
Border Radio
Quacks, Yodelers, Pitchmen, Psychics, and Other Amazing Broadcasters of the American Airwaves, Revised Edition
University of Texas Press
2nd Edition
Published on 1. March 2002
Book
Paperback/Softback
371 pages
978-0-292-72535-5 (ISBN)
Description
Before the Internet brought the world together, there was border radio. These mega-watt "border blaster" stations, set up just across the Mexican border to evade U.S. regulations, beamed programming across the United States and as far away as South America, Japan, and Western Europe.
This book traces the eventful history of border radio from its founding in the 1930s by "goat-gland doctor" J. R. Brinkley to the glory days of Wolfman Jack in the 1960s. Along the way, it shows how border broadcasters pioneered direct sales advertising, helped prove the power of electronic media as a political tool, aided in spreading the popularity of country music, rhythm and blues, and rock, and laid the foundations for today's electronic church. The authors have revised the text to include even more first-hand information and a larger selection of photographs.
This book traces the eventful history of border radio from its founding in the 1930s by "goat-gland doctor" J. R. Brinkley to the glory days of Wolfman Jack in the 1960s. Along the way, it shows how border broadcasters pioneered direct sales advertising, helped prove the power of electronic media as a political tool, aided in spreading the popularity of country music, rhythm and blues, and rock, and laid the foundations for today's electronic church. The authors have revised the text to include even more first-hand information and a larger selection of photographs.
Reviews / Votes
This book adds immeasurably to our appreciation and understanding of the power the aural medium possesses to mirror and shape culture. (Communication Booknotes Quarterly)More details
Edition
Revised
Language
English
Place of publication
Austin, TX
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
603 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-292-72535-5 (9780292725355)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Gene Fowler | Bill Crawford
Border Radio
Quacks, Yodelers, Pitchmen, Psychics, and Other Amazing Broadcasters of the American Airwaves, Revised Edition
E-Book
06/2010
2nd Edition
University of Texas Press
from
€32.99
Available for download
Previous edition
G. Fowler | Bill Crawford | Woflman Jack
Border Radio
Quacks, Yodelers, Pitchmen, Psychics, and Other Amazing Broadcasters of the American Airwaves
Book
03/2002
2nd Edition
University of Texas Press
€70.76
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Persons
Gene Fowler and Bill Crawford are freelance writers in Austin, Texas.
Content
Foreword by Wolfman Jack
Introduction: Turn Your Radio On
1. Del Rio's Dr. Brinkley: The Big Daddy of Border Radio
2. Purple Shadow on the Rio Grande: Norman Baker in Nuevo Laredo
3. Border Blaster at Black Rock
4. Crazy
5. Please Pass the Tamales, Pappy
6. "Radio Waves Pay No Attention to Lines on a Map"
7. "Coast to Coast, Border to Border . . . Your Good Neighbor along the Way"
8. Howlin' on a Quarter Million Watts
9. Blasting from Baja
10. Radio Station S-A-V-E-D
11. That Outlaw X
Selected Bibliography
Index
"Border Radio" song lyrics from Nevada Slim
About the Authors
Introduction: Turn Your Radio On
1. Del Rio's Dr. Brinkley: The Big Daddy of Border Radio
2. Purple Shadow on the Rio Grande: Norman Baker in Nuevo Laredo
3. Border Blaster at Black Rock
4. Crazy
5. Please Pass the Tamales, Pappy
6. "Radio Waves Pay No Attention to Lines on a Map"
7. "Coast to Coast, Border to Border . . . Your Good Neighbor along the Way"
8. Howlin' on a Quarter Million Watts
9. Blasting from Baja
10. Radio Station S-A-V-E-D
11. That Outlaw X
Selected Bibliography
Index
"Border Radio" song lyrics from Nevada Slim
About the Authors