ Al Fiori of Knoxville met Streisand, Sinatra, Cher