Ed Salamon

Salamon at a book signing in 2009

Edward R. Salamon is an American entertainment industry executive and radio broadcaster. He is credited as one of the people who led to country music becoming a major force in the mid-1990s.[1] He was dubbed “country radio’s most influential programmer” [2][3] while programming WHN, New York, which became the most listened to country radio station of all time in the mid-1970s, an accomplishment that led to his induction into the Country Radio Hall of Fame in 2006.[4][5][6]

Salamon's success at WHN encouraged the establishment of country radio stations in other urban and non-traditional country markets, which greatly expanded the audience for country radio, and, in turn, increased the exposure of country music.[7][8] He has been credited with reinventing country radio because his programming techniques, viewed as radical at the time, were emulated by other broadcasters, many of which went on to greater successes in the radio industry.[5] After WHN, Salamon headed a succession of national radio networks for twenty consecutive years.[4][6][9]

  1. ^ Carrie Borzillo (1996-03-02). Ed Salamon: Country Radio Cheerleader. Billboard / Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 71–. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  2. ^ DeMarche, Edmund. “No City For Country Fans”, ‘’Columbia News Service’', April 28, 2009. Retrieved on April 16, 2013
  3. ^ Rose, Jim. “Jim Rose Remembers Radio, Issue 976”, May 23, 2011. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  4. ^ a b “Past Radio Hall Of Fame Inductees 2006” Country Radio Seminar Retrieved on April 16, 2013.
  5. ^ a b Helton, Lon. “Ed Salamon Country Radio Hall Of Fame”. ‘’Radio and Records’’, February 17, 2006, p. 50.
  6. ^ a b ’’Nashville Star Ed Salamon Guides Country Radio’s Skyward Thrust’’. ‘’Radio Ink’’, February 19, 2007, cover story.
  7. ^ Levy, Lawrence C. ‘’Nashville’s Bite of The Big Apple’’. ‘’The New York Times’’, July 4, 1976.
  8. ^ Carr, Patrick. ‘’WHN: The Real Story’’. ‘’Country Music (magazine)’’, May 1976.
  9. ^ Vassilaros, Dimitri. ‘’Reinventor of Country Radio Format Acknowledges The Power Of Giving’’. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, February 15, 2003.