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Summary: Autobiography of a radio survivor
Review: A memoir of a bygone era, FM tells the story of the successful career of it's author, Richard Neer, a one-time champion of free form rock radio. Focusing predominately on his rock and roll heyday, Neer concentrates on what he lived first hand, the rise and fall of New York's premier rock station; WNEW FM. Reading much like an interesting biography, FM's flaw seems to be its limited regional appeal. Luckily for the reader, Neer's nice-guy personality outshines any minor foibles. For a fan of WNEW in the 70's & 80's, FM is joy to read. Like its obvious predecessor, ROCKING AMERICA by Rick Sklar, FM's target audience would seem to be New York area radio listeners and professional radio broadcasters. If you are either, open it up and see what falls out of Neer's closet. You won't be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: If you lived in NJ or NYC in the 70s a must
Review: A must for anyone who lived throught he 70's listening to rock FM Radio in New York City. A great Gift. My only wish is he would have included more photos. Maybe should have been titled...........
"Where Rock Lives (and died)"
Rating:
Summary: If you lived in NJ or NYC in the 70s a must
Review: A must for anyone who lived throught he 70's listening to rock FM Radio in New York City. A great Gift. My only wish is he would have included more photos. Maybe should have been titled...........
"Where Rock Lives (and died)"
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Summary: Pretty Good Book - Lots of Info on Radio & Entertaining!
Review: About 90% thru with this book and I have to say I've liked it a lot so far.... It has a lot of info on the rise of FM radio in the New York area where I grew up listening to DJ's on WNEW-FM & WPLJ like Scottso, Dave Herman, Pat St John etc.. I dont know if I would appreciate this book as much if I didnt know the names that were being talked about... When Richard Nere talks about DJ's from out of town or on fledgling stations, I kinda gloss over... Theres so many station id's and names that sometimes you can get lost on who the stories are about... Also, Richard Nere isnt standard on names... Sometimes he uses the persons first name, sometimes the last, and sometimes their radio name, sometimes their description (ie - the guy with the colossal frame).. Numerous times, I had to go back and re-read pages trying to find out who Richard is talking about... But for the most part, its about people I know and have grown up listening to, so it is quite cool reading the background stories... When I find a block of free time, it is really hard to put the book down... I was debating giving this book 4 or 5 stars...The name confusion thing wasnt that bad, but I really think this book wouldve been nicer with pics (any pics) of the jocks discussed... I would loved to see what Allison "the Nightbird" Steele looked like being that there are numerous references to her and how great she looked... Same with other jocks that I grew up on... (By the way, i also found out that jocks dont like hearing that you grew up listening to them LOL) Anyway, i would give this a solid 4 & 1/2 stars if i could...Because it was pretty close to being excellent... Now, Dave Herman, Play me some Rock and Roll! -=J
Rating: 
Summary: A Voice of Reason
Review: From the hours of 6:00-10:00 a.m. on Saturdays, the tumult and the shouting pauses on New York City's sports talk station WFAN. Host Richard Neer, known to his regular callers as "The Voice of Reason," is presiding, and sanity reigns, if only for a short while. Of course, New Yorkers have been getting up with Mr. Neer for a long time. Before his present gig as a sports talk host, the author was affiliated with the legendary aor FM station, WNEW, and it's that station's story he tells here, in his usual understated fashion. Neer was music director, program director, overnight jock, and did two stints as the morning man in his 28 years with the station (he stayed to turn out the lights) and in that time he knew and tells us about, such legendary jocks as Jonathan Schwartz, Bill (Rosko) Mercer, Scott Muni (who he seems to admire the most), and Alison Steele ("The Nightbird"). He also knows Bruce Springsteen and devotes a chapter to him, and another to the night John Lennon died. But the heart of the book deals with dumb station managers and dumber consultants. And it deals with them better than they probably deserve: As gracious on his pages as he is on the air, Neer deals fairly even with the people who've treated him poorly. If you've been wondering why your favorite music station doesn't seem to sound quite the same as it did the week before, you may be quite sure it's changed program directors and/or general managers. Again. And Neer tells you how and why that keeps happening. (You won't be surprised to learn that ratings and profits something to do with the constant flux.) Although the author takes pains to discuss FM radio across the country, his emphasis, naturally, is on his own New York experiences at WNEW, and the book will have special meaning for New Yorkers (of which I am one), but you don't have to be from New York to appreciate this well done tale written by a man who's been there, done that. It's a good informative, rant-free read.
