Radio Free Boston: The Rise and Fall of WBCN - Softcover

Alan, Carter

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1555537294 ISBN 13: 9781555537296

Publisher: University Press of New England, 2013

Synopsis

Blaring the Cream anthem “I Feel Free,” WBCN went on the air in March 1968 as an experiment in free-form rock on the fledgling FM radio band. It broadcast its final song, Pink Floyd’s “Shine On You Crazy Diamond,” in August 2009. In between, WBCN became the musical, cultural, and political voice of the young people of Boston and New England, sustaining a vibrant local music scene that launched such artists as the J. Geils Band, Aerosmith, James Taylor, Boston, the Cars, and the Dropkick Murphys, as well as paving the way for Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, U2, and many others. Along the way, WBCN both pioneered and defined progressive rock radio, the dominant format for a generation of listeners. Brilliantly told by Carter Alan―and featuring the voices of station insiders and the artists they loved―Radio Free Boston is the story of a city; of artistic freedom, of music and politics and identity; and of the cultural, technological, and financial forces that killed rock radio.

About this title

About the Author

Currently a DJ and music director at WZLX in Boston, CARTER ALAN was a DJ at WBCN for nineteen years. He is the author of U2, Outside Is America, and Life on the Road.

Review

“WBCN—four letters that made a big difference to our U and our 2. . . . Without them taking risks on new music, I’m not sure the U2 story would have been the same.” (Bono)

“WBCN welcomed us in those early days; so much so, that Boston became a home away from home for the Allman Brothers Band and for me. ’BCN was truly one of the greatest of American radio stations. I miss those guys.” (Gregg Allman)

“To a kid growing up in the suburbs of Boston, WBCN was on the front line of the culture war, with Peter Wolf, Maxanne Sartori, J.J. Jackson, and all the rest bringing us the music that would be the soundtrack to our cause.” (Joe Perry)

“I hereby certify that Carter Alan’s cast of hippies, freaks, madmen, admen, music fans, leftists, visionaries, new wavers, New Agers, grunge dudes, bluesmen, and especially rock stars and the girls that love them is worthy of a sprawling novel that now doesn’t have to be written because Carter Alan expertly brings it all to life in Radio Free Boston.” (Stephen Davis, author of Hammer of the Gods and Walk This Way)

Edition details

• Publisher: University Press of New England
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1555537294
• ISBN 13: 9781555537296
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352