Prior to the introduction of commercial television mid‐twentieth century, radio was the medium that ruled the airwaves. According to Richard Butsch in his book The Making of American Audiences (Butsch, 2000) radio sales saturated the consumer market to the point that by the end of the 1930s 80 percent of American homes had a receiver (p. 206). Butsch writes that during the Great Depression: “Destitute families who had to sell their radio described the loss as a considerable hardship” (p. 198). Butsch goes on to discuss the intense and personal relationship that the radio listener forged with the performers who came into the home via the “ether” (p. 186). The immediacy and intimacy of the radio listening experience was in large part responsible for its position as a dominant popular culture force for well over four decades. Thus, the history of radio is an important aspect of the history of the US in the twentieth century.
While much scholarship exists on radio – the performers, the shows, the advertising, the industry – little of that scholarship focuses on the minority experience and on minority contributions. As Ellett writes in the preface to the encyclopedia, “African Americans have been a part of the story of radio since the medium's earliest days. The US government began issuing radio licenses to amateur hobbyists in 1912 and an African American, La Frantz Jones, received his in 1913. Famed black composer W.C. Handy made one of the earliest radio broadcasts in 1914” (p. 4). Despite numerous obstacles – cultural and political – African Americans made significant contributions to the industry throughout radio's “Golden Age”, the period covered by the encyclopedia. Two major works which have preceded Ellett's are Swingin' on the Ether Waves (Sampson, 2005) and Voice Over: The Making of Black Radio (Barlow, 1999). Ellett's work complements Sampson and Barlow by providing a guide and overview to a topic which includes hundreds of individuals and shows.
This work has many features to recommend it. The introduction presents a concise history of the black experience in American radio. The individual entries make for interesting reading; one can randomly open to any page and learn about the contributions of the famous (Count Basie and Ethel Waters) or become acquainted with those who have been less chronicled (such as Canada Lee and Hall Johnson). Although the physical size of the work (it clocks in at a total of 216 pages) seems to belie the use of “encyclopedia” in its title, Encyclopedia of Black Radio has all the elements necessary to recommend it as a reference purchase; it is comprehensive, authoritative, and easy to use. In practice, its compact size will conceivably increase its utility by making topics of interest for the undergraduate or advanced high school student more easily accessible. The work is enhanced by a comprehensive bibliography and a chronology of Debuts and Notable Events. Of interest to advanced researchers is the appendix which includes an episode guide for two notable series: The Negro Achievement Hour and The Negro Art Group Hour. As Ellet notes, “detailed information about individual episodes of shows is hard to come by” (p. 173). In this appendix he presents his research on these series gleaned from two prominent African American newspapers of the era, The New York Amsterdam News and The Baltimore Afro‐American.
Ryan Ellett is a radio scholar of note. He is the founder and the Editor Emeritus of the open access periodical, Old Radio Times. With Encyclopedia of Black Radio Ellett has delivered a well‐researched and well‐written tool for researchers interested in delving deeper into the history of radio.
