Something in the Air: Radio, Rock, and the Revolution That Shaped a GenerationA sweeping, anecdotal account of the great sounds and voices of radio–and how it became a bonding agent for a generation of American youth When television became the next big thing in broadcast entertainment, everyone figured video would kill the radio star–and radio, period. But radio came roaring back with a whole new concept. The war was over, the baby boom was on, the country was in clover, and a bold new beat was giving the syrupy songs of yesteryear a run for their money. Add transistors, 45 rpm records, and a young man named Elvis to the mix, and the result was the perfect storm that rocked, rolled, and reinvented radio. Visionary entrepreneurs like Todd Storz pioneered the Top 40 concept, which united a generation. But it took trendsetting “disc jockeys” like Alan Freed, Murray the K, Wolfman Jack, Cousin Brucie, and their fast-talking, too-cool-for-school counterparts across the land to turn time, temperature, and the same irresistible hit tunes played again and again into the ubiquitous sound track of the fifties and sixties. The Top 40 sound broke through racial barriers, galvanized coming-of-age kids (and scandalized their perplexed parents), and provided the insistent, inescapable backbeat for times that were a-changin’. Along with rock-and-roll music came the attitude that would literally change the “voice” of radio forever, via the likes of raconteur Jean Shepherd, who captivated his loyal following of “Night People”; the inimitable Bob Fass, whose groundbreaking Radio Unnameable inaugurated the anything-goes free-form style that would come to define the alternative frontier of FM; and a small-time Top 40 deejay who would ultimately find national fame as a political talk-show host named Rush Limbaugh. From Hunter Hancock, who pushed beyond the limits of 1950s racial segregation with rhythm and blues and hepcat patter, to Howard Stern, who blew through all the limits with a blue streak of outrageous on-air antics; from the heyday of summer songs that united carefree listeners to the latter days of political talk that divides contentious callers; from the haze of classic rock to the latest craze in hip-hop, Something in the Air chronicles the extraordinary evolution of the unique and timeless medium that captured our hearts and minds, shook up our souls, tuned in–and turned on–our consciousness, and went from being written off to rewriting the rules of pop culture. |
Contents
1 | |
3 | |
CHAPTER 2 HARLEMATINEE | 29 |
CHAPTER 3 THE TRANSISTOR UNDER THE PILLOW | 58 |
CHAPTER 4 BOOZE BROADS BRIBES BEATLES | 78 |
PART TWO REBEL | 99 |
CHAPTER 5 MIGHT PEOPLE | 101 |
CHAPTER 6 THE JINGLEJANGLE MORNING | 127 |
CHAPTER 9 SHOCK AND | 221 |
CHAPTER 10 SCATTERING SEEDS | 248 |
CHAPTER 11 FULL OF SOUND AND FURY | 271 |
CHAPTER 12 BACK TO THE FUTURE | 297 |
SIGNOFF MAGIC | 311 |
Acknowledgments | 325 |
Bibliography | 329 |
Notes | 339 |
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advertisers airwaves American announcer asked audience band Beatles became Bob Fass broadcast Bruce Morrow called callers classical Clear Channel commercial Cousin Brucie decades deejays disco Donahue Fass's FM stations format Freed Giovannoni Hancock hear heard host Jackson jazz Jean Shepherd jingles jocks Josephson Keillor kids KMPX knew Lee Abrams Leykis Limbaugh listeners live managers McLendon morning Morrow nation Nebel night oldies owners Pacifica payola percent play police political pop culture popular promoters public radio radio stations Radio Unnameable Raechel Raechel Donahue ratings record companies says Siemering songs sound spin started story Street studio talk radio talk show tape thing tion Todd Storz Tom Donahue Tom Leykis took Top 40 stations tunes underground voice WABC wanted Washington WBAI WBFO WDIA WHUR WLNG York young
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