The Pied Pipers of Rock 'n' Roll: Radio Deejays of the 50s and 60s

I am a deejay myself and this book is the best on the subject I've ever found, a real pleasure to read and full of hilarious stories. The sections on the great DJ's at WLAC - Hoss Allen, Gene Nobles & John R - make it a true gem. Some of it is sloppy, true (see the sour schoolmarm review) but let's face it, the subject matter is sloppy, too. This is not a dry, academic treatise, folks - it's about ROCK AND ROLL and the spirit of these guys shines through in these pages like nowhwere else! This is a spirit that has all but been snuffed out by the likes of Clear Channel and Top 40; if you want to see who was integrating the races before the Civil Rights movement you can read all about them in this book. In the 1950's being a Southern White Liberal was a dangerous thing; to promote Rock and Roll was almost suicidal. Although they were all players in payola (which as Alan Freed observed is called lobbying in DC) they were real heroes to a lot of folks, including myself. I love this book.

The best book on early rock 'n' roll radio, detailing the rise of the music and its mass medium within the heated cultural politics of the time; the basis for the documentary ROCK 'N' ROLL INVADERS, which is now available on DVD and is also excellent. Buy both -- they complement each other. Smith did solid research in interviewing as many of the surviving disc jockeys as possible. He also does not flinch from the racial problems (despite what you have NOT read in other rock 'n' roll histories) were a major part of the rise of rock 'n' roll.