The newest addition to Arcadia Publishing’s popular Images of America series is New York City Radio from authors/broadcast historians Alec Cumming and Peter Kanze. The book boasts more than 200 vintage images and chronicles the change and development in New York City’s radio history.
Images of America: New York City Radio tells the story of the invention and perfection of the art of big-time, big-city radio broadcasting and the life and times of one of the most competitive, important and exciting radio markets in the country. The Big Apple’s extraordinary radio history, much like the story of the city itself, is a tale of strivers, dreamers and ingenious risk takers. New York City Radio presents an unprecedented visual history featuring many of these timeless characters, including radio inventors Lee De Forest and Maj. Edwin Armstrong; entrepreneurs and trailblazers David Sarnoff, William Paley, Bernice Judis, and Hal Jackson; beloved heroes Dan Ingram, Frankie Crocker and Alison Steele; controversial antiheroes Don Imus, Bob Grant and Howard Stern; and many others.
Notes Streamline RBR Publishing Chairman B. Eric Rhoads: “New York has always been the focal point for radio in America and this book brought back loads of memories and legends of NY Radio and the greats in radio. I got a great kick out of all the wonderful photos and the stories behind them.”
The New York Daily News’s David Hinckley writes that the book is “delightfully random…[and] tremendously evocative, a tantalizing whisper about how all those words and songs come out of nowhere to fill your radio.” Respected radio industry newsletter editor Tom Taylor says “Authors Alec Cumming and Peter Kanze provide an easy ride through the decades that places stations and people into context.” WCBS 880 is currently producing a series of news packages about the book that will air in late May 2013.
Alec Cumming is a freelance pop-culture historian who has also been TV promo writer/producer (NBC, History Channel, Comedy Central, A&E, etc.) and, until recently, a senior formatting producer for NBCUniversal (USA Network, Syfy, Chiller, Cloo, and UNI HD). Peter Kanze is a lifelong collector of broadcast memorabilia – many of the images in this book are from his personal collection – and has worked at WHN, WARY, and the ABC Radio Network. He co-wrote the book that’s considered the definitive source of information about New York City’s AM radio legacy, “The Airwaves of New York”. And as a producer of WABC Rewound, he helped cultivate and broadcast a series of programs celebrating the radio station’s legendary rock and roll past.
New York City Radio is available at bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at (888)-313-2665 or online.
