Paul Rees Was Raised On Radio

Paul Rees Was Raised On Radio

From The (Mostly) 80s Music Podcast: What Difference Does It Make? by Dave Sloan and Holly Cantos

February 27, 2026 · 47 min · Season 15 · Episode 7

About this episode

Paul Rees discusses his book on the golden era of Album Oriented Rock and shares his admiration for iconic artists of that time.

Paul Rees was a young lad living in Scotland during the heyday of Album Oriented Rock (AOR). From a distance, Paul became a fan of American radio and the artists played on those stations, which led him to write the book Raised On Radio: Power Ballads, Cocaine & Payola – the AOR Glory Years 1976-1986. It's an oral history of the golden era of critically derided, yet monumentally popular radio rock, when Journey, Boston, REO Speedwagon, Toto, and others ruled the airwaves. Paul joins the podcast to chat about his book, and to fanboy about his favorite artists from this era. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Guest: Paul Rees

Topics covered

  • Album Oriented Rock
  • AOR
  • American radio
  • oral history
  • music history

Keywords

  • Raised On Radio
  • Power Ballads
  • Cocaine
  • Payola
  • Journey
  • Boston
  • REO Speedwagon
  • Toto

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Raised On Radio: Power Ballads, Cocaine & Payola – the AOR Glory Years 1976-1986

Books & works: Raised On Radio: Power Ballads, Cocaine & Payola

Places: Scotland

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