Johnny Holliday: From Rock To Jock

"In Miami, in Rochester, in Cleveland, in New York, in San Francisco, in Washington, DC. Over the years, hundreds of thousands of kids in city apartments and suburban tract houses and rural barns tuned into Johnny Holliday, eager for his voice, knowing he was speaking just to them."
-- From the Foreword by Tony Kornheiser

"An exuberant account that will make you smile, and then laugh out loud. What a life!"
-- Cokie Roberts, ABC, NPR Radio

"Fascinating, and also historically significant... I guarantee you will enjoy this book."
--- Claude Hall, Radio Daily News

In a joyful and inspiring memoir, the pioneer Top 40 DJ retraces the steps that carried him from an "all black" R&B station in hometown Miami to his current 24 year tenure as radio play-by-play voice of the University of Maryland Terrapins football and basketball teams. Written with his friend, Stephen Moore, Johnny recalls his glory rock and roll DJ days in Cleveland, New York (where he worked with Murray the K), and San Francisco; his radio work in Washington, DC; his live coverage of nine Olympic Games for ABC Sports; and his adventures with family, close friends, and professional colleagues from Hank Aaron, Rick Barry, the Beatles, Howard Cosell, Joe DiMaggio, Ralph Friedgen, and Paul Hornung to Janis Joplin, the Joy Boys, Murray the K, Roger Miller, Sugar Ray Leonard, Morgan Wooten, and both Ted and Gary Williams, to name but a few. Foreword by Tony Kornheiser, Afterword by Dick Vitale. * 225+ pp * eight-page b/w photo insert. 6 x 9 hardcover. ISBN: 158261461X

The Hits Just Keep on Coming: The History of Top 40 Radio

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From the Publisher:
Buzzing with behind-the-scenes stories from Top 40 DJs -- many just as popular as the records they spun -- this lively blast from the past reflects the rhythmic pulse of Top 40 radio itself, where there was never a second of dead air. Anecdotal oral histories take you back to the rantings and ravings of dozens of "cooler rulers," like the Real Don Steele of "Boss Radio" fame, "fifth Beatle" Murray the K, WMCA Good Guy B. Mitch Reed, the colorful "Cousin Brucie," the inimitable Wolfman Jack, and the notorious Alan Freed. More than 130 photos put faces to the voices, while author Ben Fong-Torres guides you on a 40-year trek through radio stations all across the country -- where Top 40 and a whole generation grew up.

Airwaves of New York: Illustrated Histories of 156 Am Stations in the Metropolitan Area, 1921-1996

Reader Review:
There are probably a dozen or so books that I've read and re-read cover to cover in one siting. I am adding Kanze and Sulek's to that pile, making it a super baker's dozen. It's a solid, well written text, highlighted with great pictures and memorabilia about radio's AM history in metro #1. My only regret for the radio historian is that there isn't one for all the other major metro areas like Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas. I look forward to their FM version. Gotta have it.
Bob Donnelly, Montclair NJ

(See Peter Kanze's Mic Collection on our Home Page.)

Monitor: The Last Great Radio Show

Monitor (Take 2): The Revised, Expanded Inside Story of Network Radio's Greatest Program

From the Publisher:
This is the inside story of network radio's greatest program -- Monitor. Born in 1955 out of inspiration and desperation, "Monitor" became a smash hit with audiences and advertisers. The NBC weekend extravaganza -- which started as a 40-hour long program -- featured big-name hosts such as Dave Garroway, Hugh Downs, Frank Blair, Frank McGee, Gene Rayburn, David Wayne, Ed McMahon, Henry Morgan, Mel Allen, Monty Hall, David Brinkley, Hal March, Barry Nelson, Jim Lowe, Joe Garagiola, Murray the K, Bill Cullen and many others. Broadcasting from mammoth NBC studios called "Radio Central," Monitor featured a continuous flow of news, sports, comedy, variety and live remotes from around the country and around the world. It also featured "Miss Monitor," who gave weather forecasts in a way no one had ever heard before. Monitor was the first network radio show designed for a mobile audience -- listeners could tune in wherever they were, at any time during the weekend, and hear something "new and different" every few minutes. For nearly 20 years, Monitor kept listeners in instantaneous touch with anything of interest or importance happening in the world. This is the fascinating Monitor story -- from its creation by legendary NBC programmer Sylvester L. "Pat" Weaver Jr., to never-before told anecdotes about Monitor's hosts and featured players. New interviews with Monitor hosts and staff members provide an engrossing and entertaining look at The Last Great Radio Show.

FM: The Rise and Fall of Rock Radio

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Radio veteran Richard Neer's FM is a journey through the history of rock-'n'-roll radio. As he recounts his own broadcasting career, Neer simultaneously traces the development, heyday, and eventual demise of free-form radio. He chronicles the legendary deejays at pioneering rock stations such as WNEW, KSAN, and WFMU, who brought both politics and exciting, undiscovered music to listeners across the country during the 1960s and '70s.

The Oldies Music Aptitude Test: Trivia Fun for Armchair Deejays

Synopsis:
If the SATs measured what Boomers really learned during high school, you'd find "A wop bop a loo bop, a lop bam boom" on the foreign language test, the chemistry exam would be about love songs, and the grammar quiz would include "Ain't No Woman Like The One I Got." These and many more tests-with-a-twist await readers of The Oldies Music Aptitude Test: Trivia Fun for Armchair Deejays. Not your run-of-the-mill Q&A trivia book, the 600 questions are grouped by irreverent musical categories such as nonsense lyrics, musical maladies, and repetitive titles, all capped off with a hilarious final score interpretation. A nostalgic delight, The Oldies Music Aptitude Test is the entertaining and informative book Boomers will embrace for reminiscing about the glory days of Rock 'n Roll.

Legends of Radio: The Greatest Shows of the 20th Century as Selected by Walter Cronkite

Synopsis:
It is with great pride that Radio Spirits presents 10 hours of the greatest radio shows of the 20th Century-selected by broadcasting legend Walter Cronkite. You'll hear Orson Welles' legendary "The War of the Worlds," Abbott & Costello's famous "Who's on First?" routine, Jack Benny's hilarious "Your Money or Your Life?" show and many more old-time radio favorites. This unparalleled collection includes a 32-page booklet containing rare photographs and a detailed history of each of these legendary programs-plus a special foreword written by Walter Cronkite himself.