The Hits Just Keep Coming
Here are just a few of the great reactions we’ve received so far. Please send your thoughts. Click the picture to see the reviews.
Top reviews from the United States
Ballcoach
5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn’t Put Down
Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2022
Eric Heckman here, Amazon won’t let me post this under my real name.
If you were part of the business, radio or records in 70’s-80’s you will laugh, cry and relive some of the best years of your life through protagonist Sonny Joe and author Dwight Douglas. If you weren’t, but want a terrific primer on how radio worked, the ins and outs, history of the “golden age of rock”, succinct narratives of how a radio station works and the great and not so great personalities that ran the shows this is a can’t put down read. I was a former General Mgr, Superstar PD and Record Company promotion exec. The author stirred so many of my memories and had me guessing who was who with his fictionalized treatment of so many “war stories”. It was especially riveting since I observed Dwight Douglas turn DC101 into one of the first dominant AOR stations and then had the fortune to work closely with him when we put WYMX Rock 106 on the air in Augusta, Ga in 1980. His description of Sonny Joe’s first meeting with Lee Abrams was priceless. How many of us participated in those “Lee talks, you listen” moments.
Dwight’s treatment of the record company promotion folks was predictably harsh but as somebody who spent time on both sides of the aisle I get it.
Warning! Don’t start the book without plenty of free time. It sucked me in about 20 pages in and like the accomplished programmer Dwight was kept me tuned in for a days worth of quarter hours.
Don Goldberg
5.0 out of 5 stars A Narrative Love Letter to a time, place and spirit that filled the ether.
Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2022
I have read a few rock radio memoirs. Great stories, amusing and amazing anecdotes and “legendary” characters. But this one’s different in lots of wonderful ways.
It has all the ingredients above but it serves them in up in a literary stew beyond telling that gives you a taste of the essence of life in the trenches and behind the “star-making machinery” behind the popular culture as it extruded through your radio in the heydays of what’s now “classic rock.”
Although the author guides us through the narrative as a first person tale as told by a completely believable “Zelig” kind of character who’s an amalgam of rock radio folk it seems that the reap protagonist here isn’t the person, but the radio. business itself as it grows and morphs, shaped by trends, personalities, technology and business. The “long strange trip” carries the reader from one market to another through the back roads in a U-haul of memories. Along the way, Douglas manages to weave in broadcast history and even FCC regulations in a way that somehow fits into the flow of the story while informing the reader with a beginner’s mindset without being pedantic. Not an easy task.
You get the idea that Douglas was “documenting” with literary license, a radio “life story” to be told to generations to come about an era that to many of us was more than simply a soundtrack of our lives, but a roadmap of rock and roll radio from a rocky road until it’s eventual off-ramp, from counter-culture to over-the-counter-culture.
It’s a quick read unspooling memories like a runaway reel of acetate and Mylar falling off the back of a U-Haul whipping in the wind on the way to the next great gig.
scott woodside
5.0 out of 5 stars A transparent behind the scenes look at Radio
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2022
I loved every minute of this read! And highly recommend it to you! If you listened to radio personalities and either fell in love with or were in awe of them. If you’ve ever wondered what really went on behind the scenes of this crazy medium. Then this is the best it will ever get! If you were ever in the business you most probably worked with half of the names mentioned. From Scott Shannon to Howard Stern and a boatload of others. Dwight Douglas tells it like it is through his alter ego Sonny Joe in this brilliant Novel. Fun, emotional, hilarious, and fast paced. It’s been a hell of a long time since I’ve laughed at Dwight’s comedic genius and amazing Story telling. This will be a movie! I was lucky enough to have learned comedic timing from Dwight in my short stint working with him. A great consultant and mentor! You won’t be able to put this down. Enjoy!
DVD
5.0 out of 5 stars A Refreshing Inside Look at a Radio Career Journey
Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2022
This is the radio book I’ve been waiting for. A straight-ahead, honest and unvarnished tale of what it takes to make it in the radio business written with great love for an industry that builds wonderful friendships, hilarious true stories, and insights into how it all works.
