The most important book in radio is the one that lists the latest ratings. But it’s not the only one. A ton of great books have been published over the years, tracing the history of radio, various stations, even some of its most celebrated personalities. I’ve been lucky enough to read a large number of them and would love to hear yours. Here’s a selection of my Top 5 favourites:
 
(Note: some of these are no longer in print and may not be available anymore. But you can check Amazon or Indigo to see if they still have it.)
 
5. Turn It Up!: American Radio Tales
    Author: Bob Shannon/Publisher: AustrianMonk Publishing
 
The late Bob Shannon was a great DJ himself, and worked at a plethora of New York radio stations, most famously WCBS-FM. In this tome, he gathers tales and career highlights from some of the most famous and legendary talents who ever turned on a mic, including Jackson Armstrong, Dick Clark, Bill Drake, Dan Ingram, Larry Lujack, Gary Owens, Dr. Don Rose and Charlie Tuna. Just to name a few.
 
A very entertaining book that I read on the subway on my daily trips to Princess Margaret Hospital for radiation treatment during my bout with cancer. It really helped pass the time at a tough period and I feel like it’s time to read it again!
 
4. Have Mercy: Confessions of the Original Radio Animal
    Author: Wolfman Jack/Publisher: Warner Books
 
I think this is long out of print, but I found it in a used book store online for a bargain price. Turns out it was a great buy! Wolfman Jack’s tales of his early radio career in Mexico were the highlights for me, including a wonderful story about getting shot at as he reported for work at super-powered XERF. And then there was that movie, American Graffiti. A great read if you can find it.
 
3. Cousin Brucie!
    Author: Bruce Morrow/Publisher: Betch Tree Books
 
The name says it all. Cousin Brucie, who has been in radio seemingly since Marconi (and, at age 86, is still doing Saturday nights on WABC, where it all started) talks about his childhood, how he got interested in radio, his first gig in the Caribbean and those unbelievable days when WABC was the most listened to commercial radio station on the planet. A terrific bio.
 
2. The CHUM Story
    Author: Allen Farrell/Publisher: Stoddart
 
It comes in second place, only because #1 was so good. But how could a kid born and raised on the sounds of the nifty 1050 resist the story of the number one Top 40 station in Canada and one of the best in North America? Lots of great stories, especially of the early days of rock and roll, amazing pics and memorabilia, and wonderful recountings of CHUM’s famous contests, many of them devised by Farrell himself.
 
I wanted to read this one so bad, that although I could have gotten it for free through my TV station, I decided to shell out for it, because I couldn’t wait to devour it.

1. Rockin’ America
   Author: Rick Sklar/Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
 
My #1 pick. Maybe you’ve never heard of Rick Sklar, but you almost certainly know what he did. The program director of WABC New York during its heyday as the biggest music station in North America, if not on Earth, tells the stories you never got to hear. If you’ve ever worked in a radio station, you’ll know the behind-the-scenes tales when the mics are off are some of the most fascinating and hilarious.
 
And Sklar doesn’t disappoint, dishing on what it was like to work there at that heady time, a remarkable story about Elton John trying to get him to program one of his songs that involved a cake or two, and my favourite of them all:
 
The once-in-a-lifetime circumstances that led to a religious tape being dubbed on high speed backwards being heard live, non-stop on WABC for half an hour during one afternoon drive before anyone there noticed. As a bonus, every page lists some of the hits the station played during its time in the Top 40 game.
 
I’ve read it twice over the years and might just pick it up again.
 
Honourable Mention:
 
      Signing On: The Birth of Radio in Canada
     Authors: Bill McNeil & Morris Wolfe/Publisher: Doubleday
 
A simple if somewhat dry recounting of how radio itself came to be in Canada, but there are a ton of great facts about the dawn of the medium here and some amazing pictures and artifacts from a time long past.