A sweeping; anecdotal account of the great sounds and voices of radiondash;and how it became a bonding agent for a generation of American youthWhen television became the next big thing in broadcast entertainment; everyone figured video would kill the radio starndash;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 ldquo;disc jockeysrdquo; 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-changinrsquo;.Along with rock-and-roll music came the attitude that would literally change the ldquo;voicerdquo; of radio forever; via the likes of raconteur Jean Shepherd; who captivated his loyal following of ldquo;Night Peoplerdquo;; 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 inndash;and turned onndash;our consciousness; and went from being written off to rewriting the rules of pop culture.From the Hardcover edition.
#863355 in eBooks 2009-03-31 2009-04-02File Name: B000SEIETM
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. HelpfulBy Michael R ElmoreDover books are good reprints; although; being such; there are very few color examples. The poetic style is an interesting change from the writing in art books by comtemporary authors.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Drawing And Painting TreesBy Alana CampbellI wanted books on painting trees and did not find much on this. topic. being written. I was happy with my purchase of this book.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Four StarsBy riopano06Enjoyed the helpful insights.