Jean Shepherd

Jean Shepherd was a writer, artist, and one of the greatest storytellers of all time. Born July 21, 1921, in Hammond, Indiana, he began his radio career at age 16, doing weekly sportscasts for a local station. Shepherd served in World War II in the Army Signal Corps; it was here that he developed many of his future characters that later cropped up in his stories. Though he would claim that his stories were fiction, the characters in his stories could be traced to his life.

Jean Shepherd began his radio career 1948 in Cincinnati working for WCKY, WKRC, and WSAI as a DJ. Instead of playing records, he started tell childhood and army stories rather than play records. In 1951 he moved to Philadelphia and was heard on KYW until 1953 when he returned briefly to Cincinnati's WLW. It wasn't until he moved to New York sometime in 1954 or 1955 that he settled down to a long career on WOR. During the 50's, 60's and 70's he created a nightly radio show he did on WOR 710AM five nights a week for forty-five minutes and the two-hour Saturday night "Live at the Limelight" shows.

This collection includes his appearances, music, commentary, interviews, and more. It is a truly a varied collection for all to enjoy. One of the greatest qualities of his tales is the feeling like he is talking to you. Anyone familiar with his talk radio style will remember his ability to make his stories accessible to everyone and relate to audiences young and old.