Border Radio
Quacks, Yodelers, Pitchmen, Psychics, and Other Amazing Broadcasters of the American Airwaves
University of Texas Press
2nd Edition
Published on 15. March 2002
Book
Hardback
371 pages
978-0-292-72538-6 (ISBN)
Article exhausted; check for reprint
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.
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 QuarterlyMore details
Edition
2nd Revised edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Austin, TX
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Edition type
Revised edition
Illustrations
72 b&w illus.
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 31 mm
Weight
744 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-292-72538-6 (9780292725386)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
New editions

Gene Fowler | Bill Crawford
Border Radio
Quacks, Yodelers, Pitchmen, Psychics, and Other Amazing Broadcasters of the American Airwaves, Revised Edition
Book
03/2002
2nd Edition
University of Texas Press
€33.50
Shipment within 10-20 days
Persons
Gene Fowler is a freelance writer in Austin, Texas. Bill Crawford is a writer in Austin with an interest in Texas history.
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