The history of Black radio -- indeed, the history of music radio generally -- is only partly understood, and poorly documented. Without any easy means of recording the broadcasts, listeners could only listen, and we're forced to use our imaginations, relying on chance recordings or the few in-studio tapes and acetates scattered about in the hands of private collectors. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has a small corner devoted to the subject, with an amazing "radio" interface that allows you to "tune in" to local broadcasts from the golden age around the country -- but even on the Internet, that cornucopia of everything that has ever been thought or said, it's hard to find much of value, or get any historical context on what you do find.
Still, there are a few welcome discoveries out there for the dedicated searcher. YouTube, though supposedly a video archive, comes through as usual with some great audio. Jocko Henderson, whose 1950's-era radio intro had him flying in from outer space like Superman, recorded a novelty-song version of his patter ("Blast off to Love"), and lived long enough to cut a couple of rap records in the late 1970's, such as "Rhythm Talk" and "Everybody's Uptight."
Biographical information on a few major DJ's -- Dr. Hepcat, Dr. Daddy-O, Poppa Stoppa, Petey Greene, and Martha Jean "The Queen," can be found online, some with a soundbyte or two. A new site, The Masters of Ceremony, looks promising but has no content as of yet. Local sites that document the history of Black radio in cities such as Milwaukee, Detroit, and San Francisco are another good if limited source. There are also a couple of (expensive) books which hold some promise, though I can't vouch for them one way or another.
Biographical information on a few major DJ's -- Dr. Hepcat, Dr. Daddy-O, Poppa Stoppa, Petey Greene, and Martha Jean "The Queen," can be found online, some with a soundbyte or two. A new site, The Masters of Ceremony, looks promising but has no content as of yet. Local sites that document the history of Black radio in cities such as Milwaukee, Detroit, and San Francisco are another good if limited source. There are also a couple of (expensive) books which hold some promise, though I can't vouch for them one way or another.
It's also a great topic if anyone is interested in it for their paper -- maybe there are some histories closer to home that have yet to be uncovered?