So many of these stories reflect my own personal experiences too, including the building of my own radio station in my house when I was 14, the construction and operation of our college radio station, the first professional gig, and the infamous “Nightmare Dream” almost every DJ in the business experiences repeatedly throughout their career and beyond.
Whether you’re in the business or curious about how a radio career develops, this quick read by one of the industry’s brightest minds will be satisfying as it takes the reader on a journey filled with everything that comes with Rock & Roll!
One person found this helpful
Sandi B
Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2022
I’ve read four books written by Dwight C. Douglas and the latest one is another gem! Humor and insight show the passion of Sonny Joe’s journey in radio broadcasting. As a former radio music director, I could relate to the scenarios when radio was fun and filled with passion and hard work. Boy does he nail the record promoters working an artist! This book could easily be used as a text book for those entering radio now. I know I learned just as I experienced in my real life. Dwight is a thoughtful writer and doesn’t try to outsmart his readers. Lots of fun! Can’t wait for the movie!
Bill Hergonson
5.0 out of 5 stars Everything you wanted to know about being in radio…but were afraid to ask.
Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2022
Having “been-there-done-that” in radio for 36 years, including working with Casey Kasem, Robert W. Morgan, Wink Martindale, Ron Jacobs and Tom Rounds, Dick Clark, the incredible air personalities at KGB-FM in San Diego, and many, many other “wild and crazy” guys and gals in the radio arena (many who are mentioned herein), I can only echo what the other reviewers of this book have already said “TRUE! ALL TRUE!” (pretty good for a work of fiction). I say DITTO to the incredible Sandi B. who commented earlier. If you ever did so much as a weekend shift on your college radio station, this book will keep you turning the pages to the end.
Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars A reasonable peak inside the radio biz
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2022
While everyone who spent more than 20 years in radio has a different take, Dwight dramatized his perspective in this book. It’s almost like he expects a screenplay to be developed. It has, it’s called “FM”.
It’s the same story others have told. You always read them to see who is in the book, or what juicy sex romp the author might fantasize over. God forbid you get mentioned in the book. We’ve all lived a few moments, but mostly, radio was and probably still is endless hours of routine with nothing but the glamour of our own egos. Dwight pretty much “crush and rolled” through life as a consultant, avoiding the actual labor of life as a jock or PD who had to put up with endless hours of opinion on records, liners and stop sets.
He clearly lets us know his political views in this book. Yes, it oozes into everything these days. Know that going in before you read.
Compared to the other radio books from Edwards or Plumb, Douglas misses the deeply human emotional side of life in the biz. This is a novel, based on true life, but life has more humanity then he managed here.
Skip Finley
5.0 out of 5 stars Steal This Book
Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2022
A lot of us got old in the business, experimented, learned and had a ball AFDI {inside baseball] . THIS is the book that allows you to read about all the fun we had in radio that you can only hear recorded after the cool kids left the building to copycats and the fun fled. Thanks to Dwight’s newest book we can revel in the good times [just imagine the stories he couldn’t publish!] without rancor. Instead of being depressed for radio’s future I’m delighted about the past we shaped, station by station, song by song, liner after liner – in market after market. It was 18 for me and 44 radio stations, most of which I loved like kids and as much as I enjoyed this new literary treasure. BTW, the names changed don’t protect anyone guilty or innocent. Thanks DD!!
Brian Gregory
5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read!
Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2022
Dwight does a great job telling stories, conveying insights for broadcasters that was all too familiar. It made me realize and remember the “gypsyness” of the radio business. Moving from town to town and up the career ladder to hopeful success. Thanks for the mentions! I was flattered to be included! Here’s to continued success!