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Summary: Entertaining Book on the History of NY Rock Radio
Review: Having grown up in the 70's, listening to WNEW-FM, and following through to its demise in the 90's, this was an entertaining book that brought back a lot of good memories. To read about the people that I listened to over the years was great, as were the insights to the workings on FM radio. I think that Richard Neer has a good perspective, as being an insider, but not necesserily a superstar and he does not seem to have an ax to grind. (I also related to Neer, since my radio tastes have changed from FM Rock to SportsTalk radio.) The book would have been better with pictures, however, maybe that was intentional, more in keeping with the radio format.
If you listened to the WNEW, this is a very good choice.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining Book on the History of NY Rock Radio
Review: Having grown up in the 70's, listening to WNEW-FM, and following through to its demise in the 90's, this was an entertaining book that brought back a lot of good memories. To read about the people that I listened to over the years was great, as were the insights to the workings on FM radio. I think that Richard Neer has a good perspective, as being an insider, but not necesserily a superstar and he does not seem to have an ax to grind. (I also related to Neer, since my radio tastes have changed from FM Rock to SportsTalk radio.) The book would have been better with pictures, however, maybe that was intentional, more in keeping with the radio format.
If you listened to the WNEW, this is a very good choice.
Rating:
Summary: Good book for anyone interested in rock or FM radio
Review: I enjoyed this book about the history of FM rock radio. I live in the New York metro area and grew up listening to WNEW (Richard Neer's station) and WPLJ (the biggest competitor). So many of the characters (mostly the DJs) were familiar to me. Richard Neer does a good job of intertwining his story with the larger story of the FM radio and rock music industries. He does tell us about many of the people of the industry and sometimes it is a little much to keep track of all. All-in-all recommended for anyone with any interest in rock music or the NYC radio scene.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating read
Review: I initially heard about this book via the New York Radio Message Board & its webmaster Allan Sniffen-Based on what he had to say,I decided to go out & buy a copy for myself-I'm glad I did-This is a terrific book-Richard Neer chronicles his career from the late 1960's when he worked for a Long Island,NY station called WLIR to the heritage rock station WNEW-FM in NYC,where he stayed from 1971-1999-Neer recounts the events that led to WNEW's demise as a rock station in 1999-Apparently,he wasn't thrilled that it changed formats to talk-In the two & a half years since NEW-FM became a talk station,their ratings have been abysmal,to say the least-Anyway,Neer has done a thorough job here-This is a book,which should not only be read by those in the industry,but for people like myself,who love listening to the radio.
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Summary: For Real Rock/Radio Fans Only
Review: If you're a fan of New York Radio and the music it played in the 60's and 70's, this is the book for you. Richard Neer is very well respected in the city's radio establishment and he still does a great job on WFAN. Neer intertwines his own personal story, that of a struggling young DJ/music director making his way through the jungle of small market and college radio with a history of FM and rock radio. Finally, he reaches his dream of working at WNEW-FM, the Big Apple's famous free form rock station. The book is slow in the beginning, only interesting if you're a serious radio buff. As the story moves on, it becomes more intriguing and accessible. The drama becomes more human as personalities begin to clash in the high pressure environment of such a popular media outlet. The book may be worthy of a look just for the Scott (Scottso) Muni stories alone. If you long for the old nostalgic days of radio before it was taken over by Arbitron and rigid format, this is a wonderful book. If you want a more casual history of radio and WNEW's format style, you may want to look elsewhere, or just skip the first 100 pages or so.
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