Rise of the Radio Gods

By Chris Wright

Two high school buddies in the 1980's prank their way into a dream job hosting a radio morning show. Will they figure out they've been pranked in time to save the radio station and themselves?

 

The year was 1988 and every man in America dreamed of being Burt Reynolds. Or they were at least jealous of him for marrying Loni Anderson. Meanwhile, in the Atlanta suburbs, two teenage pranksters stumble into the dream job they never even knew they dreamed of… morning show hosts on a rock radio station.

 

Richard finally has a shot at the successful life nobody believed he was capable of, but only if Brad gives up his college scholarship and a future partnership in his Dad's law firm. The odds are stacked against them with a program director who only hired them so they could unwittingly destroy the radio station. Keeping the show alive for two weeks will take a miracle. And a little help from Atlanta's most popular baseball player, NASCAR's greatest living legend and an unsuspecting teenage pop starlet.

 

Rise of the Radio Gods is the hilarious prequel to the novel Blowing Up the Airwaves from real life radio veteran Chris Wright.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wright on the Mark LLC
• Release date: Feb 26, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201296964

Book preview

CHAPTER

ONE

ATLANTA, GA

1988

Oh, shit. Hold on, you idiot!

Richard Bone was sweating profusely, partially because it was a hot August night at Six Flags over Georgia and partially because he was suspended twenty-five feet high in the air. The sweat made his hand slip as he nervously crawled along, hugging the metal structure. A roller coaster looped around nearby tracks with screaming teenagers enjoying the thrill. They had harnesses holding them in place. Richard did not. The structure he had climbed was the park’s outdoor concert stage. His lanky, teenage body straddled a truss stretched high above the instruments.

Thousands more screaming teenagers were gathered in a giant mass just in front of him. They were all looking in his direction. Almost. They fixed their gaze just below him, watching the beautiful pop starlet be-bopping across the stage in her denim jacket, long red hair flying in every direction. Tiffany was a huge hit on the charts and the reason the theme park had a record crowd tonight. It was almost time for her most famous song so Richard had to hurry.

Somewhere in that crowd Richard’s friend Brad would be switching on his father’s prized camcorder and discretely pointing it at the stage.

Earlier that week the two boys had broken into their high school, and with the help of supplies taken from the cheerleaders storage area, painted the banner that Richard now dragged carefully above the pop star. One end was tied off behind him stage left. The other end was almost pulled tight and ready to be tied off stage right. A long cord would allow it to unravel, displaying a message with new and improved lyrics for her hit song. Making the final knot required him to let go and hold his balance. Not easy with the thumping rhythm from the speakers causing the whole contraption to vibrate.

Thank you, Atlanta! I’ve had so much fun tonight!

Time’s up, Richard muttered to himself. Tiffany was saying her goodbyes and clearly preparing to sing her big song before leaving. Richard flipped his head, sending his impressive blonde mullet to one side and away from his view of the banner. He wrapped his legs even tighter around the truss and tied the knot. As he pulled it tight the music started with the familiar opening notes.

Children behave… The first words of the song brought loud cheers from the crowd and a chuckle from Richard. Behave wasn’t even a word in his vocabulary. He and Brad had pulled some classic stunts at school but this one would make them famous. Brad better get the video, after everything Richard had done.

…and then you say, Tiffany sang.

That’s my cue! Richard said to himself as he pulled the cord. The crowd started singing along with the chorus.

I think we’re alone now. And then they started laughing. Tiffany appeared confused, not seeing what they saw, but continued on with the song. As she repeated the title line, though, this time the crowd, at least the boys in the crowd, sang the words from the banner now hanging right above the singer’s head. Along the top it read Sing the new lyrics and below that I’m getting a bone now. You make me really hot when you turn aro-ound.

Watch it! Brad Dewey stumbled and almost dropped his dad’s very expensive video camera as the crowd around him exploded into dancing. This was it. The big song. The moment he’d been waiting for, positioning himself in just the right place to record the spectacle without being spotted by security. Or if they did spot him with the camera it would take them too long to get to him.

Some of the lights above the stage wobbled and Brad knew it must be Richard getting things in place. He flipped the collar of his Member’s Only jacket back up, returned the camera to his shoulder, zoomed in on the stage, and adjusted the focus. Damn, this thing is heavy, he said. Nobody heard him. They were all singing along with the chorus. Come on, Richard! he muttered to himself.

As if on cue, the banner unfurled above the stage, drawing laughter from the boys around him and sounds of disgust from the girls. He’d done it! Richard had actually done it! Now the boys were singing the revised lyrics. This was all going exactly the way they’d imagined.

And that’s when it all fell apart. Literally. A stage light fell, almost striking the keyboard player who jumped back in shock. Then Richard’s head appeared, long blonde hair dangling beside the banner.

Richard felt the light coming loose as he bumped it. He reached for it, frightened that someone below would be hurt. His hand couldn’t quite grab the light but did manage to bump it enough that it missed the band member below. The effort, however, caused Richard to lose his balance and the top half of his body now hung beside the banner. Reaching for a hand hold that would allow him to pull his body back up, he instead grabbed the cord holding the banner in place. His weight was too much and the knot came loose.

Suddenly Richard sensed