French J. Damewood
Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2022
I’m a retired radio dog who grew up in Dayton…so the book had me at Cassano’s Pizza! The author and I are pretty much the same age. We have been through many similar experiences. But this piece of fiction is the truth…that’s the way it was and what it has become! A great read for anyone who has ever been in radio, had a favorite DJ, called a request line, or just loved music! I think this should be required reading for people in the music business too…
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Can’t wait to get my copy of the book! After leaving Nashville to go to 96rock, Atlanta, I was thrilled about being able to finally be working at a major market radio station. One evening, I had just started my 6p to 10p air shift when the program director, who was also my room mate at the time, came in and told me he was leaving for the day and would see me at our apartment after my show. He left and I was the only person remaining on the 12th floor of the building…..until I sensed that I was being watched. About 6:45, I happened to turn around and see the eyes of a young blond and a brunette looking into the studio through the window of the door. I was shocked to see them because the office doors were supposed to be locked. So, I got up and asked them ‘Can I help you?” They replied that they ‘just came by to see the 96rock studio’. OK…. I asked if anyone was with them and they said “no”. OK….. So….I sat them down on the wooden bar stools that we used for interviews that were right beside the two turntables that were being used to play the LPs on the air. I immediately became an impromptu ‘tour guide’ and informed them about being silent when the music stopped playing because everyone listening would hear them if they made a sound. After about 3 or 4 songs and a commercial break, I started the first song of a 20 minute music set and one of the girls pulls out a flask of Jack Daniel’s and asked me….”Hey, Johnboy, would you mind if Mary and I had some of this?” Assuming I had already lost my job because of the violation that they were in the studio after hours, I said, “Fine with me…go right ahead”. They each turned up the flask and then offered it to me which I declined. About three songs later, the brunette says to me….”Heeeey, Johnboy…..don’t you think Mary has great tits?” ???OMG!!! Mary was wearing a turtleneck, long sleeved sweater…..not exposing anything….and I said, “Well, I am sure they are attractive”. When I said that, the brunette reaches over from her bar stool and pulls up Mary’s sweater to reveal a very NICE rack with no bra underneath. Startled, “I said….WEELLLL….that’s definitely a nice pair.” And the brunette says…”But you gotta TASTE EM to appreciate em”. She then kinda leans over and starts munching on Mary’s left boob. In her, now obvious, drunken state, she loses her balance and both she and Mary fall to the floor….while KICKING THE TURNTABLE and making the tone arm slide all the way from the first track to the last track creating this “PPPPPSFFFFSDFFFFFTTTTTTTTTTTTTLLLPPPPPPP” noise for ALL OF ATLANTA to hear live on the air. OMG,OMG,OMG,OMG,OMG!!!!!!! I immediately started the next cued up song and thought to myself “my career is OVER, I AM DEAD, OR FIRED”. I just sat there stunned…. until I noticed that the brunette and Mary had swapped ends and were still very busy enjoying each other ON THE FLOOR OF THE STUDIO!!! Helpless and hopeless, I just sat there while the songs played. Finally…the two girls got up…pulled up their jeans and the brunette said to me, “THANKS, Johnboy….that was Mary’s BIRTHDAY PRESENT”…..
Oh my, quite the story, but hey, these are True Radio Confessions.
Yep. It was my ‘Welcome to the Big Leagues’ in Atlanta.
Mr. Douglas,
Read your book. Been there-done-that. It’s all true. You could’t make this shit up! I started on a 500 watt directional daytimer WQSR, 1320 in suburban Syracuse NY spinning the polka records for “Stan Masik’s Polka Party” (Stan was a part owner of WQSR). Got a BS degree in TV/Radio from Ithaca College (with Rod Serling as a prof!) class of ’70. Moved to LA. 1st job was, no kidding, as Casey Kasem’s engineer on “American Top 40”. Moved over to KRLA with Shadoe Stevens as PD (FM on AM format), then Ron Jacobs hired me to be a DJ on KGB, San Diego. Greatest station on the West Coast. The KGB Chicken, The KGB Skyshow, etc. Best DJ’s, best promotions, and a GM who had been a top rated DJ himself. Did other big markets like LA, Detroit and New York, but no place was a much sheer fun and thrills as KGB 101.5 San Diego in it’s Great Hey-Day. Great job on a difficult-to-explain-to-others subject.