As a boy Jimmy Gill is mesmerized by his grandmother's old console
radio and the amazing sounds it magically brings into his sad,
dreary existence. Through the airwaves he discovers a fabulous new
world that is, in the 1950s, just entering a "golden age" of rock
and roll with Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Fats Domino. With
his young black friend, Detroit Simmons, Jimmy traces the sound he
hears on the radio to a rough building just beyond his backdoor:
radio station WROG. By accident, Jimmy and Dee become involved with
the station and begin careers in broadcasting at early ages. Along
the way, they encounter the mad, creative, colorful characters who
are changing the musical landscape, the rock and roll stars and the
deejays. With technical help from Detroit and financial help from
some unsavory characters, Jimmy becomes a top disk jockey and
eventually owns an FM station. From there, the two ride the crest
of the broadcast explosion and build a media empire. Jimmy also
falls in love with beautiful country music star Cleo Michaels. But
along the way, Jimmy loses sight of what attracted him to the
magical medium of radio in the first place, the ability for a
talented dee jay to emotionally affect his audience with just a few
words or the right mix of music. His success sours to greed and a
lust for power. But when early shady dealings threaten to topple
his empire and claim his best friend, Detroit, and the woman he
loves so much, he reverts to the forces that have truly shaped his
life: the support of friends and the inimitable warm embrace of
creatively done radio. This novel is an allegory of what has
happened to radio broadcasting over the last 20 years...where power
and greed have replaced the creativity and talent of the disk
jockeys who virtually re-invented radio on the fly when television
threatened to kill it. The book is dedicated to over 300 radio
personalities who will be familiar to many. After all, those
readers likely grew up listening to some of these air talents, and
allowed the legendary DJs to provide the soundtrack of their lives.
General
Imprint: |
Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
August 2012 |
First published: |
August 2012 |
Authors: |
Don Keith
|
Dimensions: |
229 x 152 x 20mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback - Trade
|
Pages: |
356 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-4783-6294-4 |
Categories: |
Books >
Fiction >
General & literary fiction >
Modern fiction
|
LSN: |
1-4783-6294-4 |
Barcode: |
9781478362944 |
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