Book: “Naptown Rock Radio Wars” Set For Release

A Who’s Who of Indianapolis Radio is expected to be on-hand for the “Naptown Rock Radio Wars” book release party.  The book is authored by local historian David Fulton.

More than a hundred are expected to attend the party to be held 4p Saturday, Jan. 26 at Smee’s Place Bar & Grill in Indy.  The book release party will also feature a screening of the film documentary at 6:30pm.    The showing of the film will be dedicated to the memory of "Big" John Gillis who 'signed off' for the last time in November.

The book and film offer an excellent historical perspective of the Indianapolis Radio Wars in the 60s and 70s.  The battles included AM powerhouses WIBE and WIFE and WNAP-FM.

It was a fight to the death . . . well, maybe not to the death, but it was definitely a battle that would change not only the listening habits of tens of thousands of Hoosiers but also the entire culture of the Indiana state capital city. It had repercussions throughout the nation as the first major war of AM radio versus FM radio. It was Forty-fives versus album cuts and the good guys versus the bad boys and Naptown would never be the same. Two brilliant and fierce broadcasting competitors went head to head: Richard Fairbanks, who for almost two decades owned WIBC-AM 1070, the 50,000-watt radio behemoth, versus Don Burden, the young upstart broadcasting impresario who swaggered into town and launched the glitzy, promotion-oriented though relatively low-powered WIFE-AM 1310. How was the war fought? What were the strategies? Who were the personalities both in the limelight and behind the scenes? And who, in the end, would win Naptowns rock radio wars?

The event is open to the public and many Indy radio personalities are scheduled to attend, including Chris Conner, Red Porter, Al Stone, Bill Shirk, Jimmy Mack, Freddie Fever, Allen Deck, Scott Wheeler, Mike O’Brien, “Big Kahouna” and Art Baker.

Books and t-shirts will be available for purchase. Food and drink will be available. All ages welcome! Feel free to drop in anytime during these hours.

ORDER THE BOOK: Click Here.

For more information and reservations, phone (317) 876-0202.