Professor's book relates strange but true tales from the history of radio

1. Who was the African-American musician who wrote a number of hit songs for Elvis Presley, including “All Shook Up” and “Return to Sender”?

2. How did legendary DJ Wolfman Jack select his on-air name, and what was his real name?

3. Why were radio stations at one time required to hire “standby musicians” who did not actually perform?

4. Most people are taught that Marconi invented the radio, but others believe this honor should go to another inventor. What was his name?

5. What was the content of an early radio show called “The Hartz Mountain Master Radio Canaries”?

These are some of the offbeat facts that one can find in a new book about the radio industry written by Dr. William A. Richter, professor of communication at Lenoir-Rhyne College.

“Radio: A Complete Guide to the Industry” was recently published by Peter Lang. It is available from the publisher at www.peterlang.com  or from amazon.com. The book traces the history of radio and is liberally sprinkled with tidbits about the colorful characters who shaped the industry. The book is part of a series by the same publisher on such topics as television, newspapers and advertising.

Richter said he was approached by the publisher and asked to write the book. He was glad to take the assignment. “Radio was my first love,” he said. “As a child, my grandfather gave me a reel-to-reel tape deck.” Richter used the machine to create a pretend “radio show,” introducing and playing records that interested him.

He later earned a bachelor’s degree in radio from Columbia College in Chicago, and began working in the industry. He earned a master’s from Arkansas State University and a doctorate from the University of Tennessee. His doctoral dissertation was written about the relationship between stress and television watching in middle school children. He has contributed to the Encyclopedia of Television, and the Encyclopedia of Radio History. In 2002, he received Lenoir-Rhyne’s Raymond M. Bost Distinguished Professor Award, which recognizes and encourages outstanding teaching and scholarship.

Richter spent two years, on and off, researching and compiling the information in the book. He said the publisher wanted it to be useable as an undergraduate textbook, but also appealing to the general public. He said he had a hard time selecting which industry leaders to profile in the book. He said he tried to pick not only historically significant figures, but also some who would be known by today’s college students.

Radio is older than most people realize, having gotten its start in the 1800s. However, it is still changing and developing today. New trends such as the consolidation of media ownership, digital radio, podcasting and subscription radio services are continuing to change the business. In fact, it’s changing so fast that Richter said he had to make major revisions to the book near the end to make the volume current.

The answers to the questions at the beginning of this article are:

1. Otis Blackwell

2. Wolfman Jack, whose real name was Bob Smith, chose his on-air name as a tribute to DJ Alan “Moondog” Freed and blues musician Howlin’ Wolf.

3. It was a tactic of the musicians’ union, which was afraid their members would lose jobs due to the new technology. They were supposedly needed in case the station’s play-back equipment failed.

4. Nikola Tesla

5. A children’s program that featured birds singing current hit tunes.

©2006 Lenoir-Rhyne College