About the Book

Bill Young, one of contemporary radio's most successful programmers and for four decades, rock and roll's most recognized voice, traces the beginning - and the beginning of the end - of music radio. Dead Air re-introduces the brilliant, and at times, outrageous personalities who changed both an industry - and a generation. Before CDs and shrink-wraps, MPEGs and MP3s, satellite's streaming and mini-speakers screaming, HiFi on my WIFI, the first to find Last, Pandora on my broadband, Gaga on my DAC, Slacker's on my Sony, YouTube in My Space - looks good in a huge portfolio but I miss the time it was still called radio!

Strap yourself in: "Dead Air--The Rise & Demise of Music Radio" is about to take you on a roller coaster ride!

About the Author

From 1966 to 1981, Bill Young served as Director of Programming for KILT AM/FM-Houston. The station was originally founded by Top 40 radio pioneer Gordon McLendon. Under Young's 15 year leadership, KILT dominated Houston ratings and achieved national acclaim, including recognition as "Radio Station of the Year" and "Program Director of the Year." After radio, his company, Bill Young Productions, became the standard for touring industry advertising in Radio, TV, Print and New Media. Bill's voice has been featured on world and national tours for Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, U2, Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand, Sir Michael Crawford, ZZ Top, George Strait and many others.

The company he founded, Bill Young Productions, still provides materials for hundreds of events each year. As a film director, he directed many national television ads and over 100 music videos, once with a string of ten straight number one videos on CMT. Bill lives with his wife and three Brittany's in Texas.

Article Featured on Chron.com About Dead Air

KILT's Bill Young looks back
The sounds of Little Richard and Fats Domino blasting through the pine curtain of East Texas made a lasting impression on a Lufkin teenager named Bill Young in the mid-1950s.

In 1955, pop music for most teens included the likes of Pat Boone singing covers of R&B songs such as Tutti Fruitti and Blueberry Hill. WLAC, a 50,000 watt (almost) clear channel radio station coming out of Nashville offered the real thing and kids across the southern part of the nation would tune in late at night to hear music filled with a kind of raw emotion they'd never heard before.

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