Acclaimed authors and music historians Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton have spent years traveling across the world to interview the revolutionary and outrageous DJs who shaped the last half-century of pop music. The Record Players is the fun and revealing result--a collection of firsthand accounts from the obsessives, the playboys, and the eccentrics that dominated the music scene and contributed to the evolution of DJ culture.

It started when, instead of a live band, someone turned on the record player, and suddenly partygoers had more than one style of music to dance to. In the sixties, radio tastemakers brought their sound to the masses, sock hop by sock hop, while early trendsetters birthed the role of the club DJ at temples of hip like the Peppermint Lounge. By the seventies, DJs were dictating musical taste and changing the course of popular music; and in the eighties, young innovators wore out their cross-faders developing techniques that carried them over the line between record player and musician. With discographies, favorite songs, and amazing photos of all the DJs as young firebrands, The Record Players offers an unparalleled music education: from records to synthesizers, from disco to techno, and from small groups of influential music lovers to arenas packed with thousands of dancing fans.
A history told by the visionaries who experienced the movement, The Record Players allows a rare glimpse into the sound, culture, and craft that developed into a worldwide industry.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Listen to this! -- Dance hall disrupter / Jimmy Savile -- No. 1 deejay / Ian Samwell -- The modfather / Jeff Dexter -- Inspired everybody / John Peel -- Original mixer / Terry Noel -- The groundbreaker / Francis Grasso -- Treasure seeker / 'Farmer'Carl Dene -- Soul adventurer / Ian Levine -- Casino royal / Kev Roberts -- A northern soul / Ian Dewhirst -- Disco's radical / Steve D'Acquisto -- Party messiah / David Mancuso -- Father of remixing / Tom Moulton -- Wild man of disco / Nicky Siano -- Disco dubmaster / Francois Kevorkian -- Father of hip hop / Kool Herc -- Scientist of the mix / Grandmaster Flash -- Zulu king of the Bronx / Afrika Bambaataa -- Maestro electro / Arthur Baker -- Turntable virtuoso / Grand Mixer D.ST -- Vinyl resurrectionist / DJ Shadow -- Godfather of house / Frankie Knuckles -- Chicago architect / Chip E -- Leader of the jack / Marshall Jefferson -- Acid originator / DJ Pierre -- Hitmaker / David Morales -- Master at work / Louie Vega -- Techno rebel / Juan Atkins -- High-tech soul / Derrick May -- Detroit wizard / Jeff Mills -- Ibiza's magician / Alfredo -- Smooth operator / Jose Padilla -- Cosmic voyager / Daniele Baldelli -- Soul Mafia hitman / Froggy -- Acid house evangelist / Danny Rampling -- Cultural hooligan / Terry Farley -- Electronic punk / Andrew Weatherall -- Hacienda housemaster / Mike Pickering -- Most successful / Paul Oakenfold -- Pop star / Norman Cook -- Essential selector / Pete Tong -- Son of God? / Sasha -- Hardcore hero / Fabio -- Shut Up And Dance: Into the jungle -- Dreem Teem: Garage mechanics -- Tiesto: Stadium superstar -- Thanks: and photo credits.

Binding: Paperback
Physical Info: 2.79 cms H x 23.88 cms L x 16.76 cms W (0.76 kgs) 480 pages