Carter Alan

Carter Alan – A brief look  5/05

For this radio announcer, music is his life.  Within Carter Alan’s archives resides a red notebook in which he’s written down every concert he’s ever attended.  The list is over 2,800 shows and still growing.  Plus he’s lugging around almost 15,000 records, tapes and CDs every time he moves – which fortunately hasn’t been for awhile!  Weekdays from 9:30A-2:00P on 100.7 WZLX, Boston’s Classic Rock, Carter Alan demonstrates that love of music with his insight and dedication to both rock music’s enduring heroes and history’s one-hit wonders.

WBCN YEARS:

Carter has been able to work with the music he loves during his entire 26-year career as a professional DJ. Hired right out of college to work Saturday overnights on WBCN, “The Rock of Boston” in 1979, it wasn’t long before the tenderfoot added Sunday nights and Saturday midday on-air duties to his workload.  In 1977 and 78 Carter had become involved in the local music scene as a jock at M.I.T.’s WTBS-FM (later to become WMBR) and continued that connection with Boston bands at his new radio home.  Within a year he was heading up WBCN’s yearly local battle of the bands contest called “The Rock and Roll Rumble.”  Carter directed this massive annual event from 1980 through 1987 and stepped down when responsibilities in other areas at the radio station demanded his time. 

In the Summer of 1982 Carter was hired as the Full-time overnight DJ at WBCN, but soon left that post in January of ’83 to assume the evening airshift Mon.-Fri. 6-10PM.  Within a few months of that hiring he’d hosted many guests in the studio like U2, Joan Jett, ZZ Top, Billy Idol, R.E.M., the Bangles, Joe Perry, and the Ramones and interviewed others like Roger Daltrey, Robert Plant, George Harrison, Ted Nugent, Carlos Santana and the Moody Blues.  He emcee’d dozens of concerts in the area for groups as diverse as Aerosmith to U2 and represented WBCN in London at the 1985 Live-Aid concert, calling in reports from the largest one-day rock charity in history. 

In the fall of 1986 Carter Alan became WBCN’s Music Director, a post he would hold until leaving the station in 1998.  This change in responsibilities demanded that he give up his nightly radio shift and learn how to work a computer.  Since there was neither time nor teacher available, he taught himself how to use the hardware and its software programs from a pile of (very thick) instruction manuals.  During this period he won the Billboard Magazine prestigious “Music Director of the Year” award in ’93, ’95, 96’ and ’97. 

NATIONAL INTERVIEWER:

He continued to develop as a interviewer for nationally-syndicated live music companies like Westwood One and the D.I.R. radio network, being sent to Houston, New York City and Italy to interview U2.  He interviewed Roger Waters of Pink Floyd live from Abbey Road studios in London to over a hundred U.S. radio stations, then was invited by Roger to attend his 1990 concert of unity at the Berlin Wall and report live back to America for Infinity Radio.  He would join Jim Ladd to interview Roger again in Toronto in 1992.  He also broadcast from the Amnesty International Concert in New Jersey in ’86 and a Metallica reunion concert in Philadelphia.  Carter was also televised, hosting a national pay-per-view broadcast with the Allman Brothers Band live from Boston in ‘98. 

WRITER:

In 1992 Carter Alan published his first book – “Outside is America - U2 in the U.S.”  The book was published by Faber & Faber and released around the world (Holland, Japan, British territories) via three additional publishers.  At last count the book had sold over 70,000 copies and is currently out of print.  A 1997 update entitled “U2:The Road to Pop” is also currently out of print after selling through its publishing run.  In 1998 Carter co-wrote the colorful story of an English roadie who worked with Fleetwood Mac, Steely Dan, the Byrds and more.  Entitled “Life on the Road – the Incredible Rock and Roll Adventures of Dinky Dawson” – this book was published by Billboard Books.   

Carter has also written articles and essays for the Boston Herald, Boston Globe, Album Network Magazine, Music Paper of New York, U2 websites, and numerous local rock and roll publications.  He’s written liner notes for a handful of local music compilations as well as Exile on Classical Street – a classical music compilation released nationally on London Records in 1996.

WZLX YEARS:

Carter Alan left WBCN and joined sister station WZLX in April 1998 to “get closer to the music and back on the air.”  He assumed the weekday 9:30A to 2P shift and became the station’s Assistant Program Director.  Carter’s ratings have consistently placed him within the Top 3 places in Adults 25-54 years old and he enjoys bringing his knowledge of music and musicians to the airwaves.  Carter has interviewed many more Classic Rock stars on the air including Jimmy Page & Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin, Paul McCartney, Don Henley & Glenn Frey of the Eagles, Peter Wolf of the J. Geils Band, Meatloaf, Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, Aerosmith, Gregg Allman & Dickey Betts, John Mellencamp, Peter Frampton and many more.  In addition, you can hear Carter hosting “Sunday Morning Blues” on WZLX Sunday AM from 9 to Noon.     

Carter was working on a novel this past year, but after a few maddening months it has been placed on hold while he resumes work on a music book about his encounters with the great talents of rock music.