Richard Pegue‘s funeral this morning was fittingly powerful and entertaining. The place was packed–there must have been more than 1,500 people in the Apostolic Church of God at 63rd and Dorchester.
Sixth Ward alderman Freddrenna Lyle read a resolution from Mayor Daley and Cook County spokeswoman Chinta Strausberg read one from President Todd Stroger.
County commissioner Jerry “Iceman” Butler sang a song, the voice as smooth as ever.
Ramonski Luv, the V-103 DJ, led the crowd in a chant of the Fun Town amusement park jingle Richard wrote years ago.
The legendary Herb Kent reminisced about the old days at WVON.
I got a kick out of WBEZ talk show host Richard Steele’s loving tribute, especially the part where he jokingly talked about his lifelong friend and fellow Hirsch High graduate’s well-known affinity for his old, broken-down car.
But for me the highlight came when Jackie Taylor of the Black Ensemble Theater brought on two singers to perform a couple of dusties you might have expected Richard to play on his radio show. Melanie McCullough sang “At Last,” and Theo Huff sang Otis Redding’s “Try a Little Tenderness.” Huff was really going strong and for a moment I though he might go like Otis does in the live version. Where, you know, Redding starts giving out romantic advice–“You gotta make love, don’t tease her, never leave her …”
But, no, Huff managed to rein himself in, this being a church service and all. All in all, it was great to stay a while with Richard Pegue–one more time.