Voices in the Purple Haze: Underground Radio and the Sixties

(Hardback)

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From 1966 to 1972, underground radio shattered the conventions that had kept the medium in a state of rigid conformity. At a time when the United States was shaken be widespread social and civil upheaval, a few broadcasters provided the listening public with a whole new brand of contemporary radio. While most radio stations were kept to the dictates of the bottom-line profit seekers, underground radio stations had no prescribed programming formulas, music playlists or program clocks. These innovative stations were characterized by their boldness and their expressions of freedom, idealism and pride. This is a comprehensive study of the underground radio phenomenon, in which 30 pioneers of the underground share insights and observations, and tell it like it was. It was a time when underground deejays beamed their messages of "flower power" and "Hell no, we won't go!" through the tie-dyed cosmic ether of the American airwaves.

Reviews

.,."[T]he beauty of Micheal Ketih's book is the forum it provides for all of these strong and vibrant voices to emerge and comment on a moment and a medium that shaped not only the 1960s, but the world as most of us will continue to know it. It is a valuable study and enjoyable reading."-Historical Journal of Film, Radio, and Television
...[T]he beauty of Micheal Ketih's book is the forum it provides for all of these strong and vibrant voices to emerge and comment on a moment and a medium that shaped not only the 1960s, but the world as most of us will continue to know it. It is a valuable study and enjoyable reading.-Historical Journal of Film, Radio, and Television
[A] brisk and intelligent account of [the] revolution which changed our listening habits and mirrored an even greater change in American culture. Using dozens of interviews with programmers and DJs and extensive quotations from internal station and network documents, Keith has compiled a vivid portrait of this land of listeners in the '60s and '70s.... any student of recent American cultural history will value [this book].- The Boston Phoenix
Do you remember the sixties If so, according to Lenny Bruce, you weren't there! But a new book will bring Sixties radio back. Voices in the Purple Haze: Underground Radio and the Sixties, by Michael C. Keith, is a terrific read for those of us who lived through that rough-and-tumble era in our industry and our society. It's also great for those who didn't; it exposes a bunch of wacko hippies who have subsequently become major radio players!....Highly recommended.-KMCD & KICK/96 Radio
For many readers who experienced the 1960s, this book will prompt memories... It is an integrated collection of tightly edited oral histories, from 32 people who had significant roles in underground radio during the period.-Choice
..."The beauty of Micheal Ketih's book is the forum it provides for all of these strong and vibrant voices to emerge and comment on a moment and a medium that shaped not only the 1960s, but the world as most of us will continue to know it. It is a valuable study and enjoyable reading."-Historical Journal of Film, Radio, and Television
"A brisk and intelligent account of the revolution which changed our listening habits and mirrored an even greater change in American culture. Using dozens of interviews with programmers and DJs and extensive quotations from internal station and network documents, Keith has compiled a vivid portrait of this land of listeners in the '60s and '70s.... any student of recent American cultural history will value this book."- The Boston Phoenix
..."[T]he beauty of Micheal Ketih's book is the forum it provides for all of these strong and vibrant voices to emerge and comment on a moment and a medium that shaped not only the 1960s, but the world as most of us will continue to know it. It is a valuable study and enjoyable reading."-Historical Journal of Film, Radio, and Television
"[A] brisk and intelligent account of [the] revolution which changed our listening habits and mirrored an even greater change in American culture. Using dozens of interviews with programmers and DJs and extensive quotations from internal station and network documents, Keith has compiled a vivid portrait of this land of listeners in the '60s and '70s.... any student of recent American cultural history will value [this book]."- The Boston Phoenix
"For many readers who experienced the 1960s, this book will prompt memories... It is an integrated collection of tightly edited oral histories, from 32 people who had significant roles in underground radio during the period."-Choice
"Do you remember the sixties If so, according to Lenny Bruce, you weren't there! But a new book will bring Sixties radio back. Voices in the Purple Haze: Underground Radio and the Sixties, by Michael C. Keith, is a terrific read for those of us who lived through that rough-and-tumble era in our industry and our society. It's also great for those who didn't; it exposes a bunch of wacko hippies who have subsequently become major radio players!....Highly recommended."-KMCD & KICK/96 Radio

Author Bio

MICHAEL C. KEITH is Professor of Communication at Boston College. He is the author of several books on the electronic media, including The Radio Station, The Broadcast Century, and Signals in the Air: Native American Broadcasting (Praeger, 1995). He has held various positions at colleges and radio stations, and was Chair of Education at the Museum of Broadcast Communications